Semisweet Sampling

STEPHEN SONDHEIM takes the audience on a long detour most of the way through his musical comedy Company. Up until the very last scene, the plot focuses on a surprises birthday party thrown for Robert by five couples his best friends. Between repeated sequences of the same party we watch brief flashback type includes between Robert and each of the five couples who are trying to convince him to get married. Robert responds by becoming his rate as a single man hypocritically, because he is currently dating three completely different, unusual women. And when the first act ends exact as it had started, we naturally assume that the plot is a circle when the second act starts the same way, we think, the play will end where it began.

But when Robert unexpectedly decides to stand up the people at his own party thereby destroying the entire progression of the plot we realize that Sondheim's seeming circle was really a straight line.

Sondheim brilliantly complements a serious look at relationships and one man's realization of his own free will with 15 whimsical musical numbers. Beneath the clever melodies that resound long after the show has ended lie brittle lyrics about surface relationship and about commitments.

And the players in the Musical Theatre Company of Cambridge bring this complex musical alive on the small stage of the Agassiz Theatre. Under the musical direction of Gerald Moshell and the staging and choreography of Scott Collishaw, Thomas Jones portrays a charismatic Robert, magnetic enough to become the believable focus for his circle of friends. Through Robert we meet his 10 close friends and his three girlfriends Marta (Lori Glaser), Kathy (Jeanne Jones) and April (Eileen McNamara). And whether the actor are singing solos duets like Robert and April in "Barcelona," or grand ensemble efforts, they strike a deep resonant chord as their clearly enunciated works hit home.

What deters most from the complete success of this production is the orchestra. Through extremely well coordinated it frequently overpowers the actors, most distressingly Jones and Glaser: the stage is too small for such orchestral volume, Jones has a fine tenor voice but we miss too many words when the orchestra blares out especially in the show's witty title song. Glaser whose Marta is self effacingly comic gets drowned out in perhaps the show's most beautiful song. "Another Hundred People," which describe the anonymity of New York City life.

BUT BESIDES the recurring flaw the show is entertaining clever staging devices abound on the two-tiered stage connected by two staircases. The lively dance routines by Scott Collishaw are simple but attractive, enabling the actors to sing clearly without getting out of breath. The choreography enhance the variety of musical genres explored through the how as does the wide range of melodies: The jazzy "Poor Baby" sung by the five wives conveys its sultriness through excellent harmonies, and the gospel choir effect in "I'm Getting Married displays another, more refined side of the actors voices.

Particularly effective sequences include the morning before the wedding sequence in which Meg Leake as the panicking Amy does a magnificent job of spewing out the quickly paced lyrics without jumbling them up. Her frazzled acting seems extremely comic beside her calm understanding lover with whom she has lived for the past seven years. The rest of the ensemble clad in black choir robes and singing steady choral refrains rounds off an exquisite number.

Two other actresses particularly stand out and while McNamara as April and Belle Linda Halpern as Hoanne could not portray more divergent characters, each conveys idiosyncrasies with infinite charm. As the blond ditsy April McNamara reveals her beautiful sopraho in the duet "Barcelona" with Robert. And dark haired dark eyed Halpen as the cynical drunken Joanne displays a stunning voice in two numbers- "The Little Things," which mocks the supposed bliss of marriage and the solo, "The Ladies Who Lunch," which evinces a hearty disgust with pretense.

But Company remains primarily an ensemble effort, and the uniformly lively group numbers allow everyone to participate equally in the fun. The chorus line effect in "Side by Side reveals each character's dependence on the others, then ends in comic exhaustion; these characters are quickly approaching middle age and can't keep up with their youngish friend Robert.

And even though we can't hear Jones all the time, his Robert successfully attracts our attention with his energy and charm. Jones is youthfully handsome, just what is needed for the adolescent who virtually matures before our very eyes. His ultimate realization makes Sondheim's message especially poignant that marriage will not necessarily fulfill all his needs; that travelling in circles will only make you dizzy.