Company Previews Thread — Page 29

Binau, your post also moved me greatly. I came to an appreciation of stage musicals, Broadway, and Sondheim relatively late in life compared to many. I saw my first professional production/touring show (A Chorus Line) in my late twenties (early 1990s). I had some peripheral knowledge of Sondheim from Barbra’s stunning 1985 The Broadway Album and his work on the 1990 Dick Tracy movie. Of course, I knew Send in the Clowns before that even if I had no idea who wrote it. I saw my first shows in NYC in 2010, but I didn’t see a Sondheim show until the most recent off-Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd. Other than that, the other Sondheim stage productions I’ve seen is a local 2019 production of Into The Woods and seeing the latest Broadway revival of West Side Story twice. But news of Sondheim’s passing hit me like a gut punch. Within days of his death, I booked myself for a two night trip to NYC in January to see both Assassins and Company. I simply cannot wait

Updated On: 12/6/21 at 08:53 PM

It was supposed to be Patti's revival of GYPSY that was to be filmed, in early 09. But the Great Recession brought an early close, a couple weeks before they were to film it. (Imelda's, then, got lucky.)

I think they’d want to preserve the final Broadway revival Sondheim was involved in, he was also very proud of the production.
But first, let’s get a cast recording. The London album is mostly mediocre. I want to hear this new cast and the updated orchestrations.

I have seen hundreds of shows, and I very rarely get “that feeling” during a show. The chills, the absolute focus on the show, knowing you are seeing something that is changing your life. I got it with grey gardens, and ragtime, and come from away, and this past Saturday night, I got it with this version of company. I saw the 2007 (?) revival and loved it, but it didn’t affect me deeply. This version did.


Katrina is absolutely revelatory and there are very few performances in my life I have enjoyed more. I have heard the criticisms about her voice and, while she’s not a traditional belter, I could not have possibly cared less. Her acting was out of this world and made me feel every moment of those songs. Especially Being Alive. I absolutely adored her version so much. Her last note was actually belted and sounded amazing, but that’s really beside the point. I do not understand the criticism and am glad there are others on this board who feel the same.


Patti was of course incredible and I am so, so glad she was back in for the Saturday night show. The sold out audience ate up every moment. I honestly loved every moment of the whole show and hope to see it again when I come back in February for music man, but I just cannot stop thinking about Katrina’s performance.

**** SPOILERS *****





Did you miss the entire Alice in Wonderland concept? The boxes are a direct reference to that concept. The combination of the apartments we all live in, the compartments of Bobbi’s mind and the locked doors Bobbi opens made, for me, a physical production that was a revelation. Did you notice “35” was everywhere? These were not meant to be wholly realistic environments.

nycward said: "I found The Ladies Who Lunch unmotivated on that cramped set and Patti was stuck on a swivel chair and played a huge part of the number facing Bobbie. She couldn't come downstage off of that box and deliver a true 11 o'clock number? "

i think you make good points here re the claustrophobia of the production and i think i'd disagree in that i think it was intentional and more importantly, i think it worked at end of day. but i had the same thought re Ladies Who Lunch. I was surprised Patti stayed seated the entire number, and was sure that as Joanne loses her cool in the number, she'd rise (sorry) and let loose a bit. Just was odd and underwhelming staging.

Yes. I did notice the Alice In Wonderland imagery as well as the rest of the childhood imagery from the Poster to the Side By Side children Birthday party. I'm just not sure what that brings to the fears of adult, loneliness which is the foundation of this musical. Also, thinking back on the Ladies Who Lunch, Patti sits on a swivel chair for the entire song mostly facing audience right (I was audience left) and never gets up.

"EVERBODY SIT.....SIT....SIT....SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!

Not sure why she tolerated a staging that never supported her star turn.

Mitch101 said: "**** SPOILERS *****





Did you miss the entire Alice in Wonderland concept? The boxes are a direct reference to that concept. The combination of the apartments we all live in, the compartments of Bobbi’s mind and the locked doors Bobbi opens made, for me, a physical production that was a revelation. Did you notice “35” was everywhere? These were not meant to be wholly realistic environments."

