Photo by Jodie Hutchinson.
Watch This are a local theatre company dedicated to presenting intimate productions of the works of music theatre legend Stephen Sondheim. They have previously produced Assassins (2013) and Pacific Overtures (2014) to great acclaim. These productions have gone on to tour regional Victoria and garner Green Room Award nominations along the way. This year they have chosen the groundbreaking concept musical Company, but it seems that Watch This has taken a misstep this time around.
Company opened on Broadway in 1970 and immediately made an indelible mark on the music theatre landscape. The ‘story’ revolves around perpetual bachelor Bobby (Nick Simpson-Deeks) as he celebrates his thirty-fifth birthday with his group of married friends. The show unfolds as a series of vignettes exploring marriage, relationships and commitment issues. By eschewing the clear chronological narrative of traditional musicals and presenting adult characters wrestling with contemporary issues composer Sondheim, book writer George Furth and director Hal Prince created a truly revolutionary piece of theatre.
This production of Company feels oddly flat and far from revolutionary. After a promising opening number and first scene, featuring squabbling couple Harry (John O’Hara in fine voice) and Sarah (a side-splitting Nicole Melloy), the remainder of the performance seems to coast through in a neutral gear; this Company never takes off like it should.
The staging by director Kat Henry is rather pedestrian. There are some affective moments, such as the use of silhouettes against the windows of the performance space throughout the show, but overall the presentation of the songs in particular is rather safe.
This production bursts into life whenever Michael Ralph’s choreography is featured. Classic numbers such as ‘You Could Drive a Person Crazy’ and ‘Side By Side’ are given a refreshingly quirky makeover by this talented young choreographer, and his work is one of the highlights of this production.
The set design by Eugyeene Teh features an enormous peculiar large blue circle that hangs from the roof. Is it meant to represent the moon or maybe a giant pendulum? I couldn’t figure it out and found myself distracted by it several times throughout the show. Zoe Rouse has decked the cast out in costumes that cleverly amalgamate classic 70’s designs with more contemporary looks and it works wonderfully. The colour scheme of the costumes also perfectly reflects the timber and turquoise palette of Teh’s designs.
Musical director Lucy O’Brien leads her six-piece band through the score of Company with a focus on creating a natural acoustic sound. Her grand piano features heavily and while the inclusion of live flutes and reeds should be commended they do tend to overwhelm the overall sound mix causing several lines of dialogue and song to be lost.
There are some terrific performances in Company. Gillian Cosgriff and Nelson Gardner are adorable as the happily divorced Susan and Peter; Johanna Allen is hilarious as self-confessed ‘square’ Jenny (she also gets to show off her gorgeous operatic singing voice); Carina Waye displays perfect comic timing as Bobby’s dimwitted flight attendant girlfriend April and Sally Bourne infuses her Joanne with the perfect amount of drollness and venom.
The role of Bobby can be problematic because he spends a lot of the show observing events from afar, changing his mind about marriage and treating his girlfriends rather poorly. Simpson-Deeks’ portrayal mostly avoids these character pitfalls; his Bobby is charismatic, thoughtful and he sings the role with confidence. His performance of final showstopper ‘Being Alive’ doesn’t quite stop the show, but his performance should develop as he settles into the run.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong with Watch This’ Company, but as it stands I left the theatre rather puzzled and slightly disappointed. Just like Bobby in the show this production never quite manages to blow all the birthday candles out.
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5.
Company
Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth
Presented by Watch This
Directed by Kat Henry
Music Director: Lucy O’Brien
Choreographer: Michael Ralph
Set Design: Eugyeene Teh
Costume Design: Zoë Rouse
Lighting Design: Rob Sowinski.
Starring Johanna Allen, Bianca Baykara, Sally Bourne, Gillian Cosgriff, Nathan Carter, Mark Dickinson, Nelson Gardner, Madeleine Mackenzie, Nicole Melloy, John O’Hara, Tim Paige, Sonya Suares, Carina Waye and Nick Simpson-Deeks as Robert
fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne
17 September – 4 October
