by Cari Lynn Pace
If you are a fan of Stephen Sondheim, you will be delighted with this Throckmorton Theatre production of Company.
If you don’t care for Sondheim’s repetitive musical style, you will still be delighted with this production.
It’s a show filled with non-stop energy.
Company focuses on bachelor Bobby’s 35th birthday and his vacillating desire to join the ranks of his married friends. Bobby’s friends visit in pairs. The friends are variously satisfied with being married, or not, and endeavor to advise him. That’s about it plot-wise. There’s plenty of humor in this simplistic expose of New York couplings with Sondheim’s music and lyrics and the book by George Furth.
Co-directors Erin Gentry and Adam Maggio cast twenty-six multi-talented teens and split them into two alternating casts. The cast I saw channeled married couples and mid-thirties characters with authenticity and ease, despite their youth. A reviewing colleague posted the opinion that the alternate cast is just as impressive.
The casting is spot-on perfect, each character authentic to his or her character. These young actors are not inexperienced. Many have been singing and acting since childhood. They master the stage, perfectly matching mannerisms to their mature roles.
And their voices! The singing is over the top, filling the high-ceilinged and ornate theatre. The cast delivers a powerful chorus, winning the challenge of Sondheim’s complex songs. Morgan Hunt, one actor who was not double-cast, returns to the Throckmorton with his superb baritone voice. The fast-paced lyrics of “Another Hundred People” fired out by Tallula Rice and the amusing staccato lyrics of “Getting Married Today” sung by Claire Allen are marvelous. Act II showcases “The Ladies Who Lunch” sung by Helen Kay and “Being Alive” sung by Finn Davis. Both brought down the house.
Live music by Daniel Savio’s seven-piece band with bass, brass, and everything in between keeps the house rockin’. This Company is one high-octane production.
The choreography (by Erin Gentry) is tight and flowing, with precision moves that rival a Broadway production. When the actors morph into a kickin’ dance line, the audience breaks into spontaneous applause. And what a surprise…even the final curtain bows are danced!
Playing now through March 22 at the Throckmorton Theatre, 142 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley.
Click HERE for more information and tickets.
Photos by Michael Pringle
Cari Lynn Pace is a long-time Bay Area theatre critic whose reviews were regularly featured in the Marinscope Community Newspapers.
North Bay Stage and Screen 