There are so many star turns by legendary Australian performers in the Production Company’s staging of Sondheim’s Follies that sometimes it’s hard know where to look.

This is the first time in its 10 year history the company has tackled a Sondheim show, and it’s great to be able to say they’ve nailed it.

As with many Sondheim shows this is more of a musical drama than a light-hearted romp with deep emotional undercurrents that tackle the nature of marriage and friendship, how people change or don’t over time and the harsh reality of ageing.

The show opens on a group of former Follies stars who return to the site of their past glory, the Weismann Theatre, which is about to be pulled down. Amid the reunion, old wounds resurface as two Follies stars, Phyllis (Anne Wood) and Sally (Debra Byrne), and their husbands Benjamin (John Diedrich) and Buddy (Philip Gould) re-examine how they met 30 years earlier and come face-to-face with their youthful dreams, and middle-aged regrets.

Debra Byrne is perfectly cast as Sally, capturing her nervous frailty and fanciful imaginings well while still managing to make her human rather than pitiful. Of her two big solos 'In Buddy’s Eyes' from Act I was the most moving and heartfelt for me. It was sung a little more simply than the big tearjerker 'Losing My Mind' in Act II, which was everything you’d expect from Byrne, but perhaps a little melodramatic for my taste.

Philip Gould is totally convincing as Sally’s long neglected husband Buddy. In the technically difficult 'The Right Girl' he uses all his vocal dexterity to bring out the character’s deep frustration and longing but is then able to follow this up with a sensational comic turn in the superbly conceived 'Buddy’s Folly'. Mind you he is also brilliantly supported in true vaudevillian style by Angie Stapleton and Joanna Fripp.

The picture of sophistication in flowing green, Anne Wood is sublime as the disdainful and oh-so-bored Phyllis. Wood is in complete control and fine voice throughout the night, both when heaping scorn on her husband in 'Could I Leave You?' and later in the tongue-twisting 'Story Of Lucy And Jessie' where she is all poise and charm, surrounded by a line-up of well-formed young men.

As Benjamin, a man who has reached the top but is no longer able to feel a thing, John Diedrich delivers a fine performance, finding the vulnerable boy inside the proud, broken man.

But ultimately Follies is a vehicle for refuting the notion that old performers ever really pass their prime, and this production is no exception.

Patti Newton is a delightful stroke of casting as a cheery ex dancer, partnered beautifully by Jack Webster in 'Rain On The Roof' and 'Bolero D’amour'. Likewise Monique Brynnel brings an ethereal, seductive charm to 'Ah Paris!'

But it is musical theatre legend, Nancye Hayes, who first brings the house down with her sassy, wonderfully droll take on the classic 'Broadway Baby'. Impeccably paced, totally swinging and overflowing with attitude Hayes is in full command of the tune and loving every minute of it. This is followed not long after by the brassy, ballsy Melissa Langton, with a great rendition of 'Who’s That Woman'.

And yet the highlight of the night has to be Judi Connelli in a staggering version of 'I’m Still Here', which starts with a simmer and gradually builds. By the end of the song she’s not only smouldering she’s ablaze. If ever there was a lesson in the art of delivering a song this is it.

An extremely complex show to direct, Roger Hodgman is entirely up to the task – weaving the audience in and out of the past, from intimate solos to big production numbers, and all the while maintaining the ambience of an informal cocktail party.

One of the most impressive elements is the way past and present fade in and out, with numerous appearances by the four main characters’ younger alter egos, played by Amy Lehpamer, Gemma-Ashley Kaplan, Chris Durling and Stephen Mahy. All four are polished performers in their own right, who capture the innocence and optimism of youth brilliantly and are also given their own moments to shine.

With superb playing by Orchestra Victoria under the baton of Guy Simpson, this is a show full of wit, complexity and musical inventiveness and a joy to witness in the hands of a skilled, experienced ensemble like this one. The only downside with this production is the short season, so get yourself a ticket while you still can.