For those of us who won't get a chance to see it, can you explain the Alice in Wonderland concept and how that relates to making the set into a series of small, cramped spaces?

nycward said: "The problem for me was the staging of this production where literally I found that Ms. Elliot "boxed" herself in with this concept. Pun intended. I found the physical production so limiting because of these small cramped spaces as if she was stuck with this set and decided to make the best of it. If this was conceived at a small theatre in London, like the Menier Chocolate Factory I could understand it, but with the resources at hand at the National I felt the concept limited the musicality of the evening."

Tell me you have a miopic view of successful musical staging without telling me you have a miopic view of successful musical staging. If the concept went over your head, just say that. It's not a stretch to understand that sometimes the most painful loneliness is when one is in a room/life full of people. Which is intrinsic in the piece as-written and amplified by Elliott's conscious decisions to crowd Katrina both physically and mentally through the course of the show. The only moments she has the freedom of the full stage are in her big numbers, where she's most free with her thoughts and emotions.

You complain about the lack of choreography (and assume it's a lack of ability in one of the most talented casts on Broadway at the moment)...did you know you were purchasing a ticket to see Sondheim's Company or did you think American In Paris had moved into the Jacobs over shutdown?

Updated On: 12/7/21 at 12:16 PM

JDonaghy4 said: "OhHiii said: "nycward said: "The problem for me was the staging of this production where literally I found that Ms. Elliot "boxed" herself in with this concept. Pun intended. I found the physical production so limiting because of these small cramped spaces as if she was stuck with this set and decided to make the best of it. If this was conceived at a small theatre in London, like the Menier Chocolate Factory I could understand it, but with the resources at hand at the National I felt the concept limited the musicality of the evening."

Tell me you have a miopic view of successful musical staging without telling me you have a miopic view of successful musical staging. If the concept went over your head, just say that. It's not a stretch to understand that sometimes the most painful loneliness is when one is in a room/life full of people. Which is intrinsic in the piece as-written and amplified by Elliott's conscious decisions to crowd Katrina both physically and mentally through the course of the show. The only moments she has the freedom of the full stage are in her big numbers, where she's most free with her thoughts and emotions.

You complain about the lack of choreography (and assume it's a lack of ability in one of the most talented casts on Broadway at the moment)...did you know you were purchasing a ticket to see Sondheim's Company or did you think American In Paris had moved into the Jacobs over shutdown?

"

Tell me you are obnoxious and lack the capacity to respect people with differing views..."

Because this board is such a bastion of respect for others' opinions. K.

It amazes me how different the reception to this production is on the other board. I have a feeling the reviews will be closer to the reaction on here.

I have been excited to see this show for months - just the thought of this subject matter marking my first time at a Broadway show post-2020 was already an overwhelming prospect. Now, after Sondheim’s passing, it has a whole second level of importance.

I’m sure many can relate. This is just the show for the moment.


However, after reading some of the things people have said about the staging, I’m beginning to worry about whether this is worth a full price orchestra ticket. I’m bringing the man I love, and I know he’ll be shocked and spun out by this score being handled well…as long as the staging doesn’t make the cake fail to rise.

Also listened to a couple of selections from the 2018 London recording and was very dismayed at how abysmally cold and technical some of the performances (from actors who are not in this Broadway iteration, granted) are. The marks get hit, but sans gravitas or grit, which is precisely what I loathe about so much modern musical theater.

If I bring my guy to see this show, I want it to be an experience he will never get, that justifies the ticket price - certainly in his eyes. He just doesn’t go to Broadway shows, or musicals, or really know Sondheim. It’s so nice to have someone to bring to a show who will genuinely be surprised!

Do any of you know who have seen this in previews compare it favorably to the 2018 recording or production, if you got to see it in London?

