Company (musical)
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Company is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth. It concerns the relationships between Bobby, a single man who is celebrating his 35th birthday, the five married couples who are his best friends, and his three girlfriends. Unlike most "book musicals," which follow a clearly delineated plot, Company is a "concept musical", comprised of short vignettes in no particular chronological order, all of them tied together by a surprise 35th birthday party. Company is often considered the first concept musical.
Company is among the first musicals to deal with more adult problems through its music. As Sondheim put it, "they are middle class people with middle class problems". It is also one of the first musicals where the songs commented on the characters in the play instead of furthering the plot, a device which became a standard of Sondheim's. Among the memorable songs in the show are "The Little Things You Do Together", "Sorry-Grateful", "Another Hundred People", "Getting Married Today", "The Ladies Who Lunch", "Being Alive", and the title song.
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[edit] Original Broadway production
The original production of Company opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on April 26, 1970 and starred Dean Jones, Barbara Barrie, Charles Kimbrough, Beth Howland, and Elaine Stritch. (Shortly after the opening, Dean Jones left the show and was replaced by Larry Kert in the role of Bobby.) It was the first of several successful collaborations between Sondheim and director Harold Prince. The musical ran for 706 performances and it went on to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and the Tony Award for Best Musical.
[edit] Later productions
Other major productions of Company include a 1971-72 national touring production, a London production at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1972, a 1995 Broadway revival by the Roundabout Theatre Company, a 1996 London revivial at the Donmar Warehouse, a Brazilian production in Rio that opened in 2001, and a limited run at the Kennedy Center in 2002.
A new revival of Company for Broadway went into previews October 30, 2006 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on 47th Street, with an official opening on November 29 for an open-ended run. The production, directed by John Doyle (director of the 2006 Broadway revival of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd), was initially produced at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. This limited run (March 14 - April 14) played to sold out houses for the majority of its run. Starring Raúl Esparza, it was critically heralded by the New York Times. Like the Sweeney Todd production, this revival utilizes the acting company themselves as the orchestral accompaniment for the production.
[edit] Musical Numbers
Act One
- Overture
- Company
- The Little Things You Do Together
- Sorry-Grateful
- You Could Drive a Person Crazy
- Have I Got A Girl for You
- Someone Is Waiting
- Another Hundred People
- Getting Married Today
- Marry Me a Little (1995 Broadway Revival Cast)
- Finale Act I
Act Two
- Entr'acte
- Side by Side by Side [What Would We Do Without You?]
- Poor Baby
- Tick-Tock
- Barcelona
- The Ladies Who Lunch
- Being Alive
- Bows
[edit] External links
- Live, Laugh, Love: Company
- Ethel Barrymore Theatre Broadway
- Music Theatre International's Company Page
| Stephen Sondheim musicals |
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| Saturday Night • West Side Story • Gypsy • A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum • Anyone Can Whistle • Do I Hear a Waltz? • Evening Primrose • Company • Follies • A Little Night Music • The Frogs • Pacific Overtures • Side By Side By Sondheim • Sweeney Todd • Marry Me A Little • Merrily We Roll Along • You're Gonna Love Tomorrow • Sunday in the Park with George • Into the Woods • Assassins • Putting It Together • Passion • Bounce |
