Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
#0Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/18/06 at 11:46pm
I was singing along to "Being Alive" on my iPod when I found myself wondering if (and I'm talking total hypothetical situation here) the characters from Company could all switch genders and still maintain the intergrity and "point" of the show.
I think it might bring an interesting quality to the show to see a female Robert, a male Amy, ect. I've noticed that it seems like the ideals of the country have changed a lot since the show premiered - Joannes are no longer considered out of the norm and more and more women are staying single for longer...
Due to a lot of technical things, like names in lyrics, ect, it couldn't be done - but if there was a way to pull it off, would this concept work onstage, or would it defeat the purpose of the show to begin with?
#1re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/18/06 at 11:51pminteresting concept = but I don't think it would work. Especially with Joanne.
#2re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/18/06 at 11:52pmI was thinking the same thing about Joanne.
#3re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/18/06 at 11:57pm
^ditto.
...What happened next, was stranger still, a woman breathless and afraid, appeared out of the night, completely dressed in white. She had a secret she would tell, of one who had mistreated her. Her face and frightened gaze, my mind cannot erase...But then she ran from view. She looked so much like you...
#4re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 12:25am
A lot of the things that the characters go through, though, while certainly slightly gender stereotyped are either distinctly male or female; their actions, I think, sort of symbolize their points of view, and when you're dealing with something like love, lust and relationships, a lot of those viewpoints *are* distinctly gender-specific. I find Company to be a show with its backing in emotion and feeling, and a lot of that seems to be based on the different ways that men and women feel and express those feelings, with regards to others and their relationships WITH others. So, surely there are characters that could be flipped, and Bobby probably COULD be a woman, but I don't know that they'd all retain their poignancy. I mean, could you imagine "Getting Married Today" being done by a straight man? I think a lot of it would feel kind of campy and silly, whereas it's probably supposed to be (while humorous) cathartic reflective.
I don't think that was very coherent. I'm sorry.
#5re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 12:46am
no, that was very well put emcee.
I think what would be interesting is if bobby was the only character who was gender switched, and was a lesbian.
shaky, yes, but worth discussion.
#6re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 12:48amI think the scene where Bobby's sexuality is questioned is very loaded, and it is such because there's no clear-cut answer, in a lot of cases. So, I wouldn't go so far as to label this hypothetical female Robert a lesbian, because then you totally unload that scene.
FoscasBohemianDream
Broadway Star Joined: 1/20/06
#7re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 1:50amI believe the show can be very gender-specific. The idea of three straight males singing "You Could Drive A Person Crazy" is very silly. "The Ladies Who Lunch" expresses thoughts that are very specific to an older woman who has gone through very specific female-related experiences in her life. Same with "Getting Married Today" and "Have I Got A Girl For You?"
#8re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 9:52amOnly in a drunk piano bar really, really late at night.
#9re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:08am
Now..
I *could* see this done with an all male cast.
Having recently played Paul, I remember thinking to myself, "I know gay couples who have been in this situation, hell, i've been in this situation."
The show is about relationships. It's hard to watch it and not at least once say "Oh, they remind me of _______ and _______." or "Lord, when I was with ______________ he/she behaved exactly like that."
"Y'all have a GRAND day now"
Jon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
#10re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:08am
What is the point of hypothetical discussions of ideas thta would never be allowed to be done legally?
Do you think OKLAHOMA would work if you re-set it in contemporary New York City?
How about a hip-hop version of FOLLIES?
#11re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:52amI just played David in a production of Company, and although the character in particular might have the ability to be done by a girl, botht the actions and written choices given by Furth for Jenny and David, and all the couples really, have distinct gender based characterization.
...What happened next, was stranger still, a woman breathless and afraid, appeared out of the night, completely dressed in white. She had a secret she would tell, of one who had mistreated her. Her face and frightened gaze, my mind cannot erase...But then she ran from view. She looked so much like you...
#12re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 10:57am
because Jon, hypothetical discussions are fun!
and who knows? Who would have thought Romeo and Juliet could have been updated to (more-or-less) present day New York City and worked so well?
#13re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 1:14pm
I agree with Michael Bennett. Have I seen you there? I was Joanne, weren't you Amy? 
"It's not so much do what you like, as it is that you like what you do." SS
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." GMarx
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." GMarx
#14re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 2:59pmMarta! I'm always Marta...
#15re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 3:02pm
Of course, Marta! How could I be so stupid? Amy was the other guy...
And of course, Betty as Bobby was a stitch (or is it Stritch?)!
"It's not so much do what you like, as it is that you like what you do." SS
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." GMarx
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." GMarx
bwayondabrain
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/05
#16re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 3:35pm
i hope this isnt off topic, but i was wondering what age would COMPANY be appropriate for? id really like to see it, but compared to something like RENT, how much "innappropriate" stuff is in it?
thanks, and sorry
#17re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 5:49pm
There isn't anything inappropriate about the show. It's just very advanced and very complexed. Most of the story revolves around relationships and themes, not plot. Therefore, many young people would miss the point entirely.
PM me with any other questions you might have.
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill A Mockingbird
#18re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 8:55pm
I agree that Company wouldn't really work with a female lead. It's too gender specific as written..and not just Bobby...most of the characters.
That said, I think it's time for someone to write a "single woman" musical. Yes, there was Song and Dance, but to me that was more about "foreign woman making her way in a new country and new experiences, one of which is her relationships". We've had Company and Tick Tick Boom, now we need the woman in her 30's looking to find "the one" musical!
FoscasBohemianDream
Broadway Star Joined: 1/20/06
#19re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 9:26pmThis is very off-topic, but I believe Song & Dance is about a single woman trying to deal with love and coming to terms with who she is, realizing that she needs to remain true to herself if she ever expects to find happiness. The reason I believe there are other issues explored is because a woman's life does not revolve around men.
#20re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/19/06 at 9:40pm
Maybe I wasn't clear in my other post....
I'd like to see a musical with a single woman who is dealing with that "landmark birthday" and deciding what she truly wants out of life. Dealing with being one of the only "singles" in her married crowd, dealing with all her friends having children, not having found her "soul mate" yet. It seems that we only have musicals about men reaching that sort of "early mid life crisis" and yet it seems to me, that there are plenty of women out there who have found themselves in very different circumstances than where they pictured themselves at 20.
But...I forget..this is Broadway...all the women are thin and married to a tenor by the age of 25! LOL
philcrosby
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/17/04
#21re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/20/06 at 3:41pmA local theatre tried to do this with a production of COMPANY, where it made Bobby into Bobbie, altered one of the girlfriends into boyfriend but left all the other couples and dialogue the same ... but it never saw the light of day. Sondheim got wind of it and slapped a "cease and desist" on them so fast it made heir heads spin. They had one week to recast and do it as written before their opening night.
#22re: Could Company Work With the Genders Switched?
Posted: 8/20/06 at 3:44pmSondheim and Furth have had similar action against productions that make Bobby gay as well.
"It's not so much do what you like, as it is that you like what you do." SS
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." GMarx
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." GMarx
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