Also, are seats in the first few rows too close for how this production looks, at least as of now?

Any advice would be much appreciated. I hate that I’m starting to have reservations about a show I am so excited to see that I have felt like I’m in high school again as I dream about the potential euphoria I’ll feel drinking it all in.

Sorry to be so scattered on this one!

Updated On: 12/8/21 at 11:27 PM

binau said: "What a roller coaster. As soon as Patti started calling out I was getting a little nervous and the deadline article was like a stab to the heart. No disrespect to Patti’s understudy of course but there is only one Patti LuPone and given the events of last week it was only more important that Patti was there for me. I held onto my tickets and planned to go just in case and shockingly this paid off. The box office confirmed Patti was in but I still felt uneasy at dinner right until the time got closer and indeed the understudy board was blank. It was particularly annoying that someone at the bar then appeared to say to a customer Patti was out that night. A race to the board once more and check with an usher to confirm Patti was in. Sorry but people need to really need to make sure they know what they are speaking about, it’s quite frustrating.


I saw the west end version 3 or 4 times, including the very special and high energy final performance that if I recall Sondheim was in the audience for. I thought it was almost perfect, but I have been taught how to see again. As soon as Katrina walked out and I saw how much information she was conveying in that opening scene with her facial expressions I knew something was very different. Her acting in the role is just next level - she is mining every scene for the subtext with her face and eyes. It makes her Bobbi seem much more complex than Craig. There is this undertone of emotion and jadedness in her performance, that maybe she isn’t quite as happy as she seems to her friends, and it makes her performance so much more interesting to me than Craig’s.

Her Bobbi is much cooler, much sexier and much more ‘New York’ to me. She is too attractive for her own good, intimidatingly so. and it’s very very clear how and why she has power and is able to date some of those very very attractive men. In comparison, Craig was much more kind of goofy warmer personality - someone you feel you just want to be her friend but not a force. It sounds like some people might want the kind of fuzzy warm Bobbi Craig was and I can see why it might have its fans but I will take the emotionally complex version any day of the week in a Sondheim show.

Of course I was worried about the singing after the reports here but I didn’t think much of Craig’s singing anyway and while at her peak maybe Craig’s voice was less thin (I also saw her when she also might have been sick and it was considerably worse), Craig’s voice was sweet and serviceable but boring. Katrina acts the hell out of those songs and there is just enough interestingness in the timbre of her voice that it’s just not a boring sweet voice and there is some vocal acting going on. Someone is Waiting was better than the clips I’ve seen and Marry Me A Little was surprisingly powerful - the rain heightened it and made it a show stopper. A great improvement to mix things up a bit as the west end staging for the three songs always felt a bit too samesy. Maybe she also just happened to be in good voice too of course.

In general the production is the same blueprint but I am impressed at how they have not just decided to trot out the working formula and indeed make so many minor adjustments or enhancements in the set and transitions to improve things. I will admit I was a bit scared for Katrina when she went through the ‘trap door’ thing though and I hope there are safety redundancy systems to prevent accidents! The effect is that it’s like they’ve turned the show from Blu-Ray to 4K resolution. Of course the biggest change is the complete restaging of Another Hundred People, which just didn’t work in London where it was a literal subway tube with cringe dancing. I don’t know if it completely works now either but it’s so much better as is the actor who sings the song and plays the scene. In London he felt like a creep and those vocals were annoying but here the guy’s look is EXACTLY the right one and those ass lines now work.

In general every cast member equals or betters in both the singing and acting of the west end cast. It’s funny despite Katrina being a force ironically she also fades out because the cast around her are so strong. I want to call out Jennifer Simard in particular who should be nominated for a Tony and in the future people won’t understand why in such a small role unless they were there. Those line deliveries and physical humour. Just so so funny.

