The Cast of "Company" Speaks Out!

   Coming up next week, the musical Company takes the stage at Huntington's Renaissance Theatre - so let's hear from the cast!

   We'll have a series of interviews with the cast in the days ahead, starting with the lovely and talented Anna Baker:

Q: What is Company about?

Anna: Company is about a man with the desire to be loved, wabted, and needed - to an extent. Bobby is the best friend of five couples who are always asking him to be around. They also always ask him why he is not married. This show is about the basic human desire to be wanted. It's about the struggles of marriage and how Bobby figures out what HE truly wants.

Q: Tell us about the character you play.

Anna: I play Susan, a belle of the south who has relocated to the Big Apple with her husband, Peter. She's so much fun. I get to be charming, funny, sassy and sweet. Susan is the wife who figures out that marriage is sometimes best when you're unmarried. 

Q: What's your favorite song in the show?

Anna: My favorite song in this show is "Poor Baby." It's a song about how petty and jealous women can be over a male friend's new lover. The wives get to get up close and personal to Bobby and April, saying nasty things about her. The song is so much fun, and has a good amount of sarcastic, mean lyrics. What more could you ask for?

Q: Is the music challenging?

Anna: It's Sondhiem, so definitely. It was hard to learn, and takes lots of memorization and hard work. It may be challenging, but once you hear the harmonies, it gives you chills. 

Q: Why did you want to be in this show?

Anna: I wanted to be in this show because it is something a lot of people can relate to - married or unmarried. We all want to be wanted. We all have had friends by conveniece, and we all have to grow up sometimes. I also wanted to be in this show because it's a challenge. It's always good to challenge yourself as performer, but this takes the cake. It's amazing to do this and grow with people who you consider your closest friends. 

Q: What's your background in theatre? 

Anna: I've done theatre for around nine years now. I started because I saw Hairspray on Broadway, and wanted to feel how it felt to be the one making people react so intensely. I started my theatre life with A Christmas Carol at ACTC in 2004, and I never looked back. I didn't know I could sing, so I got a big surprise when people said I could. With a little more confidence, I continued and I've never looked back. 

Q: The Renaissance Ballroom is an intimate setting, with the audience close to the actors. Is that intimidating?

Anna: Since this show is being performed inches from the faces of the audience, it definitely makes it more intimate and difficult. We don't have a break to go backstage - we're onstage the entire show. I'm excited to have such a intimate setting and to be so close with the audience. It will be a challenge, but it's always fun to be someone else, isn't it? Especially with people watching.

   Thanks, Anna! 

   Arts Resources for the Tri-State presents the hit musical by Stephen Sondheim on March 20, 21, 27 and 28 at 8 p.m. and March 22 at 2 p.m. at the ARTS Ballroom at 900 8th Street in Huntington. Tickets are$15 for the show only, $30 for dinner and show. Call for dinner reservations at  304-733-2787.