Company and Suicide- Page 2
Company and Suicide
#25re: Company and Suicide
Posted: 1/21/09 at 12:15am
I mean, all the successful kings in Shakespeare's Histories were Slytherins, and the Ravenclaws were summarily deposed. Hufflepuffs have a fairly good survival rate, but never achieve *much*, and Gryffindors all rush into death far too readily.
I want that cross-stitched onto a pillow.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
CurtisTaylorJr2
Leading Actor Joined: 3/17/06
#26re: Company and Suicide
Posted: 1/21/09 at 12:27amI don't really find Company to be all that dark, to me it's just very cynical and sarcastic realism about marriage. Suicide doesn't even fit with the concept, Bobby is trying to figure out what he wants in his life, not end it.
#27re: Company and Suicide
Posted: 1/21/09 at 4:45pm
I don't remember hearing about a British production of Company where Bobby shot himself, so I would hazard a guess that it was a very small-scale fringe production.
Though I did see a production that was more frightening than Sweeney Todd; Bobby had downed half a bottle of Scotch by Sorry Grateful, so he was heading towards a similar conclusion.
#28re: Company and Suicide
Posted: 1/21/09 at 4:47pmWell, part of the conceit in the Doyle revival was that he was drinking himself silly. It may not have been as overt as seeing half a bottle of scotch disappear before your eyes, but you can definitely see the progression. And the glass constantly in Bobby's hand was completely deliberate.
#29re: Company and Suicide
Posted: 1/21/09 at 5:14pm
Maybe Doyle saw the production I saw - the one I'm thinking of predates his.
The scarey thing wasn't so much the scotch (though I felt sorry for the actor having to perform whilst consuming so much liquid) as the explicit despair with which so many of the characters were portrayed. I've seen Company many times and this sticks in my mind as being set apart from the others, not necessarily better but much more severe.
#30re: Company and Suicide
Posted: 1/21/09 at 5:19pm
Severe - that's the word I was looking for.
And maybe, but I don't think it's an idea you have to borrow from someone else in order to see as a catalyst for the behavior, or a through-line to the story.
#31re: Company and Suicide
Posted: 1/21/09 at 11:42pmI saw the 06 revival with a friend of mine who is rather ignorant to theatre, and doesn't tend to over analyze things. Yet she still insists that Bobby commits suicide at the end of "Being Alive". I've always thought she was just crazy.... I had no idea that anybody else thought this. Interesting..
#32re: Company and Suicide
Posted: 1/21/09 at 11:45pmThere's definitely an argument there. That's what I love about theater. There are so many ways to think of things.
Men don't even belt.
wonkit
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/30/08
#33re: Company and Suicide
Posted: 1/21/09 at 11:52pm
I loved the fact that Sondheim laughed out loud at the non sequitur of Bobby committing suicide after singing "Being Alive."
#34re: Company and Suicide
Posted: 1/21/09 at 11:54pm
Yet she still insists that Bobby commits suicide at the end of "Being Alive". I've always thought she was just crazy.
Tell her PalJoey said "'Being Alive' is about being alive."
If she says, "Huh?," just keep repeating it.
#35re: Company and Suicide
Posted: 1/22/09 at 1:27amSomehow that one liner seems even funnier to me now...maybe I need to go to bed.
You're reminding me of people you hear at the movies asking questions every ten seconds, "Who is that? Why is that guy walking down the street? Who's that lady coming up to him? Uh-oh, why did that car go by? Why is it so dark in this theater?" - FindingNamo on strummergirl
"If artists were machines, then I'm just a different kind of machine...I'd probably be a toaster. Actually, I'd be a toaster oven because they're more versatile. And I like making grilled cheese" -Regina Spektor
"That's, like, twelve shows! ...Or seven." -Crazy SA Fangirl
"They say that just being relaxed is the most important thing [in acting]. I take that to another level, I think kinda like yawning and...like being partially asleep onstage is also good, but whatever." - Sherie Rene Scott
"If artists were machines, then I'm just a different kind of machine...I'd probably be a toaster. Actually, I'd be a toaster oven because they're more versatile. And I like making grilled cheese" -Regina Spektor
"That's, like, twelve shows! ...Or seven." -Crazy SA Fangirl
"They say that just being relaxed is the most important thing [in acting]. I take that to another level, I think kinda like yawning and...like being partially asleep onstage is also good, but whatever." - Sherie Rene Scott
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