Our spring semester opened last week with a Department of Music Singers’ Theatre Workshop production of COMPANY, involving over 50 students, faculty, and staff. After performing two shows over the hill in the Denison Football Stadium last year, Kevin Wines, Director, said, “being on stage in Sharon Martin Hall certainly felt like coming home.”
COMPANY, written in 1970 by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, still speaks to our current society. After two years of lockdowns, social distancing, and isolation/quarantine there is nothing most of us want more than company. We followed Bobby as he comes to grips with being 35, being alone, being with somebody not just some body, and most importantly being alive. Our production was set firmly in the 21st century, with cell phones replacing answering machines and cultural references and commentary more tailored to our society’s sensibilities.
Stephen Sondheim died in November of 2021. The musical theatre world lost a genius, a role model, and a force of nature. While this production was planned long before Sondheim’s death, we were honored to dedicate this performance to his memory.
- Kevin Wines, Director
- Benjamin Rayhill, Assistant Director/Chorographer
- Chris David Westover-Muñoz, Conductor
- Rob Johnson, Scenic Design
- Rebecca White, Costume Design
- Caroline Dittamo and Rowan Winterwood, Lighting Design