The MADC’s musical offering for the 2006-2007 season is Stephen Sondheim’s Company. With book by George Furth, Company explores the relationship between Bobby, a 35-year-old bachelor, and his married friends. Five crazy couples who know all about relationships even if they don’t always manage to get it right. From the about-to-be-married to the long married, the often married and even the once married! As he observes the ups and downs of the various relationships surrounding him, Bobby wonders who’s got it right. Is it better to stay single or is he missing out on a fundamental part of life by refusing to commit to anyone?

To portray Bobby, his many eclectic friends, and his long-suffering girlfriends, director Denise Mulholland and musical director Rosetta De Battista have gathered a superb cast that includes many familiar faces, some newbies, and a couple of established local performers who join MADC for the first time.

Bobby (Mikhail Basmadjian) is the quintessential bachelor; a 35-year-old New Yorker with the female population at his finger tips – the kind of man who men want to be and who women want to tame. Is he ready to be married? He seems to think he is, but closer inspection of his friends’ marriages cast doubts on his resolve. Is he ready to take the plunge? Is being alone the same as being alive?

Harry (Wesley Ellul) and Sarah (Pia Zammit) are always in competition with each other. Each of them likes to hold the position of top dog – this can take the form of verbal sparring, or in some cases physical sparring – sometimes you just have to wrestle with your spouse to get your point across.

Sometimes love lasts longer than a marriage. Peter (Jean Pierre Busuttil) and Susan (Leontine, performing with the MADC for the first time) are the ideal couple – attractive, funny, charming, wealthy. And divorced. Despite the break-up, they are determined to stay together – as Susan says “it’s so much nicer being single, especially when you have somebody...”

Jenny (Isabel Warrington) is a mother – not just to her children, but to her husband too. David (Alan Paris) loves being married. He has everything – except freedom, which is everything. What happens when you lose sight of what brought you together? Is it possible to change too much to please a partner and lose yourself in the process?

So why get married if you’ve lived together for years and years? It’s embarrassing – people might think you’re pregnant. For Amy (Charlotte Grech) the old adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” stands true – for her fiancé Paul (John Marinelli), they are simply meant to be together as man and wife. Amy experiences the worst case of cold feet on the morning of her wedding – whether or not she goes through with it is anyone’s guess.

As the song says “It’s not so hard to be married – it’s much the cleanest of crimes. It’s not so hard to be married – she’s done it 3 or 4 times...” Joanne (Julie James, also joining the MADC for the first time) is a feisty, opinionated, New York broad currently married to the most patient man in the world, Larry (Alan Montanaro, fresh from his performance in MADC’s Hercules). He knows how to handle her, how to put up with her tantrums and baiting because he loves her and because she fascinates him.

Rounding up the cast are Bobby’s three girlfriends. Krista Paris is April – sweet, dumb, eternally romantic and hopeful. She’s an airline stewardess who believes in love and adventure in the big city. Elaine Camilleri plays Kathy, a country girl who has had enough of New York and just wants to be married and settled – once she had high hopes for Bobby, but how will he react to the news of her leaving? And finally, Katherine Brown is Marta – an original. This girl loves life with a passion – she lives, eats, sleeps and breathes New York – everything is an adventure, every man (including Bobby) is an Everest just waiting to be conquered.

Company will run at the Manoel Theatre on Friday 23, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 February, and the following weekend Friday 2, Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 March. All performances start at 8pm.

Booking is open from the Manoel Theatre Booking Office on telephone number 2124-6389, e-mail [email protected] or on-line www.teatrumanoel.com.mt.