Croswell Opera House brings Stephen Sondheim's 'Company' to stage this weekend

ADRIAN — Think of Stephen Sondheim musicals, and ones like “Into the Woods” and “Sweeney Todd” likely come to mind before “Company” does. And to Meghan C. Hakes, who directs and choreographs the Croswell Opera House’s upcoming production of the latter, the show really should be much more widely known than it is.

“I personally think it’s a beautiful piece, and every time I watch it I fall in love with a new piece of it,” she said.

“Company” opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 20, and runs for one weekend only. Additional performances are at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 21, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 22.

Tickets range from $20 to $40 for adults and $15 to $25 for students and may be ordered by calling 517-264-7469 or online at croswell.org.

The show, which was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and is currently in revival on Broadway, debuted in 1970. It was groundbreaking in its time for being one of the first book musicals to deal with issues such as dating, marriage and divorce.

“It’s one of the first musicals that went inside people’s homes, and so I think that’s why it’s such an important piece,” Hakes said.

Told in essentially a series of short stories, the plot revolves around the lives of five couples as seen through the eyes of their friend Bobby (played by Sam Ramirez of Wyandotte), who’s perpetually single and turning 35. The show begins with Bobby preparing for his birthday and moves into a number of vignettes featuring him either on a date or visiting one of the couples with whom he’s friends.

Those couples are Amy and Paul, played by Leah Fox of Ypsilanti and Henry Seifried of Toledo; Sarah and Harry (Julia Hoffert of Ann Arbor and Joe Dennehy of Toledo); Jenny and David (Allyson Szymanski of Adrian and Joel Twitchell of Toledo); Susan and Peter (Angela Hench of Ypsilanti and Matthew Johnston of Maumee, Ohio); and Joanne and Larry (Maya Gangadharan of Adrian and Stephen Kiersey of Brownstown Township).

April, Kathy and Marta, three women whom Bobby dates over the course of the show, are played by Lauren Goyer of Northville and Aiyanna Fivecoat and Sydney Bramlett, both of Adrian.

Sabriyah Davis is the assistant director and choreographer, while Adam Miller is the music director.

While several members of the “Company” cast, like Ramirez, are making their Croswell debuts, some including Dennehy, Fox, and Kiersey have been part and parcel of shows there for years and other cast members fall somewhere in between when it comes to being on the Croswell’s stage.

Hakes, for her part, is making her return to the historic theater after many years away. The Manchester native was a “Croswell kid” in the late 1980s and early 1990s, learning her craft from the theater’s legendary artistic director, Robert Soller.

“I spent hours and hours onstage,” she said. Soller taught her how to do everything involved with a production from performing to hanging lights “and sent me on my theatrical journey.”

Hakes went on to earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts and master’s degrees and has been involved with theaters across the country. She credits Soller with giving her the fundamentals she needed to be well prepared for not only her college work but for her career as well.

“I always wanted to come back and give back to the Croswell,” she said, and so when she moved relatively nearby — Pittsburgh, “only a five-hour drive” — she contacted Jere Righter, who’s now the artistic director. Although the pandemic put things on hold for a while, finally the chance to direct “Company” came her way.

While the show itself may not be as well-known as some of Sondheim’s other musicals, it features songs that people will know even if they’ve never seen “Company,” such as “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “Side by Side by Side,” and “Being Alive.” That’s because the tunes appear in places like cabaret shows or other sorts of concert performances and are staples for budding musical theater performers to learn.

“The songs are so meaty and so rooted,” Hakes said, because they’re driven by what the characters are experiencing or emotions they’re trying to express instead of being just dropped into places where a song seems to be needed, as is sometimes the case in musicals.

At the time the show was written, there was a different culture clash than there is today about staying single versus getting married — and if one IS getting married, to whom. These days, audiences relate to the show in completely different ways than in 1970.

“It was written for a boomer audience,” Hakes said, “and now there are a lot of other generations who’ll see the show who have different ideas about the societal pressures to get married.”

And to her, the show has a completely different sort of appeal than Sondheim’s much larger works.

“For people who’ve seen his big, huge shows, this one is more intimate and more relatable,” she said. “Everyone who’s adult-ish age will find something to relate to.”

If you go 

WHAT: “Company” 

WHERE: Croswell Opera House, 129 E. Maumee St., Adrian 

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 20, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 21, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 22 

TICKETS: $20 to $40 for adults, $15 to $25 for students 

HOW TO ORDER: By calling 517-264-7469 or online at croswell.org 

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Croswell brings Sondheim's 'Company' to stage this weekend