Review: Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY at the Manatee Players

"Knock Knock, is anybody there?" --Bobby's girlfriends in COMPANY

"So you're not really here?" --April to Bobby in COMPANY

"The story is about what happens inside Robert." --Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim is in a class by himself. I hold him in such reverence that, whenever I mention his name to my students in class, they have to applaud. He single-handedly changed the face of musical theatre, never more so than with his 1970 hit, COMPANY.

It is not hyperbole to suggest that COMPANY is one of the most important musicals of all time, a throne of influence that it shares with the likes of Oklahoma! and Cabaret. Audiences fifty years ago would venture into the theatre for some kind of escape, and suddenly, viewing COMPANY, be confronted with watching their own lives sprung to cynical life onstage, a virtual funhouse mirror on relationships and (chiefly) marriage. That both the book writer (George Furth) and the composer-lyricist (Sondheim) had not been married is beside the point; together they proved that you don't have to be married to be unblinkingly incisive about marriage. To quote George Bernard Shaw: "Although I cannot lay an egg, I am a very good judge of omelettes." (Is there a more acerbic, biting and vital look at marriage in the theatre world than Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, also written by someone who had not been married.) Besides, the central character in COMPANY, Robert, is a boyish 35-year-old who hangs out with his married pals; he's always on the outside of life, like a diabetic child looking in a candy store window, and spends the entire show dodging commitment and reacting to his married friends' foibles.

With COMPANY, Sondheim and Furth were able to capture the existential questions of the little things you do together in relationships. It boasts some of Sondheim's strongest songs--"The Ladies Who Lunch," "Getting Married Today," "Another Hundred People," "Someone Is Waiting," the title song, and "Being Alive," the latter being my choice for the #1 Sondheim song in my list for Broadway World of the 91 greatest Sondheim songs. Watching the Manatee Players current production of COMPANY, I couldn't get over the strength of that score, each song now a musical theatre staple. The songs of this single show are so unquestionably familiar, and so remarkably strong, that at times it felt like I was experiencing a greatest hits tribute to Mr. Sondheim's genius.

Robert, affectionately called "Bobby" by his married friends, is hand's down one of the most difficult, elusive parts to portray in musical theatre. He (or she in the recent Broadway revival) can be so reactive that we question if this person even exists. The other characters question it as well (please revisit the quotes that open this review). A bachelor seemingly for life, Robert runs away from marriage and yet remains unhappy in his confirmed singlehood. He's funny, always at-ease with his friends, coquettish, and feigns self-confidence, a self-confidence that conceals his true vulnerability. He keeps himself in a safe space of sorts, at least emotionally, and he's almost impossible to pin down (except literally, when he gets in the way of Harry and Sarah's excessively physical Karate exercises). I've seen several actors as Bobby, and if they're not careful, the part can recede so much into the background that you never realize that he's the leading man. He may be the dictionary definition of a "third wheel," but he must remain a viable, likable presence throughout the show. Reactive, yes; boring, never!

Cory Woomert, as Robert in the Manatee Players' current production of COMPANY, is that winning presence. There is a sort of sad boyishness about him, as he just wants a good time from his friends, yearning maybe for something deeper but afraid to grasp it. He's almost like a phantom, a blithe spirit, physically there but not really there. He's a 35-year-old who hasn't grown up, and maybe doesn't want to. Mr. Woomert captures all sides to the part beautifully--a character both shallow and complicated. He's flirty yet distant, coy yet natural, ribald yet staid. And his singing voice is out of the park in his three big numbers--the breathtaking "Being Alive," "Marry Me a Little," and perhaps my favorite song in the show (a true underrated Sondheim gem), "Someone Is Waiting."

Mr. Woomert dons a groovy red turtleneck, and at first I thought he was dressed like a cool cat Tom Jones, which would be appropriate for the time the show is set (late 1960s/early 1970s). But then I realized something far deeper: Mr. Woomert actually resembles a young Stephen Sondheim to a tee...right down to that type of turtleneck, the same color and style that the pre-beard Sondheim wore on a famous 1973 cover of Newsweek magazine. Is this a coincidence, or is it ingenious? Did director Rick Kerby and costumer Caren Brady actually do this on purpose? (If so, major kudos!)

My one qualm with Mr. Woomert is the amount of make-up he's wearing, which almost de-masculinizes the part of Robert. And when he dons a tux and top hat and sings the thrilling "Side by Side by Side" with his friends, he looks just the Emcee in Cabaret, not musical theatre's leading Ladies Man, the bed-hopping Robert. But when Mr. Woomert opens his mouth to sing, and the rafters shake and the goosebumps cover your flesh, then any qualms fade away. I've seen many productions of COMPANY over the years, and have even directed the show, but let me claim this here and now: Mr. Woomert gives one of the better performances of "Bobby bubi" I've ever had the pleasure to experience.

Most of the other cast members are just as strong. Shannon Wright is pitch-perfect as June--I mean April, the flight attendant who gets one of theatre's great monologues about a butterfly as well as one of Sondheim's cleverest duets, "Barcelona." I appreciate that Ms. Wright takes her time, squeezing out the humor in just a line that otherwise would be a throwaway in the hands of a lesser performer.

