Presented by: Therry Theatre
Reviewed: 8 June, 2023
This production of Company, under David Sinclair’s meticulous direction, delivers a beloved music theatre classic safely to the stage of The Arts Theatre. Faithful to Stephen Sondheim’s music and lyrics and George Furth’s book, without turning the show into a museum piece, Sinclair has judiciously incorporated some of Furth and Sondheim’s 1990’s revisions to shape a sparkling piece of timeless theatre set in New York City and centred around contemporary views of marriage and relationships.
As a twentieth-century American dramedy of manners, this show’s writing, in both dialogue and songs, demands a great deal from its performers. Each one needs to have the confidence and capability of a lead soloist, with a firm understanding of their character’s story arc throughout the show. Director Sinclair has cast 14 performers who together make his vision proud. Spoken dialogue has the glassy, shard-like quality of a Neil Simon comedy; songs are resonant with a gamut of emotions. Both Sinclair and musical director Rodney Hrvatin are to be commended for casting and successfully steering this splendid company.
Of particular note is the sung quality of the men’s choral work. In “Sorry-grateful”, “Have I Got a Girl For You?”, and the Act 2 opener, “Side by Side/What Would We Do Without You?”, the solid core of well-produced male voices is a delight. This latter piece is also where the choral work of the company as a whole is heard to best effect. MD Hrvatin manages his 13-piece band with finesse. Tempi are spot-on all night. His musicians play this demanding score neatly and crisply. Particular praise is reserved for keyboardists Leanne Savill and Mitchell Bettison, who deftly navigate Sondheim’s filigree of notes.
Company has some anticipated party pieces for women. First mention goes to Trish Hart, playing Joanne, whose ”The Ladies Who Lunch” does marvels to an otherwise slightly saggy second act. Hart knows what the song is about and sings it with equal parts of passion, self-ridicule and pathos. It’s a show-stopper. In fact, her acting throughout the show is a consistent delight.
“Getting Married Today”, is another highlight of the show, performed fearlessly and furiously by Emily Morris as Amy, the terminally neurotic bride-to-be. A manic patter number often used as a yardstick of excellence for leading ladies, Morris brings turbo-paced articulation, flexible vocal quality and an actor’s focussed energy, both physical and emotional, to her performance. It’s the high point of a sparkly first act.
The well-known “Another Hundred People” is the third standout party piece for a woman. Sung by youthful, gabby Marta (Claire Birbeck), it demands both machine-gun lyrics and a solid legato phrasing technique. Perhaps first-night issues hampered Birbeck’s delivery; intensity of tone sometimes pushes the pitch off course. Her articulation is just fine.
The plot of this episodic piece centres around New Yorker Robert, a single 35-year-old man with commitment phobia. We grow to know him through his three current girlfriends and his five sets of married-couple friends. As birthday boy Robert, Jared Frost carries a considerable amount of responsibility. We need to empathise with his affable diffidence and indecision, without dismissing him as a dithering twit. Frost looks good and sings very well indeed. Even the low notes in “Marry Me A Little” were elegantly managed. His acting work, aided by the light touch of his director, helps power the story along. His character is sure to access extra muscular strength during the run of the show.
The five couples are delightful: the splendid Trish Hart (as Joanne) partners with genial Robin Schmelzkopf, who infuses his Larry with both warmth and wisdom. Grace Frost has fun playing uptight Jenny; her husband David is a decisively dapper Ben Todd. Together with Robert, they share a particularly effective dope-fuelled scene. Catherine Breughelmans plays Sarah the dieting epicure, whose taunting of recovering-alcoholic husband Harry leads to an entertaining karate segment. Harry, performed by Sam Mannix, looks and sounds precisely right. His voice is especially promising. The role of gracious Southern belle Susan is performed by Sophie Stokes; she and her husband Peter (Ryan Ricci) gleefully anticipate their imminent, amicable divorce. Amy (Emily Morris) and Paul (Daniel Fleming) have lived together for some years already and are just about to get married… or not, depending on Amy’s melt-down at the end of Act 1. Their acting work is excellent.
Robert’s three girlfriends are sweetly sincere Kathy (Emily Fitzpatrick), ditzy air hostess April (Cassidy Gaiter) and sharp, young and funky Marta (Claire Birbeck). They sing their feature trio “You Could Drive A Person Crazy”, with gusto, despairing Robert’s indecision. Harmonies are mostly secure and the button “doo-doo” notes at the end of phrases are certain to tidy up as the run progresses. Of the three performances, the most defined and polished one is Cassidy Gaiter’s. Her character is secure, and her acting consistently avoids caricature.
Sound production by Allpro Audio manages to equalise the 13-piece orchestra while ensuring that the audience hears both spoken and sung words with clarity. This is an exceedingly tricky thing to do in this theatre, especially on a stage which sometimes has 14 people singing loudly and sometimes has one person speaking very quietly indeed. Tim Bates’ lighting design is both careful and flamboyant, matching each scene’s needs.
Design of both set and projections (of which there are many) are also David Sinclair’s work. His set is economic and neatly functional, enabling Linda Lawson’s smart choreography to lift the action. Projections on the back wall are clever, setting mood and underlining dramatic ideas. They never distract from the main focus of attention. Sinclair’s direction and design are all of a piece, giving the production a satisfyingly unified quality.
Finally, the highest praise I can give Therry for their production is this: Sondheim aficionados, amongst whom I number myself, will not be disappointed.
Reviewed by Pat H. Wilson
Photo credit: Andy Trimmings
Venue: The Arts Theatre
Season: 8th – 17th June, 2023
Duration: 2 hours 45 minutes (including interval)
Tickets: Adult $40:00. (Concession $30:00)
Bookings: https://therry.org.au/
