The audacity of "A Weekend in the Country" to accomplish everything it does.

I have never rooted for someone to break up a marriage more in my LIFE.

It is such a Desiree Armfeldt thing to consider someone else's marriage "one tiny snag"

Conversely, it's what makes her heartbreak in the bedroom scene leading into "Send in the Clowns" all the more palpable: you want this for her.

Everyone is too clever by half (esp. Anne, Charlotte & Desiree) and it sets us up for the second act with such style, to say nothing of that thrilling stacked A-flat chord at the end.

(Jonathan Tunick throwing in a nod to Der Rosenkavalier at the climax is the cherry on top).

The Broadway opening night performance of "A Weekend in the Country," as a treat: https://soundcloud.com/theatreaficionado/a-weekend-in-the-country