Company History

Company is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six. Originally entitled Threes, its plot revolves around Bobby (a single man unable to commit fully to a steady relationship, let alone marriage), 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 composed of short vignettes, presented in no particular chronological order, linked by a celebration for Bobby's 35th birthday.

Company was among the first musicals to deal with adult problems through its music. As Sondheim put it, "Company does deal with upper middle-class people with upper middle-class problems. Broadway theater has been for many years supported by those people. They really want to escape, and here we're saying we'll bring it right back in their faces ... what they came to a musical to avoid, they suddenly find facing them on the stage.

Background

George Furth wrote 11 one-act plays planned for Kim Stanley as each of the 11 leads. Anthony Perkins was interested in directing, and asked Sondheim to read the material. After Sondheim read the plays, he asked Harold Prince for his opinion; Prince thought the plays would make the basis for a musical. The theme would be New York marriages with a central character to examine those marriages.

Productions

Original Broadway Production

Company opened in Boston in out-of-town tryouts, receiving mixed reviews, from the Boston Evening Globe "Brilliant", to Variety Magazine "The songs are for the most part undistinguished." The musical opened on Broadway on April 26, 1970 at the Alvin Theatre, where it ran for 705 performances and seven previews. Directed by Harold Prince, the opening cast included Dean Jones (who had replaced Anthony Perkins early in the rehearsal period when Perkins departed to direct a play), Donna McKechnie, Susan Browning, Pamela Myers, Barbara Barrie, Charles Kimbrough, Merle Louise, Beth Howland, and Elaine Stritch. Musical staging was by Michael Bennett, assisted by Bob Avian. The set design by Boris Aronson consisted of two working elevators and various vertical platforms that emphasized the musical's theme of isolation. Shortly after opening night, Jones withdrew from the show, allegedly due to illness, but actually due to stress he was suffering from ongoing divorce proceedings. He was replaced by his understudy Larry Kert, who had created the role of Tony in West Side Story. Kert earned rave reviews for his performance when the critics were invited to return. In an unusual move, the Tony Awards committee deemed Kert eligible for a nomination, an honor usually reserved for the actor who originates a role.

Company: Original Cast Album

A documentary of the recording of the original cast recording was created by award-winning documentary filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker shortly after the show opened on Broadway as a pilot for a series of TV documentaries which were to highlight the different ways a cast album recording session could be conducted and the results therefrom. However, a week after the original screening, producers for the original series were hired in Hollywood to go head up production for a major movie studio, the series was scrapped and only this pilot film remains. In the film, the cast album recording session starts in the early evening, with most of the ensemble numbers completed before midnight, leaving just the principal actors and small-group ensembles. Most of the small-group and solo numbers are completed by the wee hours, and shortly afterward everything settles down, leaving just Stritch and the orchestra. Over the next several hours, she struggles repeatedly to record the song The Ladies Who Lunch, first trying it out in a key lower than that used in the production, then finding it hard to maintain the idiosyncractic tempi required to sing while appearing intoxicated. Eventually, as dawn creeps over Columbia Records CBS 30th Street Studio in the background, they stop to get some rest after the marathon 18 hour recording session. The next day, Stritch "is shown nailing the song", which is visible on the video.

First National tour

The first national tour opened on May 20, 1971 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California with George Chakiris as Bobby, and closed on May 20, 1972 at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C..

Original London Production

The first West End production opened on January 18, 1972 at Her Majesty's Theatre, where it ran for 344 performances. The original cast included Larry Kert, Elaine Stritch, Joy Franz, and Donna McKechnie; Dilys Watling and Julia McKenzie were replacements later in the run.

1995 Broadway Revival

After 43 previews, the 1995 Roundabout Theatre revival, directed by Scott Ellis and choreographed by Rob Marshall, opened on October 5, 1995 at the Criterion Center Stage Right, where it ran for 60 performances. The cast included Boyd Gaines, Kate Burton, Robert Westenberg, Diana Canova, Debra Monk, LaChanze, Charlotte d'Amboise, Jane Krakowski, Danny Burstein and Veanne Cox.

1995 London Revival

The 1995 London revival was directed by Sam Mendes at the Donmar Warehouse. Previews began on December 1, with opening on December 13 and closing on March 2, 1996. The production transferred to the Albery Theatre, with previews starting on March 7, opening on March 13 and closing on June 29. The cast included Adrian Lester as the first black Bobby in a major production of the show. A videotaped recording of the Donmar Warehouse production was broadcast by BBC Two on March 1, 1997. On Sunday 7 November 2010, a one-off concert of Company starring most of the 1995 London revival cast, including Adrian Lester as Bobby, was held at The Queen's Theatre on Shaftsbury Avenue, to commemorate the 80th birthday of the composer, Stephen Sondheim.

Kennedy Center Production

A Kennedy Center (Washington, DC) production, presented as part of a summer-long presentation of Sondheim musicals, opened on May 17, 2002 for a 17-performance run. Directed by Sean Mathias, the cast included John Barrowman as Robert, Emily Skinner, Alice Ripley, and Lynn Redgrave.

2006 Broadway Revival

A new revival had try-outs at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Robert S. Marx Theatre in March through April 2006. This production, directed and choreographed by John Doyle opened Broadway on November 29, 2006 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre with a cast that included Raúl Esparza as Bobby and Barbara Walsh as Joanne. As in Doyle's 2005 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the actors themselves provided the orchestral accompaniment. For example, in the closing number, "Being Alive," Raul Esparza, as Bobby, accompanies himself on piano; Angel Desai, as Marta, plays saxophone and violin, as well as singing solo on "Another Hundred People"; the entire company sings and plays accompaniment during the second-act opener. The production won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The musical closed on July 1, 2007 after 34 previews and 246 performances. It was taped and broadcast on the Great Performances program of PBS in 2007. That video was released on DVD.

2007 Australian Production

Kookaburra Musical Theatre mounted a production directed by Gale Edwards in Sydney in June 2007, starring David Campbell as Bobby, with a cast including Simon Burke, Anne Looby, James Millar, Pippa Grandison, Katrina Retallick, Tamsin Carroll and Christie Whelan. The show was well-received, and Sondheim travelled to Australia for the first time in thirty years to attend the opening night. However, the production caused major controversy when Whelan was out sick for one performance and (with no understudy) Kookaburra chief executive Peter Cousens insisted the show be performed anyway, but without the character of April. This involved cutting several numbers and scenes with no explanation, and that night's performance ended twenty minutes early. Following complaints from the audience, there was considerable negative press attention to the decision, and Sondheim threatened to revoke the production rights for the show.

2011 New York Philharmonic Concert

In April 2011, Lonny Price directed a staged concert production, with Neil Patrick Harris as Bobby, Stephen Colbert as Harry, Craig Bierko as Peter, Jon Cryer as David, Katie Finneran as Amy, Christina Hendricks as April, Aaron Lazar as Paul, Jill Paice as Susan, Martha Plimpton as Sarah, Anika Noni Rose as Marta, Jennifer Laura Thompson as Jenny, Jim Walton as Larry, Chryssie Whitehead as Kathy, and Patti LuPone as Joanne. Paul Gemignani conducted a 35-piece orchestra, which uses the original orchestrations from the first Broadway production. This concert follows a long tradition of Stephen Sondheim concert productions at the New York Philharmonic, including Sweeney Todd and Passion. A filmed presentation of the concert debuted in select movie theatres on June 15, 2011.The cast of the production gathered again for a live performance at the 2011 Tony Awards, hosted by Harris, on June 12, 2011.