CoMpAnY

[BrightEyedInNYC]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 1:52am

hey there!
my college is doing company this year and i was just wondering what roles i could be considered for. i'm familiar with the songs, but not the characters or which characters sing the songs, etc.
i'm a mezzo-soprano who is belty but usually gets cast as the soprano lead. i've got auburn hair, am 5'6" and 110 lbs. i don't know if the physical discription will help, but there you have it. haha.
i'd love to know what each character is like
thanks y'all!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 2:31am

I'd think about Amy, April, or Jenny.
I would say Marta (shes always been my favorite) - but you need a killer belt to sing "Another Hundred People". Also if you normally play sweeter, soprano leads - Marta is not for you. Shes a spitfire kind of girl. But like I said, my favorite.

Amy is the most fun, by far. She's a belty-mezzo type character. Shes completely neurotic and paranoid...but its funny. And shes got a good heart. She's just a nervous person.
She sings "Not Getting Married" which is a fast-paced song (a lot of lyrics to spit out) which basically shows her crazy side. Its ok for showing off a voice, but the acting is key with her. This role is also bigger than April or Jenny.

April is a soprano part. She is one of Robert's (the main character) three "girlfriends". She is a flight attendant, and she is extremely airheaded...very blonde.
She sings a duet with Robert called "Barcelona"...in which she really only sings a little...and the trio "You Can Drive A Person Crazy" with the other two girlfriends.

Jenny IS a soprano, but shes pretty boring. Aside from the first scene when her husband, Robert and herself are getting high (she actually is very funny in that scene)...shes very motherly, very down to earth, and very conservative. She's pretty much just a housewife.


SO! That being said - I think Amy would be the most fun. I've seen "Not Getting Married" become the showstopper, and Amy stealing the show. It just impresses people because its a patter song - all the lyrics run together. And it can be SO funny if you're a good actress - which I'm sure you are!

Sorry to ramble - Company is one of my favorite shows.

[BrightEyedInNYC]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 3:16pm

it's not at all rambling. all of the above was very helpful!:)
Amy sounds like a great role.
tell me about marta, if you wouldn't mind.
i do have a very strong belt and actually really enjoy doing something not like me or not like what i usually get cast as. i recently was "hildy" in "on the town" -big belty, brashy, tom-boyish whore taxi cab driver. lol.it's my favorite role i've played because she was so different from anything i'd done and i think i really surprised people who do know me because they'd "never heard me sing or act like that". lol. we're actors. it's what we do, y'kno? but anyhoo, thanks again for the great info!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 5:40pm

Alright, no problem!

Marta, as I said before, sings the song "Another Hundred People" and also is one of the trio that sings "You Could Drive A Person Crazy".
Shes another one of Robert's three girlfriends, but shes much different than the other two. She's crazy and lives life right on the edge, isn't afraid of anything, and doesn't care what other people think.
She's absolutely infatuated with the city ("Another Hundred People") and adores the fact that there are hundreds of people moving in and out at all times. She sees a potential connection with each and every person.
As she says, "Every son of a bitch in this city is my best friend" (or something to that affect).
She appreciates the people who stop and realize the diversity and potential and are laid back, and feels sorry for the people who have a problem connecting (Robert) and live in the city without realizing the beauty of it.
Ordinary things that these uptight people don't like about the city (such as the "postered walls with the crude remarks")...she finds beautiful.
She's also not afraid to say what she thinks.

So thats Marta for you. Shes not one of the principals, but I think "Another Hundred People" is one of the most beautiful songs in the score. I just performed the song, actually. It's challenging to sing but is an audience-pleaser when done right.
If you can belt, then that part is a lot of fun. Especially because Marta really doesn't have any rules. Shes, like I said, a spitfire kind of girl.

Marta and Amy are definately the best female roles, in my opinion.
(unless you're an alto through and through... In which case, Joanne is a pretty great role as well...but considering what you said about yourself, I highly doubt you would be considered for that role.)

Well good luck! Let us know what happens!
If theres anything else I can help with, just let me know!

[CurtainUp]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 10:12pm

hmm, I always thought that song was about the disconnect of the city and that the line was sarcastic, but I don't know the show well at all. Interesting.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 12:15am

Thats what I thought too!!!
But I did it at Ithaca college...and the professor insisted that it be sung the other way and thats how Sondheim meant it.
I just sort of nodded my head and went with it.

[CurtainUp]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 9:41pm

That's what's fabulous about theatre, the interpretation. Unless he truly read up/spoke to Sondheim, no one can really tell. And I'm no director or professor, but if I were, I would have gone with what I originally thought.

[Jon]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 10:14pm

In every production of COMPANY I've ever seen, "Another Hundred People" was sung with a smile. And since the first production I ever saw, back in 1972, was directed by the stage manager of the Broadway production, I assume that's how Hal Prince, George Furth and Stephen Sondheim wanted it.