There’s nothing like good company - especially when it’s on stage

A scene from Company by Theatre Hawke’s Bay. Photo / Supplied

Bursting its way on to the Theatre Hawke’s Bay stage in late June, Stephen Sondheim’s dark-comedy musical, Company, is a not to be missed show for adult theatregoers.

Full of catchy tunes, vibrant energy and a sensational cast, this show is a mesmerising watch.

Sondheim, who died in 2021, is one of the most decorated musical lyricists and composers of all time – his musicals unsurpassed in terms of wit, melody, passion, and insight into the human spirit.

Winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Lyrics and Best Book, Company is a love letter - or love-hate letter - to New York.

Packed with witty dialogue, relatable yet complex characters, and featuring Sondheim’s award-winning songs You Could Drive a Person Crazy, The Ladies Who Lunch, Side by Side and the iconic Being Alive, Company delivers everything you would expect from an award-winning musical.

The story follows Robert (Bobby) who, on the night of his 35th birthday, struggles to think of a wish to make as he blows out his birthday candles.

Over a series of dinner parties, first dates, and thoughtful conversations, he learns about the perils and pleasures of love, marriage, dating and divorce from his married friends.

As he attempts to understand the pros and cons, he gradually begins to make sense of his own persistent bachelorhood – all the while slowly swelling with loneliness.

The show’s title has multiple facets. Company is the opposite of solitude and loneliness. It means being surrounded by friends and loved ones.

It’s also the name given to a tightly-knit ensemble of actors performing a show. In this production, the lead character of Bobby is played by Will Towler, a 35-year-old English doctor, who is a newcomer to New Zealand and the Hawke’s Bay stage.

The rest of the company is made up of a diverse and incredibly talented ensemble of local singer/actors who play Bobby’s three girlfriends and the five married couples - each of whom have their own endearing and, in many cases, hilariously possessive relationship with Bobby.

Company speaks to the heart of what it means to be a person in the world and highlights the challenges we all face trying to maintain genuine connections in a society which is becoming increasingly personalised.

It focuses on the messy emotions of life and is a mature, intelligent, and wildly funny look at relationships, vulnerability, and “being alive”.

Directed by Anthony Collier with choreography by Corinne Bowey and musical direction by Linda Gilchrist, Company opens on June 23 and runs until July 8 at the Playhouse Theatre, Hastings.

Tickets are on sale now through iticket.