GOOD Review for COMPANY from a lil dog--Some SPOILERS

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 8:57am

After reading the reviews here, I was very nervous about seeing COMPANY this past Saturday night. It's probably my favorite musical, so I was perfectly content to listen to the score even if I hated the show--I also wasn't looking forward to Barbara Walsh either, having seen her sleep-walk through HAIRSPRAY last fall.

I'm thrilled to say that I found the show remarkably fresh, funny and more accessible than I ever previously thought...I even liked it more than SWEENEY.

Doyle's musician concept seems much more organic here than it did in SWEENEY--I'm not sure why or how, perhaps it's the time period--this COMPANY is set in the present day and yet I didn't find it dated at all. Of course, I'm also very familiar with the show, so the dialogue wasn't new to me either, which to some IS dated.

Doyle directs with a light touch, even giving a nod to the original production: In "What Would We Do Without You?" the tap dance breaks have been replaced with instrumental solos and Bobby still playing alone--a textbook example of how to do the same thing as the original production without doing THE SAME THING--take a note, future URINETOWN directors. The "do-do-do-dos" in "You Could Drive A Person Crazy" have been replaced with sax notes (he he).

Having been in a college production of COMPANY, I was also surprised about how conventional much of the staging and design was. But never before has the concept of the show as a creation of Bobby's imagination been more clear (pun intended). Bobby says "The unexamined life is not worth living," and that's what this production presents; Bobby is standing outside his door, contemplating attending his own 35th surprise birthday party.

The lucite set and empty glass props afford Bobby an unobstructed view of his friends and lovers, giving him what is ultimately the impetus to start living his own life without benefit and insulation of those good and crazy people.

Raul Esparza is terrific as Bobby-he's melancholy but charming, sexy but schlubby-what you'd call a fixer-upper. Raul's Bobby is the kind of guy you can use and show off, a human accessory. Using him are Barbara Walsh's Joanne, a pleasantly surprising performance in the Stritch mode but not mold. Is it possible to play Joanne without the acerb and whiskey-voice? Probably, but hardly advisable. I do wish there had been an applause break for "Ladies Who Lunch" but alas!

My personal favorite was Angel Desai as Marta. She's sexy, gorgeous, very funny and very Marta. As soon as I saw her, I knew what character she was playing and I loved the way she performed--the energy and joy she brought to the stage was exhilarating. Heather Laws is also very good as Amy, although she looks just as Jewish as Paul! She sings "Getting Married Today" FASTER than Beth Howland--when I heard that tempo come in, I thought "Holy sh!t! Is she really going to be able to do this that fast?" Yes.

Bruce Sabath's dancing as Larry brought a huge smile to my face in "Side by Side by Side"...he seems so much more confident than other Larrys I've seen; he doesn't let Joanne walk all over him, he's quiet but forceful.

Keith Butterbaugh and Kristin Huffman as Harry and Sarah have some nice acting moments and I also loved the way the karate fight was staged.

Matt Castle and Amy Justman are Peter and Susan with varying success--her accent is obviously fake and detracts, he (this is tacky of me) would probaly be more effective if he were more attractive. His come-on to Bobby wasn't a bit persuasive to either me or to Raul. They do alot of the heavy lifting musically though, and beautifully so.

Also doing alot of the musical lifting is Leenya Rideout as Jenny--she is easily the weakest in the cast, throwing away what can be the funniest scene in the show. She does get the cutest husband, though.

April (Elizabeth Stanley) is also good, her "butterfly" monlogue isn't as treacly as it could be, but it still drags. I loved the use of the piano as both bed and door--Bobby relies on it for support and later, for freedom, just as he does with his friends.

After seeing SWEENEY, I'm amazed at how full the orchestrations and vocal arrangements sound--they are clean, precise and I don't miss that full orchestra (nice though it would be). I don't really understand why anyone wouldn't like this version of COMPANY, but they obviously don't, so there you go.

Another a$$hole's opinion.

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 9:16am

Thank you for the great review, lil! I'm so happy you liked it! I also don't get why some people don't like this, but, hey, not everybody likes everything, so I guess it's inevitable.

I'll be seeing Company again a week from today! I haven't seen it since it was in Cincinnati, so I'm looking forward to seeing any changes that took place from there to New York.

[Maile]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 9:21am

Lil dog,

Thanks for the great review. I'm seeing it in Jan when I visit next. I heard a lot of great reviews and some not so great reviews. I have the original cast recording which just has songs, no in-between dialog, so it's difficult to understand what's going on between the songs.

I'm going because a) I want to know more, b) it's Sondheim and c) it's a night at the theatre, which is always a good thing :)

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 9:23am

I also saw CASINO ROYALE SG--it's good but a lil too long and the camera DOES NOT linger on the bathing suit. We do get to see him naked and bound though. The chase through the construction site is awesome!

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 9:34am

Naked, you say? Well, well, well, I guess I know what movie I'll be seeing next in theatres. Mmmmmm...

Ahem, anyway, back to Company.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 10:01am

I'd read the script if I could, Maile, but it's really not necessary. It's presented very plainly, without symbolism or "gra-dieu" as the Cajuns would say. There's no casket-schlepping or highlighted props--there's a pillar he highlights, but it's so subtle and utilized it doesn't feel forced.

I'm VERY surprised by the lack of positive praise for this show. VERY.

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 10:05am

I'm surprised as well, lil. This seems to be such a wholly likeable show that I was honestly shocked.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 10:12am

The audience I was with seemed to really enjoy it as well--lots of laughs and sustained applause on "Company," "Getting Married Today" and BIG TIME for "Being Alive."

