Interview: Emma Stratton of COMPANY at Orpheum Theatre Minneapolis

Winner of 5 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Company “strikes like a lightning bolt. It’s brilliantly conceived and funny as hell.” (Variety). Helmed by three-time Tony Award-winning director Marianne Elliott (War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Angels in America) this revelatory new production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s groundbreaking musical comedy is at once boldly sophisticated, deeply insightful, and downright hilarious.

It’s Bobbie’s 35th birthday party, and all her friends keep asking, ‘Why isn’t she married? Why can’t she find the right man and isn’t it time to settle down and start a family?’ As Bobbie searches for answers, she discovers why being single, being married, and being alive in the 21st-century could drive a person crazy.

We chat with Emma Stratton who plays Jenny in the national tour of Company. 

What do you enjoy most about playing Jenny? 

 I love getting to play a well-rounded woman. Jenny is a working mom who values her friendships, loves to have fun, and protects her family. I love that in this production, each woman in the show is completely unique and just as three-dimensional as every woman I know in my life - strong, independent, funny, warm, flawed, opinionated… it’s so fun to get to play every night and see my castmates do the same. 

 What is your favorite song in the show? What is your favorite moment in the show? 

 My favorite song is Being Alive. It’s been one of my favorite songs for most of my life, so getting to hear it 8 shows a week is a dream come true! My favorite moment changes every night, but the craziness of Side By Side is so much fun. 

 What Minnesota opportunities did you participate in here? 

 I grew up just outside Minneapolis in Mahtomedi on White Bear Lake. Tubing, sledding, seeing shows at The Guthrie, working at my aunt Kristi’s antique shop (Hunt & Gather), picking up bread at Great Harvest every week, seeing concerts at the Lake Harriet Bandshell, biking through Lake of the Isles/Bde Maka 

I grew up just outside Minneapolis in Mahtomedi on White Bear Lake. Tubing, sledding, seeing shows at The Guthrie, working at my aunt Kristi’s antique shop (Hunt & Gather), picking up bread at Great Harvest every week, seeing concerts at the Lake Harriet Bandshell, biking through Lake of the Isles/Bde Maka Ska/Lake Harriet in the summer, going vintage shopping all throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul… I also spent the pandemic in MN and started two businesses! Minnesota is very, very special to me.

 What do you hope the audience takes away from this production? 

 I hope that they see glimpses of themselves in all of these characters. This show is non-linear and is such a reflection of our every day lives and relationships, so I hope that people are still meditating on ideas and moments from the show for days after seeing it.  

 What are your favorite spots here in Minnesota?   

 Of course my aunt Kristi’s famous antique shop - Hunt & Gather. Minneapolis Institute of Art, Lyndale Park Rose Garden, Great Harvest Bread (specifically on Upton Ave), Sebastian Joes, Turtle Bread, Taylors Falls, Rose Mille, The Golden Pearl Vintage, Owamni by The Sioux Chef, Guthrie Theatre, Honey and Rye Bakehouse, downtown Stillwater… and a million more!

Thank you Emma for your time!

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