Company

What do neighbors and friends think about a thirty-five year old bachelor?    Um....he should find a wife?   Why can’t he find a wife?   What is wrong with him?   Is he gay?   These are the questions Robert’s friends are asking?   Why doesn’t he have a partner?

The company is the story of Robert or Bobby as some of his friends call him and his 35th birthday. How will he deal with his friends who are all married?    Strangely, each marriage is different with its own individual uniqueness.   Does each marriage have its own problems, personalities, and its own individual type of love?

Sarah (Angie Helm) and Harry (Chris Ebke) are phenomenal in their roles.  Their relationship is a little different than most, definitely more physical.   Both deserve praise for their outstanding stunts.   Their relationship is full of doubts, with the challenge of proof.   To understand further, you must see this musical.

The other couples slowly reveal their own secrets.   Susan (Kelly SchlottO and Peter (Travis Wilcox) deal with a questionable conflict.   Jenny (Sarah Ebke) and David (Mark Haufle) along with Amy (Carrie Beth Stickrod) and Paul (Brandon Fisher) show the progression of many marriages.  Joanne (Heather Wilhelm) and her onstage husband (Tim Daugherty) are the aging couple with money who is having difficulty connecting.  As possible mates for Robert are Marta (Lindsey Tierney, Jack), Kathy (Lauren Anderson), and April (Brenda Smrdel).

Each member of the cast is extremely talented in becoming their character revealing the complications of marriage.

The company is a well-known Stephen Sondheim musical that also won the Tony Award for the best musical in 1971.   To make the show appropriate for today, the choice was made to modernize with life in 2018 rather than the 1970s.  

As with every live performance, excellence can be found.    On Company, I found the outstanding stunts of Chris Ebke and Angie Helm masterful and hilarious.   I also discovered a mesmerizing voice, Heather Wilhelm.  Her voice is rich, powerful, musical and memorable.  

The success of this show and all community theater shows is due to the many volunteers who usher, help with the box office, the opening night foods and all the numerous behind-the-scene jobs to assist with a successful performance    We should all appreciate the sharing of their talents to assist in making the theater a delightful experience.

Numerous behind the scenes crew members are responsible for this amazing insightful show.   Serving as both director and musical director is Todd Brooks with other musicians Keefer Petersen also on the keyboard, Nicholas Swoboda on percussion and Paige Costignola on bass.  Members of the lighting crew are Darrin Golden, Mandy Adkins, and Jozalyn Harrison.   Responsible for the sound is Dave Podendorf and Jaycee Wetenkamp. The choreographer is Courtney Stein, Stage Manager is Mike Jones and Scenic Designer is Joey Lorincz.  Ibsen Costume Gallery provided the costumes.   Constructing the set was Joey Lorincz, Mike Jones and along with the theater manager, Bob Putman.  Rhonda Hall is the props designer.   

This show is an adult show with quite a bit of adult language.  The audience is for unmarried and married be people with reflection, humor, music, and quite a bit of drama.

The timing of the show is about an hour and a half for the first act with the usual intermission and concluding the second act in approximately forty-five minutes.

This show continues through this weekend on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.  The dates are June 1st through the third.

The price of the tickets is $20 for adults; $16 for seniors over the age of sixty; and $10 for students.  

The Chanticleer Community Theater is located at 830 Franklin Ave.   Tickets can be reserved  by calling the box office at 712-323-9955.

Have you ever identified your marriage?  How would it be described?  How do others see it?   See Company for some great music and possibly answers to your questions.