Music and lyrics by: Stephen Sondheim. At: Writer's Theatre, 325 Tudor Ct., Glencoe. Tickets: 847-242-6000; Writerstheatre.org; $70-80. Runs through: July. 31
Company is the famous musical ( music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim ) about a man named Bobby having crises on love and commitment reviewing the marriages and lives of his married friends. This is a very fine production in Writer's Theatre's gorgeous new space.
Thom Miller ( Bobby ) is perfect casting for this role. He's charming and attractive but you can see his friends are not even scratching the surface of his inner turmoil. His first act closer, "Marry Me A Little," is very moving. On the night I was there he also was the perfect "host," cleaning up after his fellow cast members spilled drinks or threw an errant tie on the floor. Other notable performances are Allison Hendrix, as Amy, who sings one of the hardest songs written for musical theater ( "Getting Married Today" ) and makes it her own. Her Amy isn't as ditzy as other portrayals but very real. Christina Mild knocks "Another Hundred People" out of the park! Alexis J. Rogers, as Sarah, is very funny and it's nice to see, after all this time, that Robert has gotten some more diverse friends.
Lia Mortensen portrays one of the most famous roles in this show: Robert's friend Joanne, the acerbic "older" woman Joanne. There are times she gets lost in the choral numbers and you lose a joke. No one heard "Tall? She's tall enough to be your mother, Goliath" so it didn't even get a chuckle. This Joanne is more of the MILF varietyall blonde hair and leather pants. She reminds you less of Stritch and more of Stifler's mom. When her big scene comes, she certainly gets the pathos, sadness and desperation of Joanne. Her "Ladies Who Lunch" cry for help really resonates. Patrick Sarb, as Larry, in this scene matches her emotion but one wishes he would project more acting and singing.
The choral singing of the cast together is wonderful. The guys singing "Sorry Grateful" are moving and the girls singing "Poor Baby" sound perfect. The whole cast's production number "Side by Side" was very exciting/disturbing.
The set is stunning to look at, a tilted window looking down a skyscraper like you are about to fall. As I watched the show, I wondered if it was really fitting. Robert is having a crisis on relationships but he's not suicidal. Overall, it's a great production of Company in a grand new theater that retains the intimacy of the old while highlighting the new ( much like this production ).