Review: ‘Company’ comes to life in second act

Company

Theatre Hawke’s Bay

Directed by Anthony Collier

Runs until July 8 at the Playhouse Theatre, Hastings

Tickets through iticket

Reviewed by Alan Powdrell

REVIEW:

Company, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, from the book by George Furth, won the Tony award for best musical in 1971 and was a breakthrough in both their careers. It is challenging musically and a brave choice for any amateur company to tackle.

Thursday night’s performance for an almost-capacity guest audience reflected these challenges: complex musicality and a show without recognisable songs that help to engage the audience.

The show traces the struggles of a New York man-about-town, Robert, played by Will Towler, and his relationships with his married friends, who are witness to his attempts to come to terms with his bachelor existence. The success of the show depends on us identifying with his predicament. If we are able to stay detached, to be indifferent to his agonising over his marital future, the show falters. The audience is unable to identify with him and connect emotionally.

Unfortunately, technical weaknesses made this engagement harder to achieve for cast and audience. Lighting was patchy at the start, the follow spot was inaccurate and cueing sometimes slow. The smaller roles in the ensemble scenes were too tentative. More significantly, the imbalance between music and voices made audibility often frustratingly difficult.

However, these deficiencies were clearly addressed in the second act. There was more energy, emotional intensity and problems with clarity of dialogue and the vocals almost completely disappeared. Act two also came to life musically with strong delivery of numbers like Side by Side by Side/What Would We Do Without You, Ladies Who Lunch and Being Alive. There was a noticeable buzz in the audience as they left that was not there at the interval.

The cast all contributed with commitment, in Act Two especially. Amberley Gibson as Amy was all intensity and emotion in Getting Married Today, well supported by Matthew Pipe as Paul. Kelly Reid was consistently high energy as Sarah and John Graham gave her full support as Harry. Karen Green was a standout vocally and in the strength of her characterisation as the tough-minded Joanne. Brooke Behague also impressed in her first role for Theatre Hawke’s Bay.

The show, though, is all about Robert. Will Towler played this role with considerable physicality and skill. However, he did not begin to own the stage until Act Two. His greater emotional intensity brought out the projection and clarity that the role needed and the increased audience engagement was clearly evident.

The show deserves a good season. It is colourful, tuneful and funny. The growing confidence and greater energy that a cast can bring to a musical, especially, can be transformational. I believe the cast of Company has the potential to rise to this challenge.