Musical cast members take stage for Company
For director Clare Stearns, nobody in musical theatre comes close to Stephen Sondheim. 'As far as I am concerned, he is the Shakespeare of musicals.' That's how strongly the Hong Kong-based director feels about her new version of Sondheim's show Company starting tonight at the Fringe Club.
Although the acclaimed musical - about relationships and dating among a group of New Yorkers - was a box-office flop when it debuted in 1970, it is now recognised as a breakthrough classic.
'It has a modern structure and non-linear story that jumps about. It's very demanding on performers. Also, the attraction of it is that it's brilliantly written about a group of young people living and working in a major city. Although it is set in New York, it could easily be about Hong Kong or London.'
With a cast of 14 (below), it's quite a large show. For Stearns, the difficulty wasn't finding actors. 'It was easy to get people to turn up for the audition. What was difficult was getting 14 people together in the same room to rehearse. You know how busy people are here.'
Produced by Perilous Mouth Entertainment, Company runs from tonight until Saturday at 7.30pm. For tickets call 25217251.
