Company
At the Griffin Theatre
By Dan Zeff
Chicago – All Stephen Sondheim musicals are tricky to stage, but “Company” makes special demands. The show calls for 14 major performances from men and women who can navigate the composer’s witty, urbane, and sometimes tongue-twisting lyrics. The show is really a collection of individual scenes and sketches, tied together by a single character. This isn’t a musical comedy that plays by conventional rules, but it’s a rewarding evening if the production is done right.
The Griffin Theatre gives “Company” a good effort, with some lofty peaks. But the acting and singing are uneven, understandable with the Griffin’s understandably limited resources. The production also has to deal with a less than ideal performance space. But for audiences who, like me, consider “Company” Sondheim’s most pleasurable musical, there are still plentiful rewards.
“Company” is set in New York City and the show’s sensibility is very much established by a collection of white, upscale Manhattanites. Robert, or Bobby, is a bachelor facing his 35th birthday. He is surrounded by five married couples who very much want to see Robert married. But Robert is hesitant. His married couple friends are not ideal role models who advertise the joys of the married state. A few of the characters privately advise Robert to stay single.
Robert’s views about settling down are highly ambivalent. His sex life is fine, but his love life needs work. He thinks he’s ready to get married to the right woman, and yet he thinks he’s not ready. So with both feet planted firmly in mid air as far as romance is concerned, he makes the circuit of his married friends.
The action opens and closes with a surprise party to celebrate Robert’s birthday. The rest of the show is a flashback. There is no straight-ahead storyline, just a sequence of encounters between Robert and the married couples along with three young single ladies who wouldn’t mind connecting with Bobby permanently.
The characters in “Company” are convinced they are privileged to live in New York City, for them the center of the civilized world. Forty years ago New York City occupied a more important part of the national consciousness than it does now, so “Company” can either be considered dated or nostalgic, depending on the spectator’s point of view. But the Big Apple lifestyle is not all upbeat. The song “Another Hundred People” taps into the rat race that propels the city. “The Ladies Who Lunch” provides a portrait of the empty lives of middle class women with too much empty time on their hands. In general, the characters drink too much and tend to act badly toward each other.
Much of “Company” is funny, and some moments are poignant or painful or rueful. By the end of the show, Robert’s situation is unchanged. He’s leery of tying himself down but yearning for a soul mate. He sums up his dilemma in the emotional “Being Alive,” a number that has nourished the repertoire of countless nightclub crooners.
One problem with the Griffin revival is the casting of Benjamin Sprunger as Robert. Sprunger has the good looks and charisma to represent the character well physically. But he’s a little short on the singing and acting chops to fully sell Robert’s many emotional states as the young man weaves his way through the shoals of the dating game.
The best work in the production comes from three actresses. As Amy, Darci Nalepa does a terrific rendition of “Getting Married Today,” a mile-a-minute number about a woman who gets cold feet on her married day. As Marta, Dana Tretta belts out a potent rendition of “Another Hundred People.” And Samantha Dubina is very fine as April, a ditzy flight attendant who is in and out of Robert’s bed.
The production suffers from a drab set. It functionally provides two levels of performing space but it doesn’t convey the visual gloss that embodies the sophistication and artificiality of these New Yorkers circa 1970. The chamber orchestra at the rear of the stage too often drowns out the voices of the performers. Possibly the staging’s visual and aural difficulties result from the inhospitable theater interior.
Jonathan Berry’s directing understands the qualities that make “Company” work, and with a stronger ensemble and a more sympathetic playing space the show could have really taken off. “Company” isn’t a dancing show but Erin Kilmurray’s choreography is a spritely ornament to the production. Lee Keenan designed the lighting, Alison Siple the costumes, and Rick Sims the sound.
“Company” runs through November 14 at
Stage 773, 1225 West Belmont Avenue. Performances are Friday and Saturday night
at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $22 to $32. Call 773 327 5252 or
visit www.griffintheatre.com.
The show gets a rating of three stars. October 2010
Contact Dan at zeffdaniel@yahoo.com.
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