It's Boston's first professional production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Tony Award-winning musical since its pre-Broadway tryout in 1970. Huntington Theatre Company's Company is not only the first to incorporate revisions from both the 1995 New York and the 1996 London revivals, but also stars Broadway actors Davis Gaines (Bobby) and Karen Mason (Joanne). The production opens May 21.

Directed by Broadway and Huntington Theatre director Larry Carpenter and choreographed by Daniel Pelzig, Company reveals bachelor Bobby on his 35th birthday, surrounded by all his married friends. Through the course of the play, he examines his desire to enter a committed relationship while he tiptoes around it, busily scrutinizing the dynamics of his coupled friends.

Gaines is most remembered for his portrayal of the Phantom of the Opera in the Broadway and Los Angeles productions. He most recently starred in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's Whistle Down the Wind at Washington's National Theatre. Mason is a celebrated cabaret stinger with two solo albums, who was the standby for Glenn Close and Betty Buckley in the Broadway and Los Angeles productions of Webber's Sunset Boulevard.

Other cast members include Teri Bibb, Susan Cella, Walter Charles, Marie Danvers, Dann Fink, Kim Lindsay, Angela Lockett, William Parry, Maureen Silliman, John Schiappa, Tia Speros, and Andy Umberger. Sets are by Loren Sherman, lighting by Phil Monat and costumes by Toni-Leslie James.

Company runs at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company from May 16-June 15. Preview talks, a humatities forum and post-show discussions are available. For tickets or more information, call (617) 266-0800, or refer to the regional listing on Playbill On-Line. --By Blair Glaser