The Department of Theatre at Coastal Carolina University presents Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music," a musical celebration of love in all its glory and grief. The romantic lives of several couples unfold in this musical, originally produced on Broadway in 1973, with intricacies infused with humor, warmth, beauty, irony and regret.

Performances take place in CCU's Wheelwright Auditorium from Wednesday, Oct. 24, through Friday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 27, at 3 p.m. Admission is $25, with CCU discounts available.

The final evening is a command performance that benefits scholarship opportunities in the Thomas W. and Robin W. College of Humanities and Fine Arts and includes a cocktail hour at 6:30 p.m. and a dessert reception afterward; tickets to the special performance are $50 and are tax-deductible.

"A Little Night Music" is set in turn-of-the-century Sweden and includes blockbuster numbers including "Send in the Clowns," "A Weekend in the Country" and "The Glamorous Life." Its title is a literal translation of Mozart's "Serenade No. 13 for Strings in G Minor," the German Eine kleine Nachtmusik.

"The delight of this piece will be brought to life in a chamber version on the Wheelwright stage," said Monica Bell, director of the production and associate professor in the CCU Department of Theatre. "With minimal sets, expressive lighting and period costumes, the work of the actor and the glory of song will take center stage."

Sondheim won a Grammy Award in 1976 with "Send in the Clowns," and Bell explained that his timeless yet complex music demands significant preparation.

"Sondheim's music is always challenging in terms of tempo, operatic overtones, and complicated interweaving of harmonies and syncopation," Bell said. "The cast in this production, drawn from the B.F.A. musical theatre program and B.F.A. acting program, is more than up to the challenge."

The cast includes Noah Pelty as Frederick Egerman, McKenna O'Grodnik as Desiree Armfeldt, and John Dudley as Henrik Egerman. Other student cast members include Caitlin Carter, Emily Dye, Grainger Russell, Kaleb Jenkins, Brooke Bloomquist, Tessa Belongia, Julia Messenger, Sophie Goron, Austin Dare, Brett Klock, Carly Krulikowski, McKenna Hughes, Hannah Dahl, Drake Cunningham, and Madi Fiely. Makenzie Owens is stage manager, and Bell plays Madame Armfeldt.

Reserved seating tickets are $25 and $20. Senior citizens, OLLI members, CCU alumni, teens and CCU/HGTC faculty and staff are $20/$16. Children and CCU/HGTC students are $7 with student identification.

The next CCU Department of Theatre production is Thornton Wilder's 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Our Town," with performances Nov. 7-15.

For tickets, call the Wheelwright Box Office at 843-349-ARTS (2787) or visit coastal.edu/culturalarts. The Wheelwright Box Office is located at 108 Spadoni Park Circle on the Conway campus, and hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For tickets to the command performance, call the Edwards College dean's office at 843-349-2421 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Additional resources:

coastal.edu/theatre

Facebook.com/CCUDepartmentofTheatre