Friday November 10, 2006 SGN.org |
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Volume 34 Issue 45 |
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Friday, Sep 05, 2008
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70's Sondheim musical, Company still has zing with a new audience |
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| 70's Sondheim musical, Company still has zing with a new audience | ||
| by Rajkhet Dizhud-Rashid -
SGN A&E Writer Company Directed by David Armstrong Starring: Hugh Panaro, Kendra Kessebaum, Anne Allgood, Bobbi Kotula Susannah Mars, Daniel C. Levine, David Drummond, David Quicksall Timothy McCuen Piggee, Lisa Estridge, Anna Lauris, Billie Wildrick Laurence Ballard and Shelly Burch 5th Avenue Theatre October 17-November 5th With the great focus on Gay marriage equality, one would wonder, can a play where marriage -- straight marriage -- and the whole virtue of marriage period is questioned, be of interest and then I'd have to say, considering my own views on traditional marriage for anyone, why not. Yep, why the hell not tweak the whole institution and turn it on its ancient ear, and that's just what the 1971 Tony award winning musical, 'Company' does. And then some, but with humor, and just a bit of a tongue-in-cheek romantic side that everyone loved when it opened at the 5th Avenue Theatre last month. The main character (at least the one who all the fuss is over, because he's not married) is Robert, an urban everyman, who is the 'company' for all of his married friends. All of them want to see him married to someone they approve of, though the choices Robert has already made -- a stewardess (Billie Wildrick), what appears to be a department store clerk (Anna Lauris), and an urban party animal (Lisa Estridge), who happens to be Black -- please him just fine and he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to wed. However, he does want something of the joy he sees on the surface of his friends' relationships, even as he is much more clear-eyed about the negative aspects than they are. And it isn't that always the way, Gay or straight, that the single friends are an unspoken, unfinished bit of business to their wedded buds, someone who just needs the right push to get his or her life on track. I guess when it comes to relationships, the brass tacks are still the brass tacks, and it's never an easy road. But, the songs in this piece do make the hard stuff easier to look at, including actress Shelly Burch's (Joanne) powerful performance of 'Ladies Who Lunch' and the husbands' song about loving being married while regretting their loss of freedom and the darkly comic dance piece, 'Side by Side'. Heck, whether you're deep in relationship bliss, just considering it, or have no intention of ever giving up sowing the wild oats, this musical is a tasty bit of timely stuff. |
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