The basic story involves a series of vignettes involving a bachelor named Robert, Bobby to all of his friends (played by Rick Rea) and how he learns about the joys and perils of love, marriage, dating and divorce from his married friends. This show radically changed musical comedy when it premiered. It is not plot driven, but psychologically driven; in a nutshell, it brought existentialism to the American musical. Existentialism was basically a philosophical movement focused on the existence of the individual. It is a musical examination of the institution that is matrimony, which is both piercing with its psychological clarity, and buoyed by the comic appreciation of human frailty. This musical includes some of the best and most beloved songs by Sondheim including “Another Hundred People,” “Not Getting Married Today,” “Sorry-Grateful,” “Ladies Who Lunch,” and “Being Alive.”
This particular production is being staged at the Sugar Space Arts Warehouse in downtown Salt Lake City. It is basically an old warehouse that has been converted to a theatre space, quite nicely I might add. Michelle Rideout, founder of The Silver Summit Theatre Company, has done a nice job of converting this space into a theatre. I have only seen one other production in this space and that was their joint production with Utah Repertory Theatre Company of August: Osage County. At first it may seem like a huge space, but it grows on you and I personally am very comfortable there. This is their very first musical and I feel it is a triumph.
Director Kate Rufener states in her director’s notes that her approach to this piece is based on the notion that even though we crowd ourselves with love, relationships, and gain comfort in those, we yearn for a life where nothing is missing, no empty spaces, basically avoiding the voids in our lives. Ironically and unfortunately, those relationships often end up focusing on all that is missing in our lives, causing us to fill the void with all “the little things.” We need to go after what we really want in life. Know what we really want. As one of the characters at the end of the show tells Bobby, “Want something. Want something.” This is a very nice jumping off point for this particular musical and it served it well in this production. We watch as Bobby jumps through three relationships throughout the course of the show and how he tap dances between them, looking to fill that void but not willing to fully commit to someone. His friends’ lives and relationships are all at different levels of dysfunction, but at the same time, there is much love there in those relationships.
I really loved the personal touch that Rufener brought to this piece. During moments of personal reflection with Bobby, she featured all of these couples on stage showing their relationships with each other and how being with someone, “Company,” can enhance a person’s life tremendously when pursued with a personal passion and vigor. The other personal touch was at the end of Act One, when Bobby goes through a personal epiphany and realizes he is ready for marriage but doesn’t want to fully commit. The director has this reflection, the song “Marry Me A Little,” being sung during individual dates with the three girls he is currently going out with. This added a very personal flavor to the portrayal of Bobby and supported the song very well. I really felt as if I was in Bobby’s head.
Bobby, portrayed by Rick Rea, did an outstanding job in portraying a lost young man in the prime of his life searching to fill that void. I felt for him and was rooting for him from the very beginning. This is solely due to Rick’s very honest portrayal of Bobby. By the time we near the end of the show with his final realization of “What he really wants,” portrayed in one the of the most famous songs of the show, “Being Alive,” we feel a sort of catharsis with Bobby and we come out of this production better people and understanding of knowing what we want in life and going after it.
The rest of the ensemble was outstanding. The ensemble consisted of: Sarah (Eve Speer) & Harry (Brandon Rufener); Peter (Ricky Parkinson) & Susan (Lindsay Bateman); Jenny (Natalie Easter) & David (Natalie Easter); Amy (Ali Bennett) & Paul (Mason Holmstead); then the three girlfriends, Kathy (Rachel Schull); April (Heather Shelley); and Marta (Natalia Noble). Each couple only has brief moments to portray their respective stories, but each of them was unique and completely honest in their portrayals. There was never a false moment in the show. I fell in love with each of these couples and that is not an easy thing to do, but it is what makes the difference between a mediocre production and an exciting, fresh look at a classic, which is what Kate Rufener’s production does very well. The pinnacle of the show comes at the end when Bobby is out for dinner and drinks with the oldest couple of the group, Larry (Brian Gardner) and Joanne (Marcie Jacobsen). When after a long time friendship with this couple, Joanne offers to have an affair with Bobby, it forces Bobby to really look at himself and his life, and Marcie Jacobsen’s performance of Joanne beautifully provides the catalyst for that change in Bobby. I have seen Marcie Jacobsen deliver powerhouse performances before, but this one was truly a showstopper. Anyone familiar with the show knows about the most famous song from this show, “The Ladies Who Lunch.” Marcie knocks this number out of the ballpark in a heartbreaking rendition that left me totally speechless. There was no applause at the end of the song, which I personally feel is a huge compliment to this wonderful actress.
I love this musical with all of my heart. I love Stephen Sondheim. I keep asking myself every time I see one of his shows, “How does he know what it’s like?” “How does he know what I’m struggling with in my life?” “How does he know so much about the human condition?” He just does. This incredible piece of musical theater is living proof that Stephen Sondheim is one of the greatest living composers of the American Musical Theater. Congratulations to director Kate Rufener, her incredible cast, the wonderful Anne Puzey (Musical Director), and Michelle Rideout and Silver Summit Theater Company for putting on a wonderful testament to Stephen Sondheim’s genius alongside George Furth’s incredibly touching and insightful script. I truly walked away from this production, moved and my mother and I couldn’t stop talking about it all through the drive home. Everyone needs to see this production!
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