A LITTLE THEATER SCORES BIG WITH SONDHEIM.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

What a challenge an empty space must represent to a company with ambitions and abilities far outweighing the scope of its stage and budget. And how satisfying it must be to see these kind of blossoms.

Thank heavens Interact Theatre Company in NoHo doesn't choose to play it safe, and that company member John Rubenstein, who staged a knockout production of ``Into the Woods'' a few years back, still has a fondness for the works of composer Stephen Sondheim.

Rubenstein's Fredrik Egerman anchors the enchanting production of Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's ``A Little Night Music'' which closes out the Interact's first season at its new Bakman Avenue location. As the production's director, Rubenstein deserves major credit for assembling a crack acting ensemble, musical and technical team, all of whom are working above their means. Here's big fruit coming out of a small orchard.

Inspired by Bergman's film ``Smiles of a Summer Night,'' ``A Little Night Music'' sees a number of couples pairing off in 19th-century Sweden. Fredrik is married to luscious 18-year-old Anne (Linnea Dakin), but pines for the glamorous actress Desiree Armfeldt (Marilyn McIntyre), with whom he had a past fling. Fredrik's clergy-bound son Henrik (Chris D. Thomas) lusts after Anne, while Desiree has attracted the attention of the egotistical Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (Matthew Ashford), whose wife, Charlotte (Leslie Hicks), is bitterly jealous.

Somehow everybody ends up at the estate of Desiree's crustily wise mother, Madame Armfeldt (Annie Abbott), where the dowager and Desiree's prepubescent daughter Fredrika (Corrie Craig) get to watch every romantic entanglement make itself right or wrong. Late in the proceedings, Desiree sings the rueful ``Send in the Clowns,'' arguably the best-known song in Sondheim's canon, but hardly the show's only musical highlight.

Finessing its way through Sondheim's waltz-dominated and ballad-laden score is the two-person team of keyboardist Johanna Kent and pianist Dan Belzer. Musical arrangements are straightforward, heavy on the acoustic feeling with no flourishes. In this score, with these lyrics and especially this accompaniment, there is no place for singers to hide.

Happily, at Interact they don't need to. Rubenstein and McIntyre are both pros, solid musically if unspectacular. The superb Ashford, meanwhile, possesses a mighty baritone and a perfect ``I just swallowed a lemon'' sneer. Hicks' icy Charlotte matches him splendidly. Choreographer Jane Lanier maneuvers a lot of elegant partner-switching waltzes in a relatively confined area. Also playing the Egermans' knowing servant, Petra (double duty is big here), Lanier nails the song ``The Miller's Son.''

Set designer Christian Reed sweeps the playing space backward and to the right, using doorways and thin panels as decoration or trysting sites. Lighting designer Debra Garcia Lockwood picks out all the colorful hues of sunsets and summer evenings. And here's betting that the cost of Peter Lovello's costumes and Judi Lewin's hair and wig design alone would finance most 99-seat houses for an entire year.

For this production - a daring choice by a company with the chops to pull it off - every dollar has been money well spent.

``A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC''

Where: Interact Theatre Company, 5215 Bakman Ave., North Hollywood.

When: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday; through July 1.

Tickets: $25. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three and one half stars