Cabaret Theatre's 'Company' in good company of troupe's past successes
This past weekend, Cabaret Theatre, the only student-run black box on campus, put on its long-awaited production of "Company."
The Stephen Sondheim and George Furth musical "Company" follows Bobby (Mason Gross School of the Arts junior Daphne Sardis), a bachelorette navigating the intricacies of friendship and marriage, informed by her interactions with five married couples and three partners.
The play masterfully blends humor and depth, presenting a series of interconnected scenes that explore the state of emotional intimacy in an ever-evolving world. Through its inventive format, "Company" continues to be a captivating and relatable examination of human relationships.
Despite the complex themes and daunting format, the director of "Company," Uchenna Agbu, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, noted that the timeless nature of the piece made it easier to adapt.
"I approached it the same way I would a rock musical. I think that's what keeps it interesting." said Agbu. "Luckily, I feel that the book for 'Company' is relatively timeless … This gave us the leeway to create characters that anybody could relate to."
While Cabaret Theatre has previously played around with dark, serious and provocative themes, the universal themes of "Company" resulted in a nice change of pace.
"I wanted to do a show where nobody dies. I wanted to see how challenging it would be to do a large-scale comedy, concept musical in a 60-seat black box space," she said. "I wanted to have some fun in the spring before graduation. I love 'Company' because it is equal parts silly and serious and so much fun."
The play has an infectious energy that shines throughout, especially in "Getting Married Today," a piece sung by Amy (School of Arts and Sciences junior Julia Marcato). This patter song is upbeat and energetic, allowing Marcato to put all of her talents on display, hitting all the right notes without running out of breath.
The title song "Company" was another extremely impressive piece — every main cast member held the ending note, resulting in a standing ovation. This opening set high expectations for the rest of the play and the themes of support and community that would resonate throughout.
One of the prominent aspects of "Company," besides the musical numbers, was the black-and-white costumes each character wears, resembling their respective emotional states.
The mother character, who needs to let loose, sported a black dress with a headband, the wife who's watching what she eats dawned black sweatpants and the snobby friend wore a black dress. The hippie, free-spirited girlfriend, on the other hand, is fitted in a loose jacket and jeans and the happy responsible divorcee wore a black sweater rocks a white button-up underneath it.
Commenting on the black-and-white scheme, Agbu said they represented the things Bobby saw as either being one way or another. The items in color represented factors she didn't have control over, like New York City, which was painted on the floor as a colorful map, or the gifts her friends got for her birthday.
"The black-and-white theme was meant to represent how Bobby sees the world — the majority of the show is solely through her eyes," she said. "We don't know what's accurate and what's not because she is an unreliable narrator."
This all leads up to the end, where Bobby finally switches from that iconic black blazer to a bright purple blazer. This all played in the overall message of the play: overcoming societal peer pressure and the monotony of life. While Bobby has felt pressure to enter a relationship through her interactions with her friends and other couples, here she finally accepted being single.
The ending might feel a little too open for interpretation for viewers who prefer to be spoon-fed information, but it truly showcased how living with intention instead of attempting to fit the status quo can benefit you.
By its end, Cabaret Theatre's rendition of "Company" amounted to an entertaining play, capable of lifting anyone's spirits.
