Company Commentary Thread — Page 16

^ I think you hit the nail on the head, there. Really. Because Bobby appears as the odd one out, especially in "What Would We Do Without You?" (as much as the instruments got to be a wee distracting, I did love the emphasis on Bobby not playing anything, save for the kazoo).

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Updated On: 2/27/08 at 05:41 PM

Updated On: 5/7/09 at 05:45 PM

I loved that about his staging. The fact that the scenery never changes is brilliant because it's like a prison in a sense. It doesn't matter what the room looks like, to Bobby it's the person you're trapped with that is so terrifying. Marriage is marriage whether you live in a mansion or a one bedroom apartment.

And that's what makes the Barcelona scene somewhat humorous. Because of the fact he seems trapped, and when April says she's decided to stay... his "Oh God" almost seems like a cry for help...

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Updated On: 2/27/08 at 05:49 PM

The image of that is just so sad. Poor Bobby.

(Somehow I think he'd have been hard pressed not to try to talk to the audience. Although I'm not sure that was part of the plan... )

They actually did rehearse it like that once, though, with just Raul on stage all alone and everybody else doing their thing from the sidelines. I can't remember where I read that, either. One of the cast members told me the story, but I know I saw it in an interview or a write-up or something, too. Maybe one of Kristin's columns? I wish I could remember where. I know it's kind of useless tidbit without a source.

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Updated On: 2/27/08 at 06:00 PM

I thought that was in the CD pamphlet essay - probably not, thought. Raul has mentioned it a few times, but I can't access his latest interviews because his website is down. I'll look around for it when I get home.

Raul would SO have to fight the temptation to talk to the audience if that were the case.

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That would have been so odd! Would he be in character? What about a toilet/ciggie break?

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best12bars... (nice username btw, meant to say that originally) heh, I understand you for not watching tv lately. But I do have to say, there are a couple shows that are well worth tuning in for. Unfortunately, they are usually in danger of cancellation first season or briefly after. Luckily for Pushing Daisies, ABC gave it a LOT of promotion and the fairytale love story helps regular television viewers get hooked in. Otherwise, it's really too quirky and witty for most (which is usually an automatic death sentence for a show) and did indeed lose some viewers because of it. Swoosie Kurtz and Ellen Green are also on the show. :) The creator, Bryan Fuller (Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me), is a huge Broadway fan.
Here is a neat series preview if you are curious about the story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLvMGGnLbQw

But yes, I do indeed understand your departure from Primtime - I'd be tempted to do the same because of ridiculous cancellations of fantastic shows like Firefly, Arrested Development and Wonderfalls. But I'm rather attached to The Office, Friday Night Lights and Pushing Daisies. :) And now Lost is getting good again!

Anyway -- back to Company!!

Nothing new there, indeed. (re: Sondheim = brilliant) It is indeed a very vague show but I also find it rather simplistic. I mean, we know the basics and that's all we really need to know. And as for the whole party deal, I figured as much that most of them do not know each other. Maybe they've been introduced on past occasions briefly, but mostly, they only have Bobby in common and are always there for him regardless of this gathering being otherwise unfamiliar and possibly uncomfortable for them. And I agree, I don't know if all of the best drama arises from that, but it's definitely possible if you have the right kinds of people in the room. And Bobby knows all kinds, so it's only a matter of time!

That's funny that you guys mention Raul having to be on stage for the whole time. I was recently involved in a show at my high school for which we built a black box theatre on our stage. During intermission it was my job to stand on stage in character as a prison guard, still, silent, looking at the ground. It was pure hell. Especially when people I knew were there. I couldn't imagine having to be out there the entire time the house is open.

It actually seems that there are two imagined parties -- one during "Company" and the other during "Side by Side by Side." They come together for a party after Bobby hears the answering machine messages. The interactions of the couples at the "parties" are probably imagined based on what Bobby knows about each of them. In all likelihood, Bobby starts drinking after hearing the messages, and all of the rest of the scenes/vignettes are in his head, up until he doesn't show up for the final party. But I've always imagined that even that part is in his mind, since he wouldn't know their real reactions to his leaving (and the idea that they'd really be so complacent about it doesn't fit with what we see the rest of the show).

I agree with that. Even looking at it objectively, though (based on the OBC and other productions), it hasn't really bothered me that Bobby's friends don't know each other -- even if you see it as them living in the same building. Isn't that part of the way the city is? I know a lot of people who don't know their neighbors. It seems to always be the couple with Bobby, the unthreatening, fun bachelor, as a third wheel. They all want him for themselves, to have around or project onto, and that's part of why he's so smothered.

Updated On: 5/7/09 at 09:02 PM

Yeah. I understand it to be that, in linear terms, Bobby comes home, hears his messages, finds out about the party, freaks out, breaks down, and then his friends come and he isn't there. Which would make the very opening scene and Being Alive through the end the things that really happen; everything in between is either remembered or imagined.

But again, ambiguous enough that you could easily see it a different way.

His friends giving up so easily on him at the end shows that while he's their friend and they care about him

Hmm. I agree, to a point, but I guess I see that moment with a little bit more of a positive spin. They get the message; they understand that they can't be talking at him like that anymore. I often wonder what would happen to Bobby after that night. And in turn, are his friends completely walking away from him and giving up on him, or are they just stepping back a little?

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I would think they're stepping back a little as opposed to giving up. I understood that development as his friends realizing that they can't be Bobby's trusted 'company' anymore, he needs to lead his own life. Perhaps they even leave because they understand he doesn't need them as much anymore?

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