Review: Zack Johnson's 'voice will steal your soul' in Eventide's 'Company' on Cape Cod
Eventide Theatre Company's production of Stephen Sondhein's "Company" is well cast with a talented ensemble. But the consistently good acting and interacting is a tribute to director Donna Wresinski's guidance.This season marks Eventide Theatre Company’s 25th anniversary, and its presentation of the multi-award-winning musical “Company, “ through May 21, is spot-on. The plot is like a multi-faceted gem. offering glimpses of commitment-phobic Bobby trying to decide why he can't move forward as he celebrates his 35th birthday.
Enjoy this knockout show, performed by a powerhouse ensemble cast.
Name of play: 'Company'
Written by:
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by George Furth; directed by Donna Wresinski; performed by Eventide Theatre Company.
What it’s about:
“Company” proceeds without a chronological plotline, as a series of quicksilver vignettes, continual retakes of Bobby’s birthday, as he sees, and re-sees, his own reluctance to commit to a marriage relationship. Each scene is viewed through the lens of visits with his married friends, who alternately berate and celebrate him for his single status, and waver between jealousy at his freedom and reproach that he hasn’t yet joined the marriage team. He’s repeatedly unable to blow out his birthday candles, a hint that he’s not yet ready to wish for a change.
See it or not?
You do not want to miss Zack Johnson’s star performance as the beleaguered Bobby, nailing that character’s “I’m-amiable-but-am-I-happy?” persona. He stands a bit apart, casting eloquent looks of doubt or astonishment at the way his married friends carry on. I swear, he’ll steal your soul with that voice. He performs the signature “Being Alive” in just the way you always knew it could be sung, and it makes you feel like you’re hearing it for the first time.
Highlights:
This is one of those productions (mark the seamless direction and choreography by director Wresinski) that’s so good you’re hard put to single out just one or two performances. Naming just a few of the hilarious or wistful moments: Lynne Johnson makes you laugh out loud in her scene as a stoned Jenny. The in-sync “girl group” of Marta, April and Kathy (Morgan Dexter, Sarah Bleything, Martha Paquin) perform the show-stealer “You Could Drive a Person Crazy” as a trio of Bobby’s current girlfriends. Later, Bleything shines in her role as not quite the brightest bulb in the room, while Dexter offers a smashing New York moment in “Another Hundred People.” As Joanne, Kathleen Larson Day is a sensation with a true Broadway rendition of “Ladies Who Lunch.”
Interesting fact:
The original 1970 production of “Company” was nominated for a record 14 Tonys, winning six — including Best Musical — in addition to a slew of Drama Desk and Theatre World awards.
Factors worth noting:
There are many, topped by the chic, urban set and silhouetted orchestra, swinging smoothly with keyboards, synth strings, percussion, bass and reeds, conducted by Pamela Wannie.
One more thing:
This mega-award winner sparkles with its clever, Sondheim-laden lyrics and New York sensibility, and in its telling depictions of the joys and burdens of married life, all mixed with a slightly melancholy take on being grown up yet still without commitment in the big city.
If you go: Performances of “Company” are 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday, through May 21, with two performances, at 2 and 7:30 p.m., on the last day; on the Gertrude Lawrence Stage at Dennis Union Church, 713 Main St., Dennis. $35. Box office: 508-233-2148; more information at www.eventidearts.org.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Review: Sondheim's 'Company' shines on Cape Cod at Eventide Theatre
