By Carolyn Hayes

Stephen Sondheim’s musically and structurally ambitious “Company” (music and lyrics by Sondheim, book by George Furth) dominated the Tony Awards over four decades ago when it premiered, at the time representing the vanguard of the concept musicals that have since reshaped the musical theater landscape. Today, the references may be a touch dated, but the show’s themes of companionship, commitment and marriage are pertinent as ever, holding up just as well as the smart and layered score. For its current production, The Encore Musical Theatre Company brings back longtime favorite Steve DeBruyne to star, a keen fit of role to performer and actor to production that pulls together director Paul Hopper’s gamboling assortment of comic contemplations.

The events of the show swirl around Bobby (DeBruyne), the single-guy friend of multiple married couples (and one betrothed). He’s their confidante, their source for exciting stories of single life, godfather to their children, and always presumed available to be the welcome third wheel. At the same time, to him, their cockamamie advice and peculiar examples present a barrage of contradictory reasons why to settle down, relish being single, get married before it’s too late, never settle, etc. Bobby’s conundrum comes to a head at his 35th birthday party: When he looks at his cake and wonders what to wish for, the viewer is whisked along through recent experiences as he reviews the evidence, with plenty of commentary from those who profess to know him best.

Retaining the original 1970s New York City setting, set designer Leo Babcock uses color blocking to blend the stage’s topography into a retro cityscape, which is given clever three-dimensional flair by designer Daniel C. Walker’s glowing approximation of light pollution. Completing the period aesthetic is Sharon Urick’s costumes and Anne Donevan’s set dressing, both of which draw together influences from a rather outlandish era, but remain sophisticated and grounded.

Minor foibles threaten the first act, which fails – or, alternately, never tries – to find a unifying groove through the sketchy connection of vignettes, fantasy sequences, and interjected songs. Yet the disparate scenes nevertheless show terrific comic potential, as Bobby observes abstainers Sarah and Harry (Sonja Marquis and Greg Bailey) goading each other about their respective vices to the point of physical altercation, tosses recreational drugs into the tamped-down dynamic of Jenny and David (Emily Rogers and Pete Podolski), and witnesses resolute Paul (Jess Alexander) playing off neurotic Amy (Katie Lietz) to mitigate an epic wedding-morning breakdown. Still, the trouble with overall cohesion bleeds into pacing and tone: Dancing on the knife’s edge of complex emotional baggage and tongue-in-cheek comedy, the success rate of each falls a bit without the benefit of clear intention.

More critically, some of the lyrics were a challenge to follow on opening night, with difficult mile-a-minute numbers and fugues up against an audio mix that slightly favored the offstage trio of musicians. To be clear, Tyler Driskill’s music direction does crisp work in the tricky harmonies and layers that are Sondheim’s calling card; the group sounds perfectly elegant together. Only a few solo numbers falter, and most of these can be attributed to placing voices far upstage that don’t quite carry to the floor mics far downstage.

But not only do these issues add up to little in terms of enjoyment hindered, they’re only evident by how thoroughly they are abandoned in the second act. Beginning with the deliciously manic “Side by Side by Side,” which also contains the best-deployed of Hopper’s choreography, the thematic train picks up speed and does not relent thereafter. With Bobby privately opening up to the idea of marriage, the show probes more deeply into his dating life (his ornately vacant flight attendant, stupendously played by Elsa Harchick, is a particular treat). Meanwhile, the ugly side of couple-friends looking for a single person to reform as their “project” creeps forward, allowing the ensemble to push in one unified direction and DeBruyne to increasingly push back. His work – which tracks from resisting, to watching, to thinking, to feeling, to yearning – builds in concert with the circus around him, gloriously arriving at a knockout conclusion.

Although “Company” may throw off chronology and linear storytelling for a looser structure, it’s no coincidence that this production blasts off at the same time it finds its underlying trajectory. While meandering through comic observation and indulging in stirring musical feats, this is a goofy and fun diversion, but the collective thrust toward resolution, with DeBruyne’s confident steering, elevates the show into a wholly enjoyable emotional voyage.