Review: COMPANY at Revolution Stage Company

It’s all a big conundrum, isn’t it? Life in general, of course, but specifically, the idea as to whether or not someone will be happier single, or married. And in the musical COMPANY, Bobby’s friends, who are all married to each other, have decided that at the age of 35, Bobby’s getting a bit too long in the tooth to not have a wife. 

What propels the story forward is Bobby observing his friends’ marriages, his dating relationships with three very different women, and how all of his friends’ wives have the qualities he’s looking for in one woman. 

This is Sondheim, so right away you know you’re in for a ride, just what kind of ride is going to be determined by how well the cast can deliver his tricky lyrics, difficult melodies, and weaving rhythms. My personal opinion is that Sondheim is a musical sadist, but he’s rarely boring. And never not wordy. All of the notes and intonations need to be crisp and clear, specifically the big numbers with the entire cast; if just one of them messes up lyrically or rhythmically, the entire effect is lost. Thirteen cast members are Bobby’s Greek Chorus, with Bobby rounding that up to 14 people on stage at one time. You need a lot of stage for those big numbers. Sondheim’s COMPANY is a beast to pull off.

That all plays into Revolution’s terrific but imperfect production of Company. Although Director Jeffrey Lesser does an admirable job staging, site lines are still obscured due its smaller width, but the actors manage to keep it all flowing in Nathan Wilson’s tight choreography, weaving in and out of each other at very close range without a mishap.

Big solo performances carry the night, and those shoulders are almost strong enough to overlook the flaws in a very good, but imperfect production. 

Where it falls short is that Greek chorus and those big numbers. All it takes is one cast member to flub a lyric or their notes, and it brings down the whole number. However, the stuff that works, really works. And once again, the ladies take the night.

Barbara Kerr’s Joann is spot on as the wealthy but never satisfied woman who’s been married multiple times, but has never found true happiness. Her cynicism is humorous, and at the same time quite ugly when she’s plowed. It's a remarkable performance by Kerr.

Heather Joy as Amy steals the night with her rendition of “Getting Married Today” - all excitable energy, but not in the way you might think. She held the audience in the palm of her hand, and took us with her through all the frenzied feelings one might have on their wedding day complete with an ethereal hymn sung by Christina Harrell (Jenny) punctuating the madness. Absolutely delightful. 

Sonia Reavis never disappoints. Her Sarah is not only starving for food, she’s starving for a supportive partner. Instead she and husband Harry are watchdogs for each others vices, culminating in a “play” self-defense moment trying to one-up the other. It is during this scene that Kerr steps out and delivers the amusing “It’s the Little Things.”

Nicole Kennedy plays the ditzy April, the air-headed flight attendant with nothing on her mind except where she is flying next, and is the last remaining of Bobby’s girlfriends. Wonderful portrayal. 

The other once potential paramours, Kathy (Imani J. DeLeon) and Marta (Vanessa L Smith) have fallen away - Kathy, who Bobby says he considered marrying, has fallen in love and is moving; and Marta, is just too much for Bobby because she’s all about the grit of living life to its fullest. Smith does a good job with the very difficult “Another Hundred People” which oddly is not in the playbill. It’s an exhausting song, requiring great breath control, and Sondheim actually captured the feeling of rush hour on the metro, and the voluminous number of people coming into New York every day.

Alone, the girlfriends do a good job with their characters, but when it was time for their big Andrews Sisters number together, it was, unfortunately...messy. Maybe it was opening night jitters for one of them, but it was a disappointment.

As for the guys, the musical is about Bobby’s relationship with himself and with women, aka why is he so reluctant to marry? Interestingly the topic of love never seems to come up. Just their take on marriage acting pretty much as the voices in Bobby’s head. 

Let’s talk about Bobby. I’ve always enjoyed James Owens’ performances in the past. But his Bobby is morose, teetering on cynical - he’s about to become Joann if he doesn’t do something about it. Quite honestly, I couldn’t quite figure out why his friends like him. Owen’s Bobby is just an observer in their lives, sleepwalking through his own. And the more his friends push for him to find a mate, the broodier he gets, consistently self sabotaging any chance at a relationship. And because of that his manipulation of April makes him even more unlikeable. We’ve already got Joann to carry the cynicism, would it not be better if he was delightfully confused about his life? Just happy-go-luckying it waiting for the right girl in the right moment to present herself? Or is it as Joann infers, that her world is his other option - a self loathing, and unhappy existence?

My confusion about Owens led me to discovery: Owens stepped in for another actor whose bread and butter gig took him to another country. I don’t know how short the notice was, but having seen the professionalism and joy Owens has always brought to the stage in the past, I’m going to guess it was fairly short. And as far as I could tell, he did not miss a cue, a word, nor a note. If this is the case, then I would expect future performances to light up more now that he knows he’s got it down.

Speaking of lights, Mariah Pryor lit the musical numbers beautifully, and help define Miguel Lauro's set . And Joy’s turn in Amy’s “Getting Married Today” was bright on all counts despite its underlying panic.

For the first time, the sound didn’t feel well balanced, the tracks were a little too loud, and there were a few static issues. McGuire is all pro and those have likely been fixed as well.

This is my first time seeing Company. I have, of course, heard some of the songs before, I don’t live in a cocoon, but I didn’t really know much about it, so maybe I’m off base with the characterizations, but compared to other productions I have seen here, there was a great deal less joy on the stage. Maybe it was opening night jitters, I don’t know.  

Revolution has consistently said that their mission was to elevate theatre in the valley. They did that with their terrific productions of Avenue Q, followed by Putnam County Spelling Bee, and the lesser lauded but still good A Dickens Christmas Carol with its playful take on an old tale. This season Little Shop of Horrors was also a standout production. 

Company falls a little short of those. But given its circumstances I’ll give it grace. Plus, many of those performances are A+ but in its entirety, it doesn’t rise to the standards the company set for itself. Q, Putnam, and Little Shop were all directed by Owens, and his deft hand at directing seems to be the company’s secret sauce. Not to say Lesser failed, it’s just a little short on charisma.

Is it worth seeing? Absolutely. There are some really Great Performances. But at the end of the day, I still don’t know who Bobby is, why his friends love him so much, nor his or our takeaway from his journey. Results may differ, but one thing is for sure: you are going to walk out remembering those standout performances. Without a doubt.

Production:

Gary Powers and James Owens, Producers

Jeffrey Lesser, Director

Stephen Hulsey: Musical Director

Gus Sanchez: Stage Manager

Props: Tessa Walker

Choreography: Nathan Wilson

Design:

Miguel Lauro: Set design and construction

Mariah Pryor: Lighting/Projections 

Kelly McGuire: Sound

Kelly Newhouse: Costumes

Cast:

Bobby: James Owens

Joanne: Barbara Kerr

Harry: Jason Ayestas

Sarah: Sonia Reavis

Peter: Luis Salcido IV

Susan: Joyanne Tracy

Jenny: Christina Harrell

David: Jason Mannino

Amy: Heather Joy

Paul: Samuel Moffatt

Larry: Grant Wheaton

Marta: Vanessa L. Smith

April: Nicole Kennedy

Kathy: Imani J. DeLeon

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