In good ‘Company’
After the success of last year’s Monty Python’s Spamalot, Upstart returns with a new production of Company, the well-loved Broadway classic that is currently making a splash in London’s West End. The musical, which tackles love, marriage, friendship and loneliness, is one of theater legend Stephen Sondheim’s most beloved works, along with shows like Into the Woods, West Side Story and A Little Night Music. Every major production of the Company on Broadway and the West End has earned accolades since it debuted in 1970, including winning Tony and Olivier Awards.
Helmed by actor/director Topper Fabregas (Gawad Buhay Best Director 2016 for Tribes), Upstart’s version of Company will feature veterans like Michael Williams, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Cathy Azanza-Dy and Caisa Borromeo, with OJ Mariano playing the central character of Bobby. Joining them are various performers from the theater and
entertainment scene. Fabregas was very particular about finding new, unexplored performers and held open auditions for all the parts. “We were blown away,” he said. Producer Joel
Trinidad, who is also part of the cast, added, “We said to so many people, ‘Why have we never seen you on stage before’?”
Handling the music is TOYM awardee and former Hong Kong Disneyland musical director Rony Fortich. Handling the production design is New York-based Joey Mendoza, freelance set designer and faculty member at Fordham University Theater Program at Lincoln Center. (Company runs on all Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 13 to 22 at the Globe Auditorium, Maybank Performing Arts Theater, BGC Arts Center, Taguig City. It is presented through special arrangement with New York’s Music Theatre International.) (Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)