I really did see the original production in previews, and hated it completely 5 minutes into the show. Until the cast recording was released, I didn't even think much of Sondheim's score. Last night proved one thing: that the greatest director in my theatergoing lifetime really screwed up the original production. Why do I say this: because most of the show was actually as I remembered it from 35 years ago, and I loved it this time.
So exactly how is that possible? Prince made two deadly mistakes from the top that lost the audience almost immediately. First, the roles were played by young actors, who -- in the beginning of the show -- were playing characters much older than they were, and those characters were in serious distress. They did not have the gravitas to play the roles, especially Jim Walton, who was terrible as Franklin. He does not sound bad on the cast recording, but in person he was out of his league. By the time the performers were playing their own ages, the audience was either gone, asleep or hostile. Second deadly mistake: Prince had the actors wear t-shirts defining who they were, e.g., 'actor', 'producer', etc. The problem -- which angered a 30 year old who was sitting in the cheap seats at the then Alvin theatre -- was that you couldn't read the t-shirts if you were not -- I suspect -- in the first 7 or eight rows of the orchestra. Being in the cheap seats, I felt that our needs were ignored. 35 years later, I realize it didn't matter, but it made me angry at the time (and probably indicated that Prince did not trust the material). A third mistake -- not as epic -- was a framing device which had an older, cynical Franklin giving a graduation speech at the beginning, where at the end of the show, as a new graduate he gave an upbeat and idealistic version of the same speech). There were two issues there for me: it meant that, at the beginning of the show, this fresh-faced kid is giving this cynical, experiential speech that seemed ludicrous; and, end of the show, there were two songs which sounded too much alike (to me at least), which -- since I already hated the show -- made me more annoyed...'couldn't they make up their mind'.
So, what is better: (1) the roles are played by people who I assume are in their late 30s, early 40s. They are believable in the early, cynical scenes; and, by the end of the show, the audience is more than happy to let them get away with not having somehow become 20; the actor's excellent performances convey their youth, idealism, fears, etc. (2) the framing advice is gone...it added nothing and its deletion takes nothing away from the show. (3) the stupid t-shirts are gone, because the director trusted the audience to figure put who the characters were. There is also a fourth: I sat in much better seats...the real point here is that the show never belonged in a theatre as big as the Alvin. Nowadays, it would open at the Music Box or the Broadhurst or the Atkinson, etc. It is more suited to a more intimate setting. The BU theatre in Boston is considerably smaller than the Alvin and I suspect the last row of the balcony would have still been a good seat.
My point: I don't actually think that a lot was really changed; the director trusted the material, directed a straightforward production -- there is nothing innovative in the staging whatsoever -- and let the score and script stand out.
One final point: I have always considered George Furth to be a hack who was very lucky to have certain friends. The original production added to my argument. I am going to have to re-consider my assessment...the book is terrific. (NOTE: This does not alter my opinion that the Company book has always been terrible).
One truly last point: this is the third production the Huntington Theatre has done in three successive seasons. ALNM in season 1, then SITHWG, then this. If they didn't have a regional Tony already, they'd deserve on for this. It is truly a great Sondheim work (I enjoyed and was moved by last night's performance more than any performance of SITPWG that I have seen to date, and as much as any performance of Company that I have seen). I can't say that it is up there with Sweeney, ALNM, the original Follies, but it is just below them.
