April 10, 2024 by Ife Oshun
Company hinges on the idea that, for a single person, hitting the age of 35 is a legitimate trigger for existential angst-filled fever dreams and musings on marriage.
Wait, freaking out about turning 35. Is that still a thing?
Well, it was a thing in the 70s when this Stephen Sondheim musical premiered. The concept musical’s bed-hopping playboy, Bobby, has just turned said age and, as a result, nosedives into a rabbit hole of self doubt and self reflection. The eternal bachelor is then surrounded by his best friends, all married couples and his three girlfriends. A flurry of disconnected, slightly absurdist vignettes then ensues as his social circle present various, sometimes existential, aspects of the institution of marriage and question why Bobby isn’t married yet. The dated theme got a facelift in 2021 with a gender swap and now, in the Citizen’s Opera House production featuring Marianne Elliott’s red hot direction, the main character, Bobbie (portrayed by the luminous Britney Coleman), is a single cis woman.
The challenge is not just the lack of a conventional storyline, but also the apocalyptic view of turning 35. As if the world has ended and now, before death, one must face the final frontier–marriage. It’s an archaic notion which doesn’t quite fly, and may not resonate with audience members who are unfamiliar with the history of the play. The other challenge is the gender-swapped character’s believability. How does a person who identifies as female singing lyrics that were originally written for a cis male character connect with a modern audience that is used to hearing female voices and perspectives free of the male gaze? Like, wouldn’t a single, successful, 35 year-old woman focus less on being married and, perhaps, more on the real elephant in the room–the ticking biological clock? After all, according to some recent statistics, more than 50% of American first marriages end in divorce while more women (married or not) are starting families later. 21st century gaps like these may have been the reason why the entire row I sat in emptied out as people left before intermission.
But despite the misses, there’s still plenty to enjoy. Technically perfect singing emits from the energetic, funny ensemble who manage to make the lyrically dense, incredibly hard-to-sing songs sound as smooth as honey. Nowhere is this more apparent than with the tongue twisting song “Getting Married Today” brilliantly delivered by a hyper-nervous Jamie (another gender-swapped character played by out actor Matt Rodin) as he considers his upcoming nuptials and marrying the man he loves. Tight, fresh acting peppered by Liam Steel’s scintillating choreography fills the gorgeous, yet spare boxes that comprise the set. So forget about context and linear plots. Seriously. Just sit back and lose yourself in classic tunes like “Being Alive,” “Company” and “The Ladies Who Lunch” and accept the fact that even Sondheim’s not-so-best is still pretty damn amazing.