And it's so unadorned that even a purist would like it--I thought it was ALOT like the original production in tone and purpose. Even the basic concept of many of the numbers was THE SAME--YCDAPC, SBSBS/WWWDWY, Barc., LWL...all pretty much stayed true to the original idea--perhaps carried out differently, but the underlying meaning is the same.

I got why people didn't like SWEENEY, this is a mystery.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 10:22am

I'm glad you liked it! I swear, if this show were a human being.... Well, I just love the crap out of it.

Updated On: 11/20/06 at 10:22 AM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 11:10am

Well, it would seem that this production is simply a love it or hate it production--and even when I am on the side of the hate its, I respect work that evokes such strong opinions. In this case, I am one of the I love its.

[JarNerdAV]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 11:21am

I loved it too. I've refrained from posting on the Company-bashing threads because, frankly, I am too exhausted to argue. I think the biggest contention I had with the Company-haters is that Raul is unlikable as Bobby. They don't know what his friends see in him. I can tell you exactly why his friends love him---he's a great listener. Raul plays Bobby's listening skill perfectly--intent, without indicating, but making it quite clear that he (Bobby) is either (a) hearing every word they are saying or (b) faking it really well. I also did not have any problems with the rest of the cast (I thought acting-wise that April was a bit weak in her monologue, but I loved her the rest of the time). Everybody else was particularly strong in my opinion. I saw Jane P. as Amy and I can't imagine anybody doing the song or playing the subsequent scene any better than her.

What I really loved best, however, were Raul's vocals on all of his songs. I am one of those people who usually skips over Dean Jones solos on the OBC, and forget about Boyd Gaines. This is the first time I've been able to actually listen to Bobby sing and enjoy it thoroughly. And this is coming not from somebody only now becoming familiar with Raul, not a longtime fan like Emcee.

Yay Company! I hope it runs a long, long time.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 12:03pm

So is that it? They don't like Raul? I always thought if Bobby were too good to be true, then he wouldn't be. The role is often described as a cypher and if that's what Raul was going for--success!

I think one should leave COMPANY wondering why Bobby likes THEM. Bobby buoys himself from living his own life by playing third wheel to his enabling friends. They argue, divorce, cheat on each other and Bobby uses all he sees as a reason to stay single AND a reason to get married. The show itself is "sorry-grateful."

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 12:09pm

"What I really loved best, however, were Raul's vocals on all of his songs. I am one of those people who usually skips over Dean Jones solos on the OBC, and forget about Boyd Gaines. This is the first time I've been able to actually listen to Bobby sing and enjoy it thoroughly."

You said exactly what I think, JarNerd! I never really liked Bobby until I saw Raul. There could be many reasons for that, but I usually skip over Bobby's solo songs on both the Jones and Gaines recordings. I'm not saying they're bad recordings, but I never connected with Bobby before. He seemed whiny, or at least something akin to it.

But Raul broke my heart and really made me listen to "Being Alive," which I normally hate, really closely and really believe it. Whether or not Bobby's epiphany lasts after the show is over is not important. What matters is that I truly have faith at that moment that Bobby wants to change. Raul nails it.


ETA: I don't mean to say that I like Bobby. He's not a necessarily likeable person. However, I do think the audience should connect with him and his faults because we all have issues and faults as human beings. Raul's interpretation made me sympathize with Bobby. I don't want to be best friends with him, but I do understand his pain and confusion.

Updated On: 11/20/06 at 12:09 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 12:47pm

He's not necessarily and overall likeable person at all -- listen to what the girls say in You Could Drive a Person Crazy. They think he's nuts. But the line in Side by Side that says "you never need an analyst with Bobby around" helps figure out what's apparently a mystery, I think -- an "analyst" in this case is someone who listens. And I think Jarnerd got it -- in a lot of senses, Bobby's friends like him because he'll sit there and listen. He'll applaud their wacky karate moves. I think it goes two ways, though -- it's very clear that they use him, and that he's kind of an object to some of them. But at the same time, I think the reality of being a good, valuable listener is there. He puts up with all of those antics, and I don't think he makes his friends feel like he's being judgemental. Bobby is a deceptively tough role because you have to find the balance between likeable and totally undesirable. Going all one way or the other isn't going to be effective. I think some of the people who make the argument against Raul's interpretation want a warm, fuzzy Bobby which wouldn't make sense.

I remember getting the original CD before I flew to see the show in Cincinnati, and I wasn't thrilled with the vocals for Bobby, but I KNEW Raul was going to do something beautiful with them. And he always delivers. He was crying at the end of Being Alive on Saturday, which was double the heartbreak.

Updated On: 11/20/06 at 12:47 PM

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 12:53pm

Glad you loved the show!

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 12:56pm

I think Dean Jones has more raw emotion in his voice but Raul is certainly the more accomplished singer.

I also loved the tone of WWWDWY?--as the song gets more frenzied, the orchestrations become harsh and strident and Bobby is relegated to the background--just as I would have imagined the original did.

I also think when Bobby asks Joanne "But who will I take care of?" his turnaround became clearer for me. I think it's that he doesn't want to become Joanne. She's so unhappy that she skewers herself in TLWL: Joanne IS the girl who just watches and Bobby sees himself in her and wants something more.

He realizes it's a sacrifice and a scary move, but that mini-spotlight he joins is the tiny anchor that we all have to this world with so little to be sure of.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 1:00pm

I also loved the tone of WWWDWY?--as the song gets more frenzied, the orchestrations become harsh and strident and Bobby is relegated to the background--just as I would have imagined the original did.

I totally agree; I love the way he sort of has to weave through the crowd, but ends up totally lost in the background.

Joanne is really the only one who "gets" him, though, and I think that scares him, because he doesn't want to be that person who puts up a front the way she does.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 1:18pm

What also surprised me was how much Joanne sticks out without Stritchie. She's the kind of person you always want at a cocktail party, just not as your date.