In Good Company: Community Theatre at its Best

Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of spending Friday evening at Musical Theatre Southwest’s opening night of their latest production, Company up in Albuqerque.

As with almost every community theatre production I’ve been to, there were some small technical difficulties at the start of the show and some minor problems throughout, but the cast handled them with poise and weren’t afraid to make some mistakes. This was especially refreshing because one of the biggest issues that I’ve had with community theatre (or at least the productions I’ve seen) is that they take themselves too seriously. I’ve seen many productions derailed by minor issues: the actors lose their demeanor from a mic with a little too much feedback or from missing a couple steps in the choreography. And while these things happened in Company, the entire cast continue to sing, dance, and smile all the way through.

The cast itself was perfect—full of locals who clearly love to be onstage—led by Colin Burdge as Bobby who sang one of the most impressively beautiful high notes of the night and had mastered the charm of a bachelor traveling through a world full of married friends.

While the entire cast seemed to have inhabited their roles nicely, my two favorite moments came from Janine Loffelmacher as Amy who sang the number “Getting Married Today” with so much gusto and talent that I nearly fell off my chair and from Angelique Felice as Marta who has one of the most hilarious scenes that includes a very visual bit about living in the city and the effects it has on a person’s rectum.

Overall, the show is a delight; amateur in only the best of ways. One of the very minor issues that I had with the production was that the space is a black box, a very intimate and small space to hold a full-blown musical in. It causes the audience to notice all of the minor mistakes that come from not having professional actors and crew, such as an uncovered tattoo or how a suit doesn’t fit exactly right. And it can be a bit jarring to have a live band right in your ear the entire time. As a theatre buff, I personally enjoy having a bit of disconnect from a musical to experience the magic it’s supposed to invoke.

But all of these things are of little consequence in comparison to the apparent fun and joy the entire cast and crew had in producing this musical. It runs for two more weekends and I highly recommend going to experience community theatre at its best for yourself. Tickets can be bought here.