Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's "Company" is a most extraordinary 1970 musical, charting as it does the central character's journey from a cynical attitude about relationships and marriage, birthed by watching too many crazy married people, to an awareness of the great Sondheim creed that life has no meaning without love."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...A deeply satisfying, revelatory revival on so many levels, director Marianne Elliott's Tony Award-winning production of Stephen Sondheim's marriage-contemplating musical "Company" - now making an early stop in Chicago on a new tour - freshens a 50-year-old show to the point that many have claimed, as I would, that this is the best version yet."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Created originally from a series of short plays Furth wrote about marriage, Company exists, as Sondheim wrote in Finishing the Hat, "in an instant in Robert's mind, perhaps on a psychiatrist's couch, perhaps at the moment when he comes into his apartment on his 35th birthday." Sondheim also wrote that the character of Bobby "has often been accused by the show's detractors of being a cipher, a void at the heart of the piece.""
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Recommended
"...While I enjoyed the play, some performances felt outdated, reflecting the 70s approach. More changes are needed to appeal to today's free-spirited Generation Alpha individuals in their 30s, who may not be interested in settling down."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Directed by Marianne Elliott on a wonderful ( and easy) set by Bunny Christie, this two-and-a-half-hour play moves quickly and never has you looking at your watch. It is always nice to have a road company hit town and see some familiar "Chicago" actors on the stage. I know that we have the talent and it is always great to see that the Broadway people recognize us for what we bring to the table. Another bright moment in this show is Joanne (brilliantly handled by Judy McLane) does her "The Ladies Who Lunch". This is another example of the way that Sondheim takes words and stirs them up to make lyrics that truly make a statement."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...But the moment that the audience has waited for all evening is the finale. The journey that theatergoers have taken with our heroine leads to Bobbie's gorgeous, melodic, self-discovery, the soaring "Being Alive." Lovely Britney Coleman pours her heart and soul into this ode to love, living and sharing moments and feelings. In this scene Bobbie is finally able to blow out the candles on her cake and accept that, not only is she now 35 years of age, but ready for a new chapter in her life. Or is she? This moment of enlightenment leaves the audience thinking about his or her own life journey. It's a subjective and gut-wrenching finale to a fantastic "new" Sondheim musical that should not be missed."
Buzznews.net - Recommended
"...Known more for his fully scored, more epic musicals like Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim packs a big punch in this unconventional little musical about the dichotomy between single and married life - and it's as fresh and funny in the 2020s as it was when it premiered in 1970."
The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended
"...COMPANY is about the company Bobbie keeps. And this COMPANY gets it right on so many levels. The delightful Coleman is surrounded by her quirky friends bringing the advice and the humor. Although the show is peppered with snark and song, a few scenes standout. Kathryn Allison (Sarah) and James Earl Jones II (Harry) are hysterical! The couple is -literally- fighting it out over bourbon and brownie deprivation. Their physicality and comedic timing is pure gold."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...Making a major change in an established musical, even one done with the help and blessing of the playwright, is not easy, but rarely has a revision generated such excitement as Marianne Elliott's gender-swapped incarnation of Stephen Sondheim's brilliant 1970s masterpiece Company. Its anticipated premiere was scuttled by the pandemic, but it roared out of hibernation in 2022 to tremendous reviews and five Tony Awards. And now it arrives in Chicago, its Broadway production values almost entirely intact, on its national tour at the Cadillac Palace Theatre."
Chicago Culture Authority - Highly Recommended
"...It all works splendidly in this talent-packed production headed by the charismatic, instantly likable Britney Coleman (fresh off her run in the first national tour of Beetlejuice), who shows off a beautiful singing voice on “Someone Is Waiting,” “Marry Me a Little” and, most of all, “Being Alive.”"
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"...It was Sondheim's first truly Sondheimesque musical, where he wrote both words and music in a cohesive style: witticisms set to his own musical scaffolding that served as miniature backgrounds and frames. The dialogue that surrounded these never reached the same level but, early on, the compactness of the show made that less obvious. Over the decades, dialogue was added, songs were reordered. "Company" became overcrowded."
