New Production of Sondheim's Company for Melbourne.
Melbourne-based musical theatre company Watch This will present a season of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Company at fortyfivedownstairs from September 17 to October 4, 2015.
Company is a musical comedy which explores love, relationships and the struggle for intimacy – the original production was nominated for a record-setting 14 Tony Awards and won six.
It’s Robert’s birthday – he’s turning 35 and his closest friends are throwing him a surprise party. Witty and well-liked, living in the heart of New York and dating three gorgeous women, Robert has it all ... so why can’t he blow out the candles on his birthday cake and make a wish? Over a series of dinner parties and first dates Robert attempts to understand the pros and cons of marriage from his diverse and frequently hilarious friends and begins to make sense of his own persistent bachelorhood.
Company showcases an energetic score containing many of Stephen Sondheim's best known songs including Being Alive, Side by Side, The Ladies Who Lunch, Getting Married Today and Company.
Company will feature an outstanding ensemble cast of 14 led by Tyran Parke, Sally Bourne and Gillian Cosgriff, alongside Johanna Allen, Bianca Baykara, Nathan Carter, Mark Dickinson, Simon Maiden, Madeleine Mackenzie, Nicole Melloy, John O'Hara, Sonya Suares, Aaron Tsindos and Carina Waye. Design by Eugyeene Teh, Zoë Rouse and Rob Sowinski.
"I'm enormously excited to be working with such a diverse and talented group of artists on a rich and complex look at human relationships that is as poignant and achingly funny today as it was when it made its Broadway debut in 1970,” says director Kat Henry (GRA nominee, Foxfinder 2014/ MTC Women Directors Program 2015).
Originally a collection of plays written by librettist George Furth, Companywas eventually shaped into a musical thanks to the vision of director Harold Prince. Furth reworked the plays into a libretto and Stephen Sondheim was brought in to provide the music.
In two years, Watch This has established itself on Melbourne’s theatre scene, with a sell-out debut season and three Green Room Award nominations for Assassins in 2013, followed by eight nominations for Pacific Overtures (winning Best Supporting Actor, Adrian Li Donni) in 2014.
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth
Director: Kat Henry
Musical Director: Lucy O’Brien
Choreography by Michael Ralph
Dates: 17 September - 4 October (Preview 16 September), 7.30pm (Sundays 5pm)
Venue: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Tickets: $45 / $35 concession; $40 Early Bird or Groups 8+; $55 Opening Night Gala
Bookings: 03 9662 9966/ http://www.fortyfivedownstairs.com/events/company/
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