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Saturday, October 23, 2010

REVIEW: “COMPANY” @ MONTCLAIR OPERETTA CLUB

It’s hard to believe, but once upon a time—the 1950s, to be exact—one’s “life script” mandated early marriage, a family (two kids—a boy and a girl), a well-paying job and two cars in the garage. Then along came the sexual revolution (incited by the easy access to birth control) and the women’s movement, making sex without marriage safe and okay; so who had to get married?

In the 1970s, commitment phobia set in—afflicting mostly men—so much so that Stephen Sondheim and George Furth wrote a ground-breaking musical about it, Company, which the Montclair Operetta Club has selected as its Fall offering of the 2010-2011 season in honor of Sondheim’s eightieth birthday. The play is a first for this company, which usually mounts lavish productions with huge casts and elaborate costumes. With only 14 actors and a minimal, albeit terrific, set, director Bob Cline and musical director Judy Stanton have mounted an effort truly demonstrative MOC’s manifesto that this season be one of “growth.”

Company follows five married, once-married, or soon-to-be married couples and their mutual friend, Robert, a 35-year-old bachelor who has been unable to connect in a long-term relationship. The relationships are presented in a series of vignettes, primarily through Bobby's eyes, so that we see the less than ideal aspects of commitment. However, it is obvious to the audience that the committed are happy. Eventually, Bobby learns that while relationships aren't perfect, they are a necessary part of “Being Alive.”

Because Stephen Sondheim’s musicals are notoriously difficult—with his irregular tempos and melodies and literate lyrics that actually say something—they need truly talented singer/actors to tackle the difficult material and are not often mounted by community theater companies. But precisely because his plays are so interesting, Sondheim aficionados often will go anywhere to see one produced, even by amateurs.
Not that the cast assembled by Cline and Stanton are amateurs. John Zisa does a more than credible job as Bobby (or Robert, Bobby, Bobby-baby, as his friends call him). He has the good looks and the voice—after all, he was a 2005 semifinalist on American Idol--but his acting could use some work so that he appears to be speaking his lines, instead of reading them. At least that’s the case until the show’s final anthem, “Being Alive,” which I must say he delivered in a very believable, very affecting way. He really acted the words, instead of just singing them! Too, I am not sure how old Zisa really is, but he looked a bit young for 35 and didn’t quite project the world-weariness so necessary to the character.

On the plus side, Danielle Pennisi as Jenny sings a soaring accompaniment to Janine Miscia’s rapid-fire delivery of the hilarious “(I’m Not) Getting Married” as her groom Paul, played by Mikey LoBalsamo, looks on, completely dismayed. Miscia had some trouble with her wedding dress on opening night, which she turned into a comic tour de force, so that the costume became a separate character! Jacqueline Taylor, Lindsey Nazelli and Vanessa Robinson warble a very tuneful “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” and Robinson really shines in her delivery of “Another Hundred People,” lamenting the loneliness in “the city of strangers” that is New York. Barbi McGuire, as the older wife Joanne, conveys the dry, mordant wit of “The Ladies Who Lunch,” sung on Broadway by the great Elaine Stritch.

The rest of the cast--Chris Mortenson as Sarah’s long-suffering husband Harry; Johnny Weissgerber as Susan’s soon-to-be ex-husband Peter; John Barbetta, Joanne’s hubby, and Matthew Kougasian as Jenny’s husband--more than hold up their end of the production. Director Cline keeps the cast moving fluidly around the multi-level stage depicting the New York skyline, and six musicians provide excellent and appropriate (and not too loud) accompaniment. My only quibble with production is Nicholas J. Marmo’s lighting; at times, it appeared to be misdirected so that some scenes were performed in the dark (the karate “fight” between Sarah and Harry, for instance). Fortunately, the actors were miked, so that if they had their backs to the audience—which makes for a more realistic, as opposed to staged, performance—they could still be heard, albeit not in an ear-splitting way.

Company was the first non-linear, “concept,” musical, very different from Oklahoma and West Side Story, but it contains many songs that have gone on to become staples of such performers as Bernadette Peters and Barbara Cook. It’s a challenging show to perform and produce, and selecting actors whose talent and age are appropriate is key to a successful production. Montclair Operetta Club has, for the most part, succeeded in both areas. Their production of Company is a fine introduction to Stephen Sondheim’s work. Hopefully, it will whet one’s appetite for more. In fact, their Spring production, Gypsy, features Sondheim’s lyrics.

Company will be performed for just two weekends, this one and the next, through October 30. Performances are at the Westminster Arts Center, Franklin Avenue, Bloomfield, on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 PM and Sunday, October 24, at 2 PM. To reserve tickets and information, call the box office at 973.744.3133.  Please leave a message with the following information:
  • Your name
  • Your telephone number
  • The number of tickets you need
  • The date of the performance you wish to attend
Or you can order online at http://www.boxofficetickets.com/mocmusicals. Because of the cost of the online transactions, tickets and subscriptions are marginally more expensive online.