Everybody Rise!!! A Company Question

[SimpleJoysHaveSimpleVoice]

Posted: 7/18/07 at 4:57pm

Taking part of a discussion on a previous Company thread, I have 2 questions.

1. Mahler's reference: Heard somewhere that this comment has to do with some "afternoon delight". I believe that Elaine Strich's dvd mentioned something about this reference. Can anyone dispute this?

2. This maybe dumb, but I love thinking about this show. Conceptually, is Robert the "grass is greener" guy for the married women characters in the show? Are they hoping he never gets married? (SPOILER ALERT, even though the show closed) And what are your thoughts about him not showing up at the end of the show?

Sound off!!!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/18/07 at 5:01pm

"I believe that Elaine Strich's dvd mentioned something about this reference."

She thought it was a piece of pastry. Legend has it that when she asked Sondheim about it, he said "Excuse me Elaine, I have to go to the bathroom."

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/18/07 at 5:02pm

1. I think there was actually a thread that got into a pretty good discussion of the Mahler reference -- is that the one you're bouncing off of? If not, you may want to see if you can find that one, as well.

2. Yes... for some. The lyrics to "Have I Got a Girl For You" are interesting that way: "marriage may be where it's been, but it's not where it's at." Part of Bobby's problem is that he's afraid to take the leap into marriage because he sees that many of his friends are disatisfied in their marriages. He wants something perfect... or so he thinks, I guess. He has to learn exactly what Peter tells him: "don't be afraid it won't be perfect. The only thing to be afraid of, really, is that it won't be." I think in a way, some of them live a bit vicariously through Bobby's bachelorhood. Peter and David pretty clearly state that they DO envy him. But some of them encourage him to get married, too. I don't think it's so black and white as whether they do or don't want him to, and even when (if) you can sort that out, exactly why -- for him, for themselves, etc. You know?

Updated On: 7/18/07 at 05:02 PM

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 7/18/07 at 8:02pm

The cool thing about him not being there at the end is a sign to his friends that he'll be there for them, just as they're there for him -- *but* he's also moving on with his life without them. It's a very telling moment.

[SimpleJoysHaveSimpleVoice]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 11:08am

So it ends with his friends realizing how important Bobby's life is to them? And how much they need him? Or are they thankful that Bobby has finally moved on?

[misschung]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 2:16pm

Yeah, his not showing up at the end represents, I think, his finally being "alone" with his thoughts - without the security blanket of his constant company. I think that it's reasonable to assume that some of the couples understand what a big part Bobby's life plays in their own lives, and that they are happy that he's moved on. I think they are acting a little more selflessly than they were throughout the show by leaving him alone

Updated On: 7/19/07 at 02:16 PM

[jeffrey1dog]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 3:37pm

I believe "...another piece of Mahler's" Sondheim was referring to was the musician Gustv Mahler. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

Posted: 7/19/07 at 3:42pm

Yes. He was referring to a Musical piece- an etude, a symphony a sonata. Elaine Stritch thought he was referring to a piece of pastry called a Mahler. As far as I know there are Danish, there are Napoleons, there is Schnecken...there is no pastry called a Mahler.

"Perhaps a piece of Mahler's...I'll drink to that. And one for Mahler!"

[dfwtheatreguy]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 11:22pm

Stritch actually thought Mahler's was the name of a pastry shop, not a pastry.

Saw a regional production where when Joanne repeats "Rise, rise, rise" - a good portion of the audience actually stood up, not to applaud, but because they thought they had been instructed to rise.

[misschung]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 11:24pm

well at least they knew what she was saying. the guy behind me at this production was like "what's she saying?"

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 11:48pm

I thought it was so interesting that the show ended with Bobby alone, yet with a big smile on his face, just after he's finished singing Being Alive. There's that line: "alone is alone, not alive..." and yet he's alone and happy and discovering something about himself. I think part of it is that he knows his head has been crowded with thoughts imposed on him by his friends for so long, and that not going to his party symbolizes that he's breaking free of that influence. I think he's realizing that relationships are imperfect, but that you have to love anyway -- yet coming to that realization on his own and for once, tuning everybody else out.

[misschung]

Posted: 7/20/07 at 12:14am

I know, it is such a seemingly paradoxical situation to have him say "alone is alone, not alive" but to have him be alone, and happy to be alone at the same time. Ultimately, he's said prior to "Being Alive" that he doesn't want to be alone, though - during the pre-wedding scene with Amy when she says "I need to be left alone. I'm just like Robert" and he's like "I'm not like that, what the hell are you talking about?" At that point I don't think he was anywhere near the same place that he is for Being Alive - his "not being like that" in that scene was more out of defense. I think at that point he'd actually be afraid to be alone with his thoughts.

But Bobby seems so.. candidly and genuinely happy to be where he is at the end. If you think about it, he hasn't really been alone at all throughout the entire show. He's afraid to be. We assume that outside the time frame of the show that he's always rushing around on his way to go out and meet someone or other. He tells April that he never really even notices his apartment, "he just lives there." He's been going through the motions of being alive, but it's like he's been using his entire existence as a prop up until that moment at the end of the show. I mean we see Bobby and Co. have sex on, mix drinks around, and dance on top of the same piano that is his companion for "Being Alive." When Joanne finally breaks his wall, and is like "don't pull your usual routine with me" I think he panics because his old gimmicks won't work. Then Joanne does leave him alone, and it's so heartbreaking because he looks like a little kid who had been sent to his room or something. But when he sits down to play it at the end, it's almost like two parts of him are coupled, which makes me think that he's actually not completely alone. There is another part of himself that was brought to life through all of this. It's not totally clear, but I think he's smiling at the end because he realizes that this birthday is marking the beginning of something new for him - he knows now that he has to seek out something different than what he'd grown used to.

When everyone else leaves the stage, and Bobby finally stands by himself for the first time at the end, I think, like Emcee said, it's showing that his head is clear of his company's constant chatter. Doyle's choice to have him by himself on stage just allows him to sort of...almost revel in the experience of being alone, and having it be quiet. I feel like the birthday gift to him from his friends is the space that they finally offer him, almost a repayment for everything he's done over the years rushing around in between all of their lives.

to actually answer one of your questions, re: #2 - I think they have sort of a co-dependent relationship

Updated On: 7/20/07 at 12:14 AM