While director Julianne Boyd and her able cast of Broadway veterans don’t master every nuance of Stephen Sondheim’s classic comedy of erotica and ennui, they provide a near-ideal holiday divertissement for the crowds flocking to Pittsfield.

In truth, I’ve yet to see a Night Music that balances all the complicated tonal elements of the work. Some productions, like the Trevor Nunn revival that played London and Broadway in 2009, lean into the serious psychological drama that underpins the frothy humor. In such a treatment, the musical comes closer to the serious Scandinavian dramas that leading lady Desiree Armfeldt performs in places like Rättvik and Helsingborg.

Boyd—the founding artistic director of Barrington Stage, who retires at the close of this season—takes the opposite approach by leaning fully into a lighter, airier tone…

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