Company (musical)
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Company is a Broadway musical with a book by George Furth and score by Stephen Sondheim.
Company was among the first musicals to deal with 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 Sondheim standard.
After seven previews, the production (under the direction of Hal Prince) opened on April 26, 1970 at the Alvin Theatre, where it ran for 705 performances. The opening night cast included Dean Jones, Elaine Stritch, Susan Browning, Pamela Myers, Barbara Barrie, Charles Kimbrough, Beth Howland, and Donna McKechnie.
Shortly after opening night, Dean Jones withdrew from the show, allegedly due to stress he was suffering from ongoing divorce proceedings. He was replaced by Larry Kert, who 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.
A documentary of the recording of the original cast album was created by D. A. Pennebaker shortly after the show opened on Broadway in 1970. (IMDB entry)
The show's success prompted a 1971-72 national tour, a 1972 London production at Her Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket, a 1995 Broadway revival by the Roundabout Theatre Company, a 1996 London revival at the Donmar Warehouse, a Brazilian production in Rio in 2001, a limited run at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2002, and yet another Broadway revival in 2006, directed by John Doyle, who helmed the 2006 Broadway revival of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. As they did in the Sweeney Todd production, the actors themselves provide the orchestral accompaniment.
[edit] Song list
Act I
- 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*
Act II
- Side by Side by Side (What Would We Do Without You?)
- Poor Baby
- Tick-Tock
- Barcelona
- The Ladies Who Lunch
- Being Alive
*The song Marry Me a Little was cut from the original score but was permanently restored in the 1990s to close Act I. Added to the 1995 and 2006 revivals, it is also included in the official composer's edition of the vocal selections, published in 1996. ISBN 0-7935-6763-7.
[edit] Original production awards and nominations
- Tony Award for Best Musical (winner)
- Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (winner)
- Tony Award for Best Original Score (winner)
- Tony Award for Best Lyrics (winner)
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (Kert, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Stritch and Browning, nominees)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Kimbrough, nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Barrie and Myers, nominees)
- Tony Award for Best Scenic Design (winner)
- Tony Award for Best Lighting Design (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Choreography (nominee)
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (nominee)
- Theatre World Award (Browning, winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book (winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics (winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music (winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design (winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director (winner)
[edit] External links
- Internet Broadway Database listing
- Live, Laugh, Love: Company
- Music Theatre International's Company Page
