The opening night performance of the Spreckels Theatre Company production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, now running in Rohnert Park through May 18, was my first experience with the classic musical comedy.
Company follows Bobby (Andrew J. Smith), an affable, mid-thirties Everyman, as he seeks love, personified here by brassy Marta (sensational vocals by Evvy Carlstrom), gentle Kathy (wistful Bethany Cox), and blunt April (Katie Rain, with gorgeous voice and killer comic timing).
Bobby has help from five couples: Jeff Coté (in a very funny turn) and Allie Nordby; a sincerely sweet Noah Vondralee-Sternhill and Maeve Smith; Malcom March and zany Tina Traboulsi; Alex Delzell and Maddi Scarborough; and Sean O’Brien and Shannon Rider. They all grapple, very lightly, with such issues as divorce, passive aggression, and regrets with getting married in the first place.
It’s clear the brilliant lyricist developed his talent considerably since this simple tale of a hapless bachelor seeking love and meaning with the help of five overzealous and seriously codependent couples premiered in 1970. Issues of marriage, fidelity, and losing one’s identity in a relationship may have been groundbreaking material fifty years ago, but they all seem rather pedestrian in today’s unprecedented times.
This is truly a show for actors and the cast, co-directed by Sheri Lee Miller and James Pelican, fairs well; with the women cast members (especially Allie Nordby as a gamely physical Sarah) more successful at creating memorable characters than their male counterparts. I attribute this to the writing, because the whole story seems to be Bobby’s female-centric fever-dream. The focus is on how he’s admired and desired by all the wives, so much so that they serenade him in an odd love scene, “Poor Baby.” The husbands envy Bobby’s freedom, and each couple seems so deeply invested in him that it makes you wonder what else they do with their lives.
Sondheim’s genius lies in his lyrics and musical composition, showcased hilariously in “Getting Married Today” which features astonishing vocal work from Maddi Scarborough and wonderfully unhinged physical comedy from Maeve Smith. Musical direction by Lucas Sherman and his orchestra is sharp and skillful
If you’re a Sondheim die-hard, this might be the show for you. If not, you’re still in for some lively performances by some of the North Bay’s finest musical theatre performers.
‘Company’ runs through May 18 in the Codding Theater at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park. Fri-Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $16 – $42. 707.588.3400. spreckelsonline.com.
