Grant Mac students keep good Company

Stephen Sondheim once said, “I prefer neurotic people. I like to hear rumblings beneath the surface.”

In Company, the new Grant MacEwan University musical theatre production opening at the John L. Haar Theatre on Friday, Sondheim dissects commitment, marriage and relationships.

Based on a play by George Furth, Company is set to the backdrop of Manhattan’s frenetic pace where the action is viewed through the prism of Bobby, a confirmed bachelor, his three girlfriends and five other couples.

It is about the perils and pleasures of middle-class life and needy urbanites’ trepidation of marriage as they stare down the barrel of impending middle age.

“It’s very much a New York play. Everybody is close, but nobody connects,” says director Dave Horak, who has seen the production three times and who also lived in New York for a period of time.

Company first opened on Broadway in 1970 early in Sondheim’s career. Initially dubbed “experimental,” it packed a wallop, collecting no fewer than six Tony Awards plus a mantle of other accolades. It was the first Broadway show to examine adult relationships and added a new dimension to the musical theatre canon.

Bobby, the pivotal character, has serious commitment phobia. His friends, all couples, throw him a surprise 35th birthday party. It morphs into a series of fractured episodes as the popular, single man tries to “connect with everybody and then realizes he needs more than what he has.”

Of the show’s 14 actors, Arielle Ballance and Madeleine Knight have roles as friends. Ballance is Jenny, the straight-laced, uptight career woman who tries to be cool by smoking pot with the guys. And Knight is Amy, a bride-to-be who goes into a neurotic tailspin on her wedding day.

Pulsing with the rhythm of New York life, Sondheim’s musical mix blends melodic sweetness and dissonance that reflect the discord and contentment of each relationship. The memorable music and lyrics include tunes such as The Little Things You Do Together, Another Hundred People and the musical’s anthem Being Alive.

Although the musical is 40 years old, it’s conceptually modern. Horak has only made minor updates with characters now using cellphones and texting.

And designer Cory Sincennes is bringing in a revolving stage as a way to see Bobby from the perspective of his friends.

“It’s funny. It’s quick, but there’s real heart and the kids are digging in deep. It’s great.”