The question is: Can a female "Bobbie" work just as well as a male "Bobby" in Company? The answer is a resounding Yes!, especially in the capable hands of the luminescent Katrina Lenk. Once you experience this production, it will be hard to accept the male "Bobby" again. Men aren't hounded about being unmarried at 35; women are.
Lenk has a strong, pure voice and also brings a real sensitivity to the role.
There are two performers who should also be mentioned up front. The audience nearly holds its collective breath waiting for Patti LuPone to come out and sing "Here's to the Ladies Who Lunch," and she doesn't disappoint. LuPone also brings a little girlishness to her character, Joanne, when she's flirting.
A welcome addition is Matt Doyle (Jamie) who sings the torturous "Getting Married Today" so fast, it's amazing that we can understand every word. It makes perfect sense that it's a gay couple, rather than same sex, getting hitched.
There's a tremendous note of winsomeness here, as Bobbie sings "Marry Me a Little." She wants that Certain Someone in her life, but the fear of being trapped is overwhelming. We're afraid that she'll end up with an Andy (Claybourne Elder) type, a dolt of a hunk, who sings very well but is upstaged by his washboard abs.
There are updates in the show. Everyone seems to be on their phone all the time. Sex here is a contact sport. Pot is smoked openly on a balcony. But in attitude, the '70's are clearly in view. "Sorry-Grateful" describes everyone's marriage. The amount of drinking could sink a battleship.
I'd have my doubts, too, hanging around with this group. The late, great Stephen Sondheim, committed to change, was on board with this version. It would have been wonderful to have Bobbie dump the jumble of losers who call themselves her friends, and get on with her life. Alas, it isn't so. In the words of Gordon Ramsay, "What a shame."
