Company (Stephen Sondheim)

An Eclectic Cast Highlights Story Over Song In This Enjoyable Sondheim Revival
When you're a theater lover, you greet every revival of a Sondheim work with great enthusiasm. "Company," to my mind, has always been one of the master's more accessible pieces. Originally produced in 1970, the show may be a product of its time but with a powerhouse roster of songs including "The Ladies Who Lunch," "Being Alive," "Side by Side by Side," and "Another Hundred People," it makes for an era well worth revisiting. This star-studded production, shot at Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic, certainly had a curiosity factor working for it with its eclectic cast. Headlined by Neil Patrick Harris, the show also features the always welcome Patti Lupone. But in addition to these two, the cast boasts a number of less likely (but no less recognizable) faces. Craig Bierko, Anika Noni Rose, Katie Finneran, Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope), Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), and Stephen Colbert are some of the others on stage. This filmed version...

Stephen Sondheim Lives On....
In 2011, I was sitting at the local movie theatre when a preview for Stephen Sondheim's Company came on the screen- I immediately had a musical theatre nerd-gasm. I've listened to this show over and over again, but I never really grasped the full concept of the show. I bought the 2006 Broadway Revival DVD in hopes to gain some more insight into the show- I received, some. It wasn't until I saw this production (one of only a few in the theatre), that I completely understood Bobby's story.

The scale of this production, and the staging was simply magnificent. Many forget that this was Company: In Concert because it feels as though it's a full-scale Broadway production. The full orchestration was fantastic, and the talent on stage, sublime: Neil Patrick Harris embodied Bobby perfectly. Patti LuPone's Joanne had me on the edge of my seat- I've always been a fan of her. And the three young ladies playing Bobby's girlfriends (Chryssie Whitehead, Anika Noni Rose, & Cristina...

The best Bobby since Larry Kert!
I saw Company! at the Alvin Theater, of Broadway on December 8th, 1970 (Elaine Stritch forgot a line in "Ladies who lunch" and turned to the audience after a LONG pause saying "Do you think I forgot the line?") and have seen every reincarnation I could find since then. I have a copy of the script, the Alvin Theater Playbill and am a Company! junky. Loved Raul Esparsa in the 2006 revival, but it lacked the full orchestra Sondheim deserves (Angel Desai strained to sing "Another Hundred People"). This cast solves every problem I've seen in previous reincarnations and NPH pays great tribute the the Late Larry Kert, while Martha Plimpton and Stephen Colbert are awesome. No one else could be Elaine Stritch, but Patti Lupone holds her own. Bravo!

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