Sondheim’s musical is all about marriage. Flicking from divorce to weddings to first dates to break-ups, such is the pace of this production that it could appear almost farcical in its comedy. However, the underlying story is a much more serious one: the fear of a lonely middle age and an even lonelier future. These are the concerns of our protagonist, Bobby.

In the leading role, Paul Adeyefa is suave and charming. Such were his winning smiles and obvious charisma, I was left wondering how such an individual might struggle so indefinitely to find a girl, but the eagerness and enthusiasm with which his married companions obsessed over his well-being, and prided themselves on their friendship with him was easy to understand. His rendition of the closing number, ‘Being Alive’, was effectively raw without being strained, conveying the depth of Bobby’s lately unearthed capacity for loneliness.

The rest of the cast provided a strong background against which Bobby could debate his future. The ensemble of five married couples, constantly inserting themselves into Bobby’s life and romantic affairs, gave the production an impressive comic impetus. Special mention should be given to Maria Montague’s delightfully manic rendition of ‘Not getting married today’. Although veering slightly towards caricature at times, the observational nature of their roles and witty quips expressing their hopes and fears for their friend, were well suited to such an approach. Each pair appeared an inseparable duo and Bobby’s subsequent interactions could be described as the constant movement of scenes with one comedy double act to the next.

The ADC faced its usual acoustic struggles, as a result of which a few solos were momentarily drowned out by the combined power of orchestra and chorus. The opening performance Company was dogged by some frustrating technical issues, but no doubt these will have been dealt when the curtains come up on the second night. On the whole, the group numbers were slickly executed, although the tap dancing abilities of a few were shown up by Adeyefa’s effortless grace.

With regards to Paul’s three love interests, it was Rochelle Thomas who shone brightest as the bizarrely clueless April, who bounced eagerly from one situation to the next without any apparent awareness of reality. Her (admittedly hilarious) obliviousness did, however,leave me doubting the plausibility of Bobby’s fascination and attachment.

In fact, it was this lack of development in the rest of the characters that was, in the end, one of the major flaws of this production. The constant juggling between over-hyped stereotypes, whilst certainly amusing, took a toll on the emotional punch of the evening. This can, I think, be considerably attributed to the nature of Sondheim’s production itself. At the end of the night, the only character who has been truly allowed to reveal depth and feeling is Bobby himself. While Adeyefa’s impressive performance ensures the audience’s emotional investment on his behalf, I left feeling frustrated that the musical could not have offered a more well-rounded portrayal of the intricacies of his actual relationships with all this Company.