During the early night of Oct. 11, 2026, the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee put on the Stephen Sondheim musical “Company.” Fifteen different attendees of the show, when describing the show in one or two words, said that the musical was “entertaining,” well-developed,” “engaging,” “energetic” and “funny.” They agreed this show was a success on opening night.
Assistant Director Julia Leone was able to provide insight about the director’s side of things, and discuss what she enjoyed about the show.
“For this show, we had a tough rehearsal slot, because we had three weeks of rehearsal, and one week of tech. This is a beast for any production, especially a Stephen Sondheim musical,” said Leone.
This is normal for the professional world, Leone emphasizes, which usually has a cast do three weeks of rehearsal and one week of tech rehearsal. Tech rehearsal allows for the technical elements to make their way into the show.
However, the Peck School of the Arts program only gets the student cast for this show four hours a day, when professionals tend to rehearse for eight to nine hours a day.
“We’re doing what they do in essentially half the time. It was absolutely an incredible experience,” said Leone.
She described how she enjoyed the show herself and every part of the process along the way. When it comes to her inspirations when directing the movement of the show, Leone says that her personal directing process isn’t inspired by anything specific. She says she tends to focus on looking at the text and deciding what movements make sense in the moment.
Bill Watson, the director of the “Company” production, added that “this show is like a puzzle piece, because it is a concept musical.”
“The adventure is putting the puzzle together. There were all kinds of possibilities to play with, with how to stage the musical,” said Watson.
Watson does deep planning into how the show will go, and described his thought process on choosing the musical itself in an interview.
“[About ‘Company,’] it’s a classic; it’s a great show. It’s a major piece in the musical canon, and great for actors and singing actors to work on.”
His enthusiasm was a telltale sign about how much he enjoyed helping to put “Company” on.