Review: Keeping Good “Company” with Oswego Opera Theater

Over the weekend, Oswego Opera held their annual production at Oswego Music Hall. This year’s production was a rendition of Company, by Stephen Sondheim.

The production was directed by Benjamin Spierman and starred local favorites like Gina Mazzoli and Matthew Youngblood.  

Written as a non-linear piece, the show follows main character Bobby (Youngblood), who is preoccupied with being single on the eve of his 35^th birthday.  

While this style of theater may not be to everyone’s taste, the performance was buoyed by incredible vocals from Mazzoli, Nadia Simone, and Michele Lindor, who played Bobby’s non-serious love interests, and Youngblood. Frequent comedic moments kept the full house at the Sunday showing laughing.

The show raised many questions without offering the easy comfort of answers. Questions like… Is it worth it to get married? How do people have so many friends at 35? Are we still celebrating birthdays after 29?

These questions were plumbed by comedic vignettes featuring Bobby’s many coupled-up friends—some of whom are quite happy, while others are on the brink of divorce. The characters played with absurdity and contradiction throughout the show, as evidenced in lines like this one, in a song about the importance of doing many different things together: “[it’s] getting divorces together… that make perfect relationships.”

The band, led by Music Director Daniel Williams, offered a phenomenal interpretation of the opera’s score, keeping toes tapping throughout the show’s 2-hour, 25-minute runtime.

Originally written in the 1970s, this particular production was rife with vibes suggesting the ‘90s, from costume choices and crash diets to absurd numbers of print magazines and full answering machines. “I think New York’s signature sound is a busy tone,” Bobby joked at one point.

At intermission, the board president, Nicholas Gentile, presented the inaugural Dr. Marilyn J. Smile Award to past president of Oswego Opera and long-time champion of the arts Dr. Marilyn Smiley. While the recipient was unable to attend due to health issues, a short speech was read on her behalf by Gentile.

The Oswego Opera Theater has been in the community for 47 years and typically produces one show per year. In 2024, the theater performed a double feature at the Oswego County Courthouse which also offered a hefty dose of comedy to keep audiences rolling. You can support this community treasure by donating or volunteering. See their website for more details.