"Barcelona" in COMPANY

What are Robert's intentions throghout the song? I've been listening to this song forever and recetly saw the Cincinnati production, but in considering putting this piece on for performance I couldn't sense the intention of the characters in this song.

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That's what I was going to say, kind of. He doesn't know what he wants. I think he feels obligated to try to get April to stay because she's someone and he's not "supposed" to be alone. So he says "oh," but you can tell he sounds disappointed. Then she decides to stay, and Bobby goes "oh God....." That's not really what he wants. I think at that point he's approaching being in a place where he knows (or thinks) he wants a relationship, but April is clearly not the girl for him.

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Updated On: 3/29/06 at 06:38 PM

It's like this analogy:

You want someone you chase and chase and chase and chase after them until you can have them.

Then once you have them you run and run and run and run away because you're not sure that you want them after all.

Classic scene of someone who clearly doesn't know what the hell he wants in a relationship or even in himself at all.

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Robert isn't sure what he wants; he is still conflicted between marital and single life and doesn't know if he wants to get committed. That's why at the very end of Barcelona, after spending 5 odd minutes convincing her to stay he says "Oh, God!"

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Right--I suppose it can be played either way, but usually when I'm listening to it I get the impression that Robert is just being polite in asking April to stay. He insists on it solely because he knows she can't, and the point of the song is to convince her that it's not just a meaningless one-night stand (which it was). None of what he says when trying to convince her to stay is heartfelt....he's just going through the motions, but he's quite ready for her to leave. Particularly with the middle section with the "You're a very special girl...", he's obviously not being sincere. I don't think that he has any delusions at all that she's actually the girl for him. It casts Bobby in a better light to think that he's being sincere and doesn't know what he wants, but I don't think that's the case--he knows he doesn't want commitment at this point, and definitely not with her.

What I've always wondered is where April gets the "Now you're angry" part. Does she think that he sounds offended that she has to leave? He totally doesn't.

Updated On: 3/30/06 at 04:47 AM

I agree Hunter.
April and Bobby are playing the game of the one night stand. They really dont know each other and the "Now your angry" from April has always seemed like a passive agressive move on her part (remember, the previous scene makes her out to be an airhead.)
I LOVE that you mentioned the Peters/Chamberlain version from Sylvia Fine Kaye's Comedy Tonite, FrontRow...That was done as a single piece with only a setup by Sylvia. Then it works well as a comedic number. If you've seen Browning do it, it is not that funny but bittersweet. They've had a nice time together, but know it really wont go anywhere. She seems to be grabbing at something in the end and his reaction, tho funny, made me so sad for her.

Single life in NYC

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That's an interesting take on it... I've always thought that April's part of the song was completely sincere, but it's interesting to think that she's just playing the game, too, and trying to feel him out emotionally in addition to stalling.

Jones's "Oh."s on the OBCR have just never made me think that he really wants her to stay (he seems pretty resigned to the idea, though maybe pretending to be put off), and the "No, I'm not"s are pretty convincing, as in "No, believe me, I'm really not upset that you have to leave now." But he has to be at least a little polite about it, so he asks her to stay. I doubt that he would have if he didn't know that she had a flight to make or he had any clue that she'd say yes.

It's such an interesting song, becuase I imagine that it can be played so many ways.

You know, I always thought he just sounded a little tired and disinterested. He didn't want to hurt her feelings by basically saying "Get going", and maybe he wants to have sex again. Also, maybe he's a little offended that she's walking out on him instead of giving him the opportunity to give her the boot. She is, apparently, on to his game. At one point during the song he yawns and messes up her name.

As other people have pointed it, it's just a post-one night stand feeling each other out with a mind game song. I think you can't read too much into it.

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I actually really liked the interpretation in the Cincy production (I saw it twice), though I felt as if the way "Oh God!" was delivered was completely out of place. It got a laugh though. But does a laugh compensate for loss of sincerity?

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I liked the way Raul delivered "Oh God!", but then again I don't think that the song is supposed to be sincere. I can see where you're coming from in terms of it not fitting the tone of the rest of the song the way they chose to play it. Still, though, it's important to know that Bobby freaks out when he realizes that April actually is planning on staying, and I think it's okay to play that part for laughs.

And can't remember her name. Yeah, generally I totally agree with you that he's not conflicted about whether he wants her to stay, beyond probably wanting to have sex again. I just felt that it was played differently in the Cinci production.

I don't think that Raul yawned, if I remember correctly. If he did, it wasn't the big "I'm bored with you now." yawn.

Is he just asking her to stay?

The Bobby's gay thing always drives me nuts. I mean...yes...many gay men lead active sex lives with women before they come out...but it reduces the complexity of the piece greatly...and in some ways, makes it less universal. A coming out story is kind of specialized, whereas fear of commitment can be universal. I know...I sound like a bad gay.

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