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| Jarrad West (centre) and the cast of Company |
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
Directed by
Jordan Best.
Musical
Direction by Tim Hansen.
Choreographed
by James Batchelor.
Presented by
Every Man Theatre
The Q –The Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre
until 24th October.
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens
Although premiered
in 1970, Stephen Sondheim’s angst-ridden, forensic examination of marriage and
relationships still offers much to intrigue contemporary audiences and
challenge the actors performing this work. His music is demanding while his
lyrics require perfect articulation and phrasing.
Everyman
Theatre has picked up the challenge with their much anticipated new production of
“Company”, which opened in the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre last night. Working with a strong cast of many of Canberra’s
most experienced music theatre performers, director, Jordan Best has made many bold
directorial decisions with her production, not all of which succeed.
The
storyline revolves around the character of Bobby, played with panache by Jarrad
West. A group of his married friends, pre-occupied with the fact that Bobby
remains unmarried, host a surprise 35th Birthday party for him.
Through a series of revealing vignettes, the flaws in each of their marriages
are exposed, and despite their best efforts to encourage Bobby to take the
plunge, the musical ends with Bobby no nearer to making a decision.
None of the
characters in the musical are admirable, and the challenge for the director and
the actors is to make the audience care about them. By playing Bobby as a
pot-smoking, cocaine sniffing, voyeur, West has upped the ante for this
challenge. There is little indication that his character really cares for any
of his friends nor his three girl-friends. Indeed, despite much back-slapping and tacked-on,
over-animated smiles, there is very little evidence that his friends really
care for him.
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| "Ladies Who Lunch" - Karen Vickery (Joanne), Jarrad West (Bobby) |
Sondheim’s
carefully constructed songs work best with a “less is more” approach. Karen
Vickery understands this, so that her brilliantly judged performance of “The Ladies
Who Lunch” becomes a highlight. Similarly, Amy Dunham manages to bring
surprising warmth to the usually fatuous character of the air hostess, April,
for “Barcelona”.
Among other
highlights is the cleverly staged Karate demonstration by Sara and Harry, (Jordan
Best and Will Huang), and a scene in which Jenny and David (Helen McFarlane and
Max Gambale) experiment with pot.
Elsewhere, Vanessa De Jager’s interpretation of Marta as an unsuccessful busker, imposed a
subtext which distracted from the all-important lyrics of “Another Hundred
People”, and the manic “Not Getting Married”, usually presented as an inner
dialogue between Amy and the audience, loses much of its poignancy when shared
with the whole congregation, as Laura Dawson does in her interpretation.
Riley Best,
Phillipa Murphy, Jerry Hearn, and Tim Sekuless, as various of Bobby’s friend’s,
all contribute strong performances.
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| Jarrad West (Bobby) Amy Dunham (April) |
Choreographer,
James Batchelor has provided eye-catching movement for the ensemble scenes as
well as an arresting dance solo for Michelle Norris.
Michael
Sparks’ attractive setting of white hanging windows allows smooth scene
transitions, however the positioning of Tim Hansen’s excellent band directly
behind the action, in full view of the audience, too often provides unwelcome
visual distraction, especially when Kelly McGannon’s lighting design exposes
the vastness of the stage.
Stephen
Sondheim writes sophisticated musicals for adults, and Everyman Theatre’s
production is certainly that, so if you are thinking of taking the children, be
aware that the drug and sex scenes are uncommonly explicit.
Photos: Kelly McGannon
This review was published in full in the digital edition of CITY NEWS on 17.10.15. An edited version appears in the print edition published on 21.10.09