Review: 'Company' is a heartfelt musical comedy in shiny new wrapping

Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Company” may be a classic at this point, but the production in the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh season opened Tuesday night with a fresh take.

The show’s original Broadway run began in 1970, with music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by George Furth. It took the audience through a series of vignettes where the main character, Bobby, a bachelor on the brink of turning 35, watched his married friends go through the highs and lows of their relationships while he figured out what he wanted from his own romantic life.

The current production running at the Benedum Center switches things up a bit. Instead, the main character is Bobbie, a bachelorette, still on the brink of turning 35. This revival started in London’s West End in 2018 before transferring to Broadway in 2021. The Broadway production won five Tony Awards.

The gender-swapped protagonist — and some of the other characters — adds a different perspective to the relationships at the musical’s heart, but also proves that Sondheim’s songs and Furth’s book have a universal and timeless insight into very human experiences.

It’s a mature show. There is some swearing and adult content, but it’s also mature in how it looks at the good and bad of friendships, marriage, divorce and aging. One of Sondheim’s greatest skills as a songwriter was his ability to articulate mundane but significant human emotions in his songs and make them entertaining and poignant. “Company” is a prime example.

But none of that puts a damper on the humor of the show. Tuesday night’s audience laughed frequently, and with good reason.

The cast’s comic timing was impeccable. That includes the show’s lead character, played by Britney Coleman, whose reactions to her friends’ relationship antics were genuine and hilarious throughout. She felt like a best friend anyone would want to have. Seeing the other characters through her eyes made her wistful performance of the show’s powerhouse closing number, “Being Alive,” all the more emotional.

The cast of her wacky yet relatable friends was populated with great performers, as well.

The role of Joanne, Bobbie’s somewhat jaded friend who is on her third marriage, has its challenges — primarily having to perform the perennial crowd-pleaser “The Ladies Who Lunch.” Judy McLane did not disappoint in Tuesday night’s performance, nailing the character’s sarcastic charm and nearly blowing the Benedum’s doors off with the power of her voice.

Another cast member with a difficult job was Matt Rodin, playing Jamie (gender-swapped from Amy in previous productions). He had to sing the rapid-fire, tongue-twisting “Getting Married Today,” a nervous address to the audience about his intention to jilt his fiance, Paul (Jhardon DiShon Milton). Rodin had the crowd whooping at the song’s conclusion.

As married couple Sarah and Harry, Kathryn Allison and James Earl Jones II (a distant cousin to the famed actor) were particularly hilarious, especially when engaging in a playful stage jiujitsu with one another. Jones has an easy knack for comic delivery that stood out even among a funny group of actors.

Another highlight came from the trio performance of “You Could Drive a Person Crazy” from Bobbie’s three boyfriends, Andy (Jacob Dickey), PJ (Tyler Hardwick) and Theo (David Socolar).

Liam Steel’s choreography lent itself to the show’s many laughs (in a good way).

But the real showstopper of this production is the Tony Award-winning scenic design by Bunny Christie. Her set utilizes a number of neon-outlined moving boxes of rooms — and lots of doors — for characters to move around, in and through. The design is versatile, and it also makes the set feel at once claustrophobic and homey. “Company” is a musical very much centered in New York City (as the number “Another Hundred People” demonstrates), and the set conveys apartment living beautifully.

The lighting and costumes were also bright and colorful, evoking a feeling of classic Broadway with a modern twist.

With some heartstring-tugging moments, wall-to-wall great Sondheim songs and a cast designed to bring the laughs, this production of “Company” is a terrific time at the theater. All of it was shiny wrapping paper and a big bow on a lovely new production.

“Company,” part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh 2023-24 season, runs through Sunday at the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh. For tickets and more information, visit trustarts.org.