COMPANY a sell-out (in a good way)!!
25-29 October 2005
by Stephen Sondheim
fortyfivedownstairs
45 Flinders Lane
Melbourne
Cast: 14
Orchestra: 14
Crew: 16
In early 2005, Just Pretending was approached by Sahr Lucas with idea of producing Stephen Sondheim's COMPANY.
At the time, we had a number of concerns. Would we be able to handle the size of the show? Could we find a cast that could handle the music and script? How could we possibly put a band together? Was anyone going to be interested in seeing a musical? Would it be a nail in the coffin of yet another small independent Melbourne theatre company?
Six months later and what a turn-around.
Tickets sold out a week before the show even opened. Demand was so intense that more seats were squeezed into the auditorium a day before opening. Those extra hundred tickets were sold within 24 hours. 45downstairs was flooded with phone-calls from people looking for tickets. Waiting lists grew.
And then the show itself. Hailed as "nothing short of a miracle" by The Age, the cast outshone even our most optimistic predictions. The band was great, the sets were beautiful and framed by a colourful lighting design. Without a doubt, the biggest and most ambitious project Just Pretending has attempted to date, was a spectacular success.
Company review
Production photos
Cast Bios and Headshots, Crew and Orchestra listing