Jennifer Baker is hilarious as Amy, the panicked bride who gets the show-stopper to end all show-stoppers, "Getting Married Today," which caused the audience to applaud throughout it (they almost wound up giving it a standing ovation). As Paul, her groom-to-be, Michael Peacock holds his own with an outstanding singing voice. Michelle Anaya is also wonderful as the Southern belle on the verge of divorce, Susan, but she really gets to strut her operatic vocal chops as the choir soloist in the aforementioned "Getting Married Today."

As Susan's hubby, or soon-to-be-ex-hubby, Peter, tall, bespectacled Dan Yonko resembles Ed Begley, Jr. He's quite a force of nature, especially as his lanky figure surprisingly cartwheels across the stage in "Side by Side by Side/What Would We Do Without You."

Ellen Kleinschmidt gives amazing shade as the bitchy rich friend of Robert's, Joanne. She gets one of Sondheim's most iconic songs, "The Ladies Who Lunch," and sings it well if not somewhat muted, but good as it is, the song doesn't go to the next level. When Joanne holds up her Vodka Stinger, and yells "Rise!" I want it to be so galvanizing a moment that members of the audience rise in unison. The performer yelled "Rise!" here, but unfortunately no one stood. Still, Ms. Kleinschmidt is an incredible actress, with the best facial expressions anywhere (as seen in "The Little Things You Do Together" where she gleams a wicked smile). There was a moment in the show when her husband, Larry (a solid David Russell), says lovely things about his wife at a nightclub, and you see her reacting, near tears, a moment quite real and revealing. She proves that it doesn't have to be your line or your song to steal a scene; she does it here just by being completely, 100% in the moment.

As the foodie Sarah and alcohol-loving Harry, Rachel Marques and Mike Nolan are a hoot as their underlying verbal banter soon becomes hilariously physical. The scene soon leads to one of Sondheim's loveliest songs about the yin and yang of marriage, well-sung by Mr. Nolan: "Sorry-Grateful."

As uptight Jenny and weed-enthusiast David, Brittney Klepper and Matt Mello (great name) garner every laugh possible as they get stoned with Robert. Every time they inhabit the stage, our eyes gravitate to them, both actors incredibly strong and always in character.

The talented Sarah Yonko is a little more grounded than I'm used to as Marta, one of Robert's girlfriends, but she sings "Another Hundred People" brilliantly. A show-saving understudy, Amanda Lade, tackled the part of another of Bobby's gal pals, Kathy.

There are a few bumps in the road, but I've never seen a production of COMPANY without those bumps. Act 1 is always overlong, but there isn't anything you can really do about it (nothing can be excised). I'm just glad this production didn't include the Robert-April coital "Tick Tock," one of my least favorite Sondheim numbers that comes across like second-rate Burt Bacharach (RIP). Also, this version doesn't contain the eye-opening Peter-Robert dialogue that puts the underlying question of Robert's sexuality front and center.

The vocal work by this cast, led by musical director Emily Croome, is sensational with outstanding harmonies. The live orchestra is tops, led by conductor Ms. Croome with Christine Allen-Bruno on keyboards, Teri Booth and Ellen Saxton on reeds, and John Januszewski on percussion.

Caren Brady's costumes fit the time period perfectly without overdoing it (I've seen productions of COMPANY where it looks like a 1960s costume party); and if she's the one responsible for Robert's Sondheim-inspired red turtleneck, then I must bow down to greatness! Benjamin Woodard's lighting design works well enough, although occasionally the timing was way off when trying to spotlight certain couples as they sing (especially in the opening number); it's better to keep the couples in silhouette than to be marred with mis-timed lighting cues.

Director Rick Kerby, an obvious Sondheim enthusiast, has directed many Sondheim shows but this is his first stab at COMPANY. Wait, calling him a mere director is a mistake; he's more than that with this production. He's like a chess champion, moving actors the ways a grand master moves pawns, bishops and rooks. (The actors move the set pieces and furniture, where a sofa is simply turned around and--voila!--we're suddenly on a New York City terrace.) The production itself is marvelously staged, a glorious tour de force of moving set pieces, projections, and timing. There is even a Koyanisqattsi-like section where Marta sings "Another Hundred People" and images of New York City, projected on the flats, zoom by in fast motion. Thrilling stuff. Mr. Kerby is the Producing Artistic Director of the Manatee Players as well as the show's director, choreographer and set designer. He makes me wonder if there's anything he can't do.

You better hurry to Bradenton if you want to see this COMPANY, because it closes tomorrow (Sunday, March 12)!

It's still hard for me to fathom that Stephen Sondheim died over a year ago. It's a loss that we cannot even calculate. But whenever I see one of his shows, I realize that that is what is so special about the arts: Artists never really die. So keeping that thought in mind, thanks to Mr. Kerby and the wondrous cast and crew of COMPANY, Stephen Sondheim is alive and well at the Manatee Players!

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