Good 'Company' in Farkas Hall

The best-known of Stephen Sondheim’s musicals are generally populated with bizarre and memorable characters; who could forget the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, lovers Maria and Tony in "West Side Story," or Sondheim’s tormented version of painter Georges Seurat in "Sunday in the Park with George"? But Sondheim’s "Company," which will go up in Farkas Hall on Dec. 5, depicts characters that are not so different from ourselves.

Music Director Ethan T. Addicott ’14 says he fell in love with the musical because of the relatable characters. The show, directed by Rose C. Bailey ’14, follows Robert, a single man surrounded by three girlfriends and five couples, as he tries to figure out what sort of relationship he wants to have. "There’s a couple for everyone," Addicott says. "Some people even relate to Bobby…. To any one person, it seems like everyone else is having better relationship success than they are."

"Throughout the show you see him interact with different couples, and he’s always the third one—the third wheel," says Elizabeth K. Leimkuhler ’15, who plays Joanne, Bobby’s best friend. "There’s even a song in the second act called ‘Side by Side by Side,’ because that’s Robert’s life, just being the third person in all these relationships."

"It has one of the most modular structures of any musical theater piece that I’ve seen," says Daniel W. Erickson ’14, who plays Harry, a character in one of the five couples. Erickson says the show’s structure differs from other Sondheim musicals in that the narrative is told in a series of vignettes that do not necessarily progress chronologically.

The musical numbers, however, are reminiscent of the challenging and intricate melodies in Sondheim’s other shows, Addicott says.

"He does a lot of the Sondheim harmonically interesting chords, and the melodies are wonderful," Addicott says. "I think ‘Company’ has some of the best music of any of his shows."

—Staff writer Virginia R. Marshall can be reached at virginia.marshall@thecrimson.com.