Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by George Furth
Produced by Watch This
At fortyfivedownstairs, until Oct 4, 2015
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars:***1/2
Full review also published online in Herald Sun today, Fri 18 Sept 2015 and later in print. KH
Produced by Watch This
At fortyfivedownstairs, until Oct 4, 2015
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars:***1/2
Full review also published online in Herald Sun today, Fri 18 Sept 2015 and later in print. KH
Clockwise from centre: Nick Simpson-Deeks (seated), Johanna Allen,Sally Bourne,John O'Hara,Tim Paige, Sonya Suares,Nathan Carter,Mark Dickinson,Gillian Cosgriff, Nelson Gardner,Nicole Melloy, Pic Jodie Hutchinson
In Company, Bobby is the likeable, urbane, New York bachelor living a carefree life that is the envy of his married friends.
When these adoring pals plan a surprise party to celebrate his 35th birthday, Bobby (AKA Robert) can neither blow out the candles nor manage to make a wish. What’s wrong?
Company, with Stephen Sondheim’s pithy music and
lyrics and a witty book by George Furth, won
seven Tony awards in 1970, but its provocative themes about the cares and
despairs of marriage and relationships still resonate today.
The musical has a non-linear narrative comprising a series
of vignettes – Bobby’s thoughts and memories about dinners and parties with
these five, diverse couples and a plethora of dates with three of his many girlfriends.
Nick Simpson‐Deeks has a bright
but warm vocal quality and fine control in his upper register and he cleverly
balances Bobby’s smart urbanity with an air of
bemused childlikeness.
His rendition of Being Alive is thrilling, his Someone
Is Waiting is poignant and Marry Me A Little emphasises Bobby’s naiveté and confusion
about marriage.
The ensemble numbers are highlights with the title
song, Company, having a rich and exhilarating quality while Side By Side By
Side has a playful, almost vaudevillian style.
Some standout performances in Kat Henry’s production
include Sally
Bourne as the boozy, abrasive, misanthropic and wealthy Joanne, an older woman
whose acerbic comments fall like acid rain on any party.
Johanna Allen
is exceptionally funny and fine-voiced as Jenny, the slightly blousy ‘square’ who
hilariously experiences her first marijuana high with Bobby and her husband,
David (Mark Dickinson).
Carina Waye is
suitably ditzy and comical as April, the airline stewardess, and Madeleine
McKenzie is warm and luscious as Kathy, another of Bobby’s former lovers.
Although the acting is sometimes uneven and occasionally the group staging feels a little
mechanical,
the ensemble has fun playing the parade
of Robert’s crazy, dysfunctional, addled
and argumentative
married friends and his quirky girlfriends.
The
band is tight under musical director, Lucy O’Brien,
and Michael
Ralph’s choreography is vivacious and funny throughout, although the solo dance
during instrumental, Tick-Tock, cries out for multiple dancers.
If you are a Sondheim fan, you should rush out and
see Company with its idiosyncratic music, bevy of bonkers characters and witty
but wise reflections on relationships in a modern world.
By
Kate Herbert
frm L clockwise Nelson Gardner,Mark Dickinson,Tim Paige,Nathan Carter,John O'Hara,Nick Simpson-Deeks, Pic Jodie Hutchinson
L-R Nick Simpson-Deeks Sally Bourne, Nathan Carter; Jodie Hutchinson
Direction: Kat Henry
Musical Director Lucy O’Brien
Choreography by Michael Ralph
Design by Eugyeene Teh, Zoë Rouse &
Rob Sowinski.
Cast:
Nick Simpson‐Deeks, Sally Bourne, Gillian Cosgriff, Johanna Allen, Bianca Baykara, Nathan Carter, Mark Dickinson, Nelson Gardner, Madeleine Mackenzie, Nicole Melloy, John O'Hara, Tim Paige, Sonya Suares, Carina Waye.
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