Toronto is lucky to have Barrie-based Talk is Free Theatre producing work in the city and taking on ambitious projects like Sondheim’s Company. An amorphous narrative where lots is said and basically nothing happens, Company is a swirl of barely defined characters and extremely sophisticated ideas wrapped in some of the legendary composer’s most irresistible songwriting. It’s always a thrill to see Company performed and director Dylan Trowbridge brings strong momentum and movement (choreography by Rohan Dhupar) to the quick-flowing musical currently onstage at the Theatre Centre. But flaws at the production’s heart highlight the pitfalls of the challenging piece.

The imbalance in George Furth’s book is particularly frustrating as the deployment of Talk is Free’s overall strong cast leaves lots of questions. The company seems to feature all the right players, but they’re not necessarily playing roles that make the most sense. One of the country’s biggest stars Jeff Irving is present and accounted for in the role of Peter where he has pretty much nothing to do and certainly very little to sing. The sublime Gabi Epstein is perfectly suited to Joanne’s wit, bravado, and barely concealed sadness, but the character’s many lines about being old/older than the group land with distracting confusion. Some of the show’s smallest roles feature the greatest standout performances- Maggie Walters is a superb April, balancing genuine quirk with misunderstood depth, and Noah Beemer steals one of the most famous sequences as the overlooked Paul, delivering the production’s most deeply felt acting performance alongside the character’s few showcase notes.

Unfortunately, strength down the call sheet doesn’t reflect star power at the top and there are pretty extreme weak spots in key places in the ensemble. Sierra Holder’s Marta is pitchy straight through the difficult “Another Hundred People” but Company‘s large ensemble structure hides its true identity as a leading man musical and ultimately nothing matters as much as Bobby. Aidan Desalaiz is not up to the task. Almost never offstage for the nearly three hour runtime and responsible for multiple major solos full of daunting notes both musical and dramatic, Bobby is everything in Company. Desalaiz is fidgety and aloof, often staring out instead of engaging with his scene partners, and he rarely fills out the score with the required technique or nuanced interpretation. With only two onstage musicians, Sondheim’s score is already somewhat underrepresented here but a lack of commanding lead vocal is unforgivable. The chorus sounds great on the iconic harmonies though so maybe there’s some metaphor to that- One’s impossible, two is dreary/Three is company, safe and cheery.