Excellent "Company" at Ashland Productions

Bobby is the kind of guy who always imagined he would get married someday, but as he turns 35 he realizes he’s reached “someday” with no marriage or even a serious relationship, even though he’s surrounded by married friends. This is the premise of Company, and as the show progresses we watch Bobby try to make sense of what marriage is about and what’s held him back from getting married himself.

An interesting aspect of Company is that the scenes don’t go in chronological order. The show starts and ends with two different versions of Bobby’s birthday party, and in between are vignettes of Bobby interacting with his married friends and women that he’s dated. In act one, Bobby tries to make sense of his friends’ relationships, but he doesn’t really understand what makes their marriages work. In act two, we see that Bobby’s friends rely on him for validation and vicarious freedom – in some ways, they’re a part of his single status. Meanwhile, Bobby is trying with one girlfriend after another to find the right relationship for himself.

Ashland Productions is perhaps the busiest community theater company in the area; next season they’re producing a staggering nine musicals (including their children’s shows). The best thing about a season that big is that there’s room for a smaller show like Company, which is more common on the professional theater stage. Having been to multiple Ashland shows, I was very happy to see a live band as part of Company. Ashland typically uses pre-recorded music, which often works just fine; in this case, live music really enhanced the experience.

Director Kyle Weiler gave this production a strong voice that came through in the way that all of the elements felt developed under one vision. The design elements, the music, and the performances all were tuned into each other. From Weiler’s staging, I particularly liked the moments that physically showed Bobby’s disconnect from his friends, and the scene where Bobby imagined his ideal partner, obliviously objectifying his female friends in the process. Weiler also choreographed, including a frenetic and entertaining chase scene that lead to a chair kick line in “Side by Side by Side.” I also really enjoyed the clever, fast-paced cane number for “You Could Drive a Person Crazy.” I assume that Weiler also choreographed the karate fight scene, which was punctuated by satisfyingly involved stalemate poses. Under musical director Jack Johnston, the cast was expressive and precise in meeting the requirements of Sondheim’s demanding score. The group numbers were balanced and strong no matter how fast the choreography.

Collin Kreiger’s set design was largely white (with black accents), with a brickwork texture that complemented the brick wall behind the stage. The set focused on a set of doors that were moved around to create spaces of different sizes and shapes. The doors allowed for some fun, unexpected constructions, as in “Side by Side by Side.” Costume designer Meghan Kent also dressed the cast in black and white, in varied styles for the tone of the different characters. The limited color palette seemed to reflect Bobby’s limited worldview, with the final moments of the show indicating that Bobby can, after all, change. Jake Berg’s dynamic lighting design filled in the color and set the tone with washes of reds, blues, and ombres. The exit signs that flashed or faded in and out with the music were a nice dramatic touch. The sound design from Born Into Royalty included some interesting transitional city-scape sound effects. The microphones had no problems and the balance of the voices and the band was excellent throughout.

Bobby is an unusual musical protagonist. He spends most of the play just listening to other people, he doesn’t really know what he wants, and he doesn’t share much of himself to either his girlfriends or the audience. Joey Brueske’s most powerful scenes in this role were the rare tender moments when Bobby opened up, as in “Marry Me a Little” and the emotional “Being Alive.” Bobby’s sometimes a hard guy to like, and Brueske gave the difficult moments the honesty they needed, while also bringing charisma and charm to songs like “Side by Side by Side.”

Bobby’s married friends are often a single force throughout the show, but each couple has something to teach him about what marriage can be. Sarah (Maddie Napolski) and Harry (Luke Zaccaro) are antagonistic and feed off of competition with each other. Susan (Annie Tillotson) and Peter (Brian Donnelly) are assertively friendly to Bobby and turned on by each other – the more so when they get divorced. Jenny (Courtney Mae Klein) and David (Carter Bannwarth) are very different people, but they’re willing to meet each other where they are. We see Amy (Mara Currens) and Paul (Tony Peterson) on their wedding day, where their love eventually proves stronger than Amy’s fear of marriage. Finally, there’s cynical Joanne (Ro Tripi) and patient Larry (Aaron Rollof).

Across the board, these actors gave strong performances that brought out the complexity of the characters’ relationships. “Getting Married Today” was one of the best comedic scenes of the show; this song is always an audience favorite, and Currens put a lot of character into the challenging, fast-paced song. Her interaction with the confrontationally cheerful Tillotson (a very competent soprano) was particularly funny. “Poor Baby” was another number that stuck with me. It’s the moment when we realize Bobby’s female friends are a part of the problem; they push him to hold too high of standards because they don’t completely want him to get married. It’s a little twisted, and it was sung beautifully by the women of the cast. The men on the other hand very nicely brought out the complex emotions in “Sorry – Grateful.” Finally, I have to mention Tripi’s excellent rendition of “Ladies Who Lunch.” The mix of power and control that she brought to the song was impressive, all steeped in a jaded bitterness that made the song compelling and difficult to watch at the same time.

Three women played Bobby’s various girlfriends. As Kathy, Sarah Shervey was down-to-earth, gentle but realistic. Lauren Manna played the edgier (than Bobby) Marta, and I enjoyed the way that her rendition of "Another Hundred People” had a really hopeful tone; the character is interested in people and the city because she sees so many possibilities around her. Katie Marie Miller was an audience favorite as the eager but boring April. Miller had a nice vibrato and a good comedic rhythm. The three actresses were spot-on in "You Could Drive a Person Crazy," nailing every detail of the precise vocals and the jazzy choreography.

I'm always happy to go see a Sondheim show performed by talented singers and actors, and even more so when the design elements are strong. Ashland Productions put on a great show in Company; it was funny, challenging, entertaining, and hopeful. I look forward to seeing more shows like this in future seasons (and if you need suggestions, Ashland, check out my community theater wishlist under January 2022 in the blog archives...).