I want to acknowledge I did think Jonathan Bailey had a bit of charm and sparkle that might have added something here but Matt Doyle is perhaps more technically there with the singing. Patti’s addition to the Tick Tock scene is new right??? Or at least, I don’t remember it the same way - maybe a new costume or something. Speaking of Patti, it’s clear she is much more known in NYC than London and the audience entrance applause was so exciting. She always gave 100% in London and does here too. She was already perfection and is giving a very similar performance in my opinion so I can’t say she has bettered herself but that’s fine. It’s hard to know how she could get better. In London though without quite the same strong cast I would say she stood out even more too but that’s ok. She should win the Tony and I hope they can record some of her dialogue because some of those bitchy line readings “he’s not who you’d call” feel iconic and it’s like the role was written for her. In fact we deserve PS classics to just record the whole damn scene. PLEASE.


I LOVED “Being Alive” and was not disappointed at all even after following Patti.I’m glad that crying is coming back because despite what people used to say on this board 10 years ago of course I think the heightened emotions if done tastefully can heighten the scene. The whole scene seems perfectly tailored for Katrina’s abilities. Making it more introspective rather than trying to have her belt it out where she might not have had the voice.

Last, not to get too personal but the show felt like a celebration of how much I love New York and Sondheim, and how much it has changed my life. 14 years ago I heard “Epiphany” for the first time not knowing anything about Sondheim or much about musicals but simply being in awe at how the song transitions from the angry rage to the devastating “I’ll neverrr, seeeee Joannasaaa” - for the first time I realised music could be used to reflect the emotion of a character. It started this addiction, this ‘passion’.

I had no idea that moment would lead me to find so many other moments in so many, many shows - much of them Sondheim. It was those “your eyes, George” lines that made me fall in love with Bernadette’s voice and it just kept going and going.

Over the years I have had to chase that ‘high’ in New York and saw my first Broadway show, Sondheim on Sondheim. For the next ten years I feel so privileged to have seen Laurents’ WSS, Donna in Whistle, CZJ and Lansbury; Bernadette and Stritch in Night Music, Bernadette and Maxwell in Follies, Jake G in Sunday in the Park.

It is a privilege to now see Company here, the last Sondheim show he ever saw on Broadway, in this perfect production at this perfect time in my life. And also to celebrate this amazing, amazing city that is unlike any place I’ve ever been to in the whole world. And one that speaks to me now more than ever. In 2010 in New York City I was spending every cent I earned to chase the rush of this city - how amazing to see Bernadette in a Sondheim show then open up Grindr and be able to hook up with a Broadway ensemble member. It’s so New York and these experiences changed my life.

Now I sit in the audience, older with a 35 year old partner that doesn’t know anything about musicals who ‘ruins my sleep’ and ‘puts me through hell’ and makes me alive and the shows just keep speaking to me. In the backdrop of an awful global pandemic. I could cry at how much this city and Sondheim means to me and what it’s like to be back - and it’s so weird that no one really gets it except for a small group of people on this board. Even people on this board perhaps don’t seem to understand the pure ecstasy of what it was and is like to hear Bernadette sing and act that final verse of In Buddy’s Eyes.

What a time to be alive. I feel so lucky. Don’t take this city or Broadway for granted there is no where else. It’s my favourite place in the world. People think I’m obsessed with musicals but they just don’t understand the magic that is there. I love that we all here do. We are so lucky."

What a beautiful, informative post.

You assuaged some of my fears about the production. Thank you!

I can relate acutely to your 2010; it was quite a theatergoing year for me, too, as well as a galvanizing year personally, which is probably not a coincidence!

Now I'm nearing 35, and can relate to Joanne’s jadedness in a way that completely eluded me when I first discovered “The Ladies Who Lunch” as a kid. Sondheim’s observations are like that - more treasures reveal themselves with time.

His death hurts so much because, as long as he was still here, there was the chance that he might enthrall us in new and unexpected ways. Now, aside from what is revealed of what he was working on, we have to accept that an era has passed - and we have gotten older, too. Sigh.

Just the thought of it makes me want to treasure Patti, Bernadette and their small company of peers who are still working that much more.