The latest play performed by the Starkville Community Theatre, “Company” dares its audience to ask the question, “Is marriage really for me?”
The play follows Robert, a single, nearly 35-year-old bachelor seeks to answer the question for himself with the help of five couples in the play, which will be performed today through Saturday.
“He’s talking to [his friends] about should I get married or should I stay single?” said Lyle Tate, who plays Robert.
Robert asks the couples what he will get out of marriage while seeing how they interact in their own marriages, Tate said.
“I think we can all find ourselves in these characters,” director Paula Mabry said.
Everyone knows someone who is married or someone single who acts similar to the characters in the play, she said.
“I think everyone wants their friends to be happy and have what they have,” Mabry said.
The couples each befriend him and talk to him about his relationships with his three girlfriends, she said.
The Tony Award-winning musical, was written by Stephen Sondheim, who wrote other memorable Broadway musicals “Sweeney Todd,” “West Side Story” and “Gypsy.”
“The content is definitely not for children. It’s definitely an adult-themed musical,” Mabry said.
The music is difficult to learn because it is full of minor keys and strange chords, but Mabry said she has always loved Sondheim’s music.
“It’s an odd show and it’s not your typical Rogers and Hammerstein feel-good show,” Tate said.
The writing is challenging and odd sometimes, but it’s a role he’s wanted to play for years, he said.
Anna Smith, who will be playing Jenny, one of the wives in “Company,” said the play is composed of the main characters’ memories.
“It doesn’t really flow in any chronological order,” she said. “I think it has more of a brain than most musical stories do.”
Musicals are difficult to plan and execute and take a lot of time and practice to make them work on stage, Mabry said.
“We’ve had some very dedicated singers trying to master this music, and they have,” she said.
The play has been fortunate to have not only SCT members helping prepare for the show, but also MSU students, faculty and staff, Mabry said.
Senior civil engineering major Zachary Bugg will play the piano throughout the entire show, she said.
The performers also had help with choreography by MSU kinesiology instructor Debbie Funderburk and five other students who help as actors or backstage aids, she said.
“It takes a village. It takes a lot of people for a show,” said Debbie Dunaway, who plays one of Robert’s girlfriends.
The actors have become like family, even with the variety of ages and backgrounds, she said.
“I really enjoy everything with the Starkville Community Theatre, and this is a wonderful show,” Dunaway said.
She will play the funky, New York loving girlfriend, she said.
“We don’t know if he gets married or continues to stay single, but he does find a friendship with each couple,” Mabry said.