NPH in Company

I'm obviously very late to the party, but I just watched the Philharmonic version of Company which has long been one of my favorite musicals. And I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed by NPH and really felt he was woefully miscast. Raul Esparza knocked my socks off when I saw him in it and the cast recording of him singing Being Alive still gives me chills. But for some reason NPH really didn't do it for me (I normally like him a lot), he seemed too nice and too happy and not in enough of a state of crisis, I think I even caught him smiling in a bunch of places where it seemed wrong. Just curious if I'm the only one who thinks this (and maybe I'll get attacked), very curious to hear other people's thoughts.

The thing about NPH is that he is a huge celebrity so everyone would come and see him in the show and they would sell tickets. However, he cannot act or sing so watching him onstage is quite painful when everyone goes wild over him and he gives a miserable performance.

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Of course he can act and sing. He was great in Company, and equally great as Hedwig.

I thought NPH was excellent as Bobby in the New York Philharmonic Concert staging of COMPANY.

I think that "Company", in spite of its great score, is not a very good musical overall. I liked the original production when I was a kid, but the three subsequent productions I've seen, including NPH's on PBS, have been an endurance test. Its weak book thinks it's a lot more funny and clever than it actually is, although Doyle's strained efforts to vacuum every laugh from the piece was no solution to this problem.

Neil was good. I greatly preferred him to Raul, who sang "Being Alive" as though we owed him a coronation. I attribute that more to a misconceived production than to him.

I liked John Cunningham, who was Larry Kert's understudy, back in 1970 or '71, and I was glad to see Dean Jones reunite with his old castmates in Long Beach back in 1992 or '93. I think the show was tailored to its original cast and that it has never worked well without them because there isn't enough "there" there.

Updated On: 8/4/14 at 03:40 PM

The NY Phil production of Company exceeded the revival starring Esparza in every way, which is a remarkable achievement considering the limited rehearsal time the NY Phil cast had.

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^ Me too.

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So this complaint is that he is basically a star. Like a Merman.

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NPH is the first Bobby I've seen who really made me understand the character. I loved the choice to stage it almost as if it were a sitcom episode, like Three's Company - fast, quick, funny - because that's how Bobby seemed to see his life. There would always be a next week, and it would always have a happy ending, until he's finally made to understand that that wasn't necessarily true. The contrast between the jovial zippiness and the harsher underpinnings of the scenes made Bobby's final epiphany really pop. Doyle's version was such a dreary, funereal affair I half expected Esparza to pull out a gun and off himself at the end.

I can't really say that I think Patti ever has "become" a character other than Patti LuPone.

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Then we'll agree to disagree :)

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Elaine Stritch once said something like "there is always going to be a part of your personality in your portrayal of a character, and that's something that the audience wants." I am greatly paraphrasing, but she's 100% right. If LuPone's Rose was any less LuPone, people would have been furious. Patti is a classically trained actress, she's knows what she's doing. As much as I love her Rose, I was astounