Published: November 08, 2007 04:57 pm      

INVITING 'COMPANY': NU theater students take on Tony Award-winning musical

IF YOU GO

• WHAT: “Company,” a Stephen Sondheim musical about the ups and downs of married and single life in New York City.

• WHEN: 8 p.m. today through Saturdaynov8-10 and Nov. 15-17; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sundaynov10-11 and Nov. 17-18.

• WHERE: Leary Theater, located in Clet Hall on the Niagara University campus, Lewiston.

• COST: $19 general admission; discounted tickets to tonight’s premiere cost $6.

• MORE INFORMATION: Call the box office at 286-8622 for more information or to purchase tickets, or visit www.ticketmaster.com to buy tickets online.



CAST MEMBERS

• Nick Cocchetto, Arkport

• Caitlin Holland, Farmington Hills, Mich.

• Steven E. Sitzman, Alden

• Kimberly Jarmusz, Williamsville

• Preston Cuer, East Bethany

• Lisa LeCuyer, Getzville

• Nick Lama, Niagara Falls

• Cassie Gorniewicz, Liverpool, N.Y.

• David Avery, Farmington

• Adrienne Lewis, Buffalo

• Matthew Chavez, Amherst

• Lia Sumerano, Kingston

• JennaBeth Stockman, Grand Island

• Candice Kogut, West Seneca



BACKSTAGE

• Eric Appleton, set design

• Maureen Stevens, costume design

• Terri Filips, choreography

• Donald Shrimpton, music director

• Lynne Koscielniak, lighting design

• Amanda Serio of Rochester, stage manager

• Joanna Farrell of Tonawanda and Paige Mingus of Buffalo, assistant stage managers

• Doug Zschiegner, director



It’s all fun and games until Nick Cocchetto’s character has to go and turn 35.

Cocchetto, a 20-year-old junior at Niagara University, stars as Robert in the school’s latest musical production, “Company.”

The production is set at Robert’s 35th birthday party with his friends. When he tries to blow out the candles on his cake, they don’t go out. And that, Cocchetto said, sets into play a series of scenes and songs that take Robert on a journey as he decides whether marriage is right for him.

But, Cocchetto said, it’s not your typical musical.

“Don’t expect a sing-and-dance, fun-and-games kind of show,” Cocchetto said. “Even though it is fun, you’ll see something you don’t expect from a musical.”

Doug Zschiegner is associate director of Niagara University Theater and “Company” director, agreed.

“So many musical theater productions end with a big wedding, but this one asks the question: ‘Is that really the way to go?’ ” Zschiegner said.

Audience members — married and single alike — will find out one man’s answer tonight as the Stephen Sondheim musical opens for a preview performance at NU’s Leary Theater. Performances continue through Nov. 18.

The show originally opened in 1970 and has since been “rewritten and tweaked” to update it for modern times, Zschiegner said. In fact, in June the show won the 2007 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

“It represents a big, major shift in the history of musical theater,” Zschiegner said, “because it doesn’t really have an order of time.”

But how does that work?

“It’s a man on his 35th birthday deciding if he wants to get married,” he said. He examines the relationships of five married couples with whom he is friends. Does he want to stay single, or does he want to marry one of the three women he’s dating at the time?

Decisions, decisions.

While there are funny parts to the musical, Director of NU Theater Gregory Fletcher said it’s not a comedy, and it’s not a production meant for young audiences.

“I would definitely describe it as a musical theater piece,” he said. “There’s some comedy in it, of course, but it deals with some pretty heavy issues.”

Cocchetto, an Arkport native, stars as the lead character in the musical. But, Cocchetto said, his favorite part is sitting back and watching his fellow actors shine.

“I love the fact that I really get the chance — even though I’m on stage almost the whole time ... — to sit and listen to the other characters,” he said. “That really helps to get what is being conveyed, ... and I really get the chance to see the work that my classmates are doing.”

The bond between classmates is particularly strong, Cocchetto said, between the upperclassmen, and that helps the cast members to interact in their scenes together.

“It’s a really good opportunity to work with people that I know, especially in a show like this where there is so much emotional entanglement,” he said.

Zschiegner said the cast — composed of all theater students — has been rehearsing for one month, or about half the time the director has had to prepare casts for musicals at other schools.

“The skill level is very high at this school,” said the director, now in his first year at Niagara. Intense vocal, dance and acting training each semester is to thank for that, he said.

“It’s a real chance for the audience to see some real cutting-edge musical theater,” he said.

So if you’re looking for a reason to leave the house on this, presumably the first cold and snowy weekend of the season, Fletcher urges you to consider this: “For most people, (Sondheim) is ‘the’ Broadway composer. That in itself is a reason to go — just to see a Stephen Sondheim musical.”

Contact editor Laura Wahler at 693-1000, ext. 116.