Company, the musical comedy masterpiece about the search for love and cocktails in New York, has been brilliantly turned on its head by three-time Tony Award winner Marianne Elliott whose revelatory directing and staging turns musical theatre’s most iconic bachelor into a bachelorette! The action centers around Bobbie’s 35th birthday party where all her friends wonder why isn’t she married? But given the start of their marriages, who can blame her for wanting to stay single and play around rather than saddle herself with the wrong man just to settle down and have a family?
Company’s 2023-2024 North American tour is making its Los Angeles debut through August 18, presented by Broadway In Hollywood at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles 90028, prior to their two-week Las Vegas engagement. A collaboration between Stephen Sondheim and director Elliott went on to win five 2022 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival, and was the last Broadway production of his work that Sondheim saw to fruition before his passing at 91.
Featuring some of Sondheim’s best loved songs, including the iconic “Being Alive” bought to show-stopping brilliance by triple-threat-belter Britney Coleman as Bobbie, this game-changing makeover in modern-day Manhattan includes interracial and LBGQT couples as Bobbie’s array of friends and lovers: Paul (Jhardon DiShon Milton) is waiting patiently for his fiancée Jamie (Matt Rodin) to get over his frantic wedding day jitters during the entertaining “Getting Married Today.” Sarah (Jessie Hooker-Bailey) and Harry (James Earl Jones II) try jujitsu to keep their marriage alive. Joanne (Judy McLane, triumphant in her martini-drenched rendition of “The Ladies Who Lunch”) is on her third husband with younger man, Larry (Derrick Davis). Peter (Javier Ignacio) and Susan (Marina Kondo) seem to have the perfect marriage, until perfection proves impossible and decide it’s better to be divorced. Jenny (Emma Stratton) and her square husband David (Matt Bittner) cannot understand Bobbie’s perpetually single status and are not shy to discuss it with her after the three smoke a joint together on their Brownstone steps!
All the while, Bobbie juggles three men: sexy flight attendant Andy (Jacob Dickey), small-town boy Theo (David Socolar) trying to find his way in the big city, and P.J. (sexy Tyler Hardwick), the native New Yorker who is more in love with his own physique and hometown than Bobbie, each of whom shine during their trio “You Could Drive a Person Crazy.” Liam Steel’s dazzling choreography brings ensemble numbers, especially “Side by Side” and the opening title song, performed to perfection on Tony Award winner Bunny Christie apartments-in-boxes set design, highlighted by her spectacular costume design.
Along with director Elliott, kudos to Joel Fram (musical supervisor, additional vocal arrangements), Tony Award nominee Neil Austin (lighting design), Tony Award nominee Ian Dickinson (original sound design), Keith Caggiano (tour sound design), Tony Award nominee David Cullen (orchestrations), Sam Davis (dance arrangements), Chris Fisher (illusions), Campbell Young Associates (hair, wig, and makeup design), Steve Bebout (associate direction) and Tara Rubin (casting). This is a true Broadway quality production not to be missed!
Tickets for Company at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre are available at BroadwayInHollywood.com, Ticketmaster.com, via phone (800) 982-2787, or in person at the Hollywood Pantages Box Office. Tour date info: https://companymusical.com/
Based on the popular fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen and the 1989 classic animated film, Disney’s The Little Mermaidwith music by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman & Glenn Slater, and Book by Doug Wright, features hit songs such as “Part of Your World,” “Poor Unfortunate Souls” and “Under the Sea.” Presented by Torrance Theatre Company at the James Armstrong Theatre, it’s a timeless story about the beautiful young mermaid princess Ariel (triple-threat performer Hannah Kobayashi) who dreams of becoming human and living in the world above her home under the sea, especially after meeting Prince Eric (Ray Tezanos) and falling in love with him at first sight.
This family-friendly Broadway musical is full of beloved characters, all portrayed by a cast of 30 talented performers, including Ariel’s pals Flounder (Bryan Eid), Scuttle the Seagull (Ryan Johnson), and Sebastian the Crab (Steven Flowers), all of whom perform their roles in unison with cute character puppets. But it is Christopher Tiernan as Ursula, the evil octopus-like purple sorceress who fulfills Ariel’s dream (giving her legs in exchange for her voice) who dominates the stage with his over-the-top drag queen persona, along with eel assistants Flotsam (Amber Florin) and Jetsam (Phoebe Eskovitz) performed with evil glowing red-eyed puppets during the delightfully staged “Poor Unfortunate Souls.”
Ariel’s father King Triton (James Hormel) also has six other mermaid daughters who float around the stage wearing rolling shoes during their entertaining numbers, with Chef Louis (Bailey Walker-Seiter) leading the other eight chefs in a rousingly humorous rendition of “Les Poissons.”
Enthusiastically directed by Glenn Kelman and choreographed by Katisha Adams, with music and vocal direction by Bradley Hampton, the production features a live sixteen-piece orchestra, with mood-enhancing lighting designed by Steve Giltner, puppets by Pro Puppet Makers, costume design by Bradley Allen Lock, hair and makeup by Michael Aldana, with sound designed by Brian Hsieh and engineered by Caitlin Leong. Special kudos to Torrance Theatre Company’s Technical Director Cary Jordahl and Producing Artistic Director Gia Jordahl for their dedication to bringing quality entertainment to their community.
Performances run through August 17 at the James Armstrong Theater, 3330 Civic Center Drive in Torrance 90503 kicking off the company’s 25th anniversary. Children ages thirteen and under who attend in costume are invited onstage after every performance for a group photo with the cast. For tickets, visit TorranceTheatreCompany.com or call the Armstrong Theater box office at 310-781-7171. Hurry – only three shows remain this weekend!
Part Downton Abbey, part Noel Coward, Murder After Hours (The Hollow) is Agatha Christie at her red-herring-changing mysterious best when a weekend in the country leads to long-hidden loves revealed, with a lover’s triangle, movie star confessions, and deadly deeds exposed. Scotland Yard inspectors then take audiences on a wild-mouse-ride of unravelings. Presented by The Group Rep in the Lonny Chapman Theatre in NoHo, directed by Jules Aaron and produced by Cynthia Payo, performances run through September 8 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, Sundays at 2:00pm.
The cast features Patrick Anthony (Sergeant Penny), Joe Clabby (Edward Angkatell), Roslyn Cohn (Gerda Cristow), John Combs (Sir Henry Angkatell), Jason Culp (John Cristow), Megan Deford (Doris), Rebecca Del Sesto (Midge Harvey), Meghan Lewis (Henrietta Angkatell), Michael Robb (Gudgeon), Dani Thompson (Lady Lucy Angkatell), Chris Winfield (Inspector Colquhoun) and Gina Yates as the glamorous Veronica Craye. Unfortunately, the talented actors, dressed to the nines by costumer Shon LeBlanc, are often saddled with too much repetitive dialogue until the murderer and motives are revealed in this overly-long production. And I’m not telling you anything more!
The creative team also includes Assistant Director Paul Reid, nicely dressed Set Design by Chris Winfield, ever-changing and atmospheric Lighting Design by Frank McKown, Nick Foran’s Sound Design and Effects, Dialect Coach Linda Brennan, Judi Lewin’s lovely Make-up/Hair Design, and Patrick Gallagher (Prop Master).
General Admission $35, Seniors & Students with ID $30. Tickets & information at www.thegrouprep.com or 818-763-5990. The Lonny Chapman Theatre is located at 10900 Burbank Blvd., NoHo 91601. There is a small adjacent parking lot with street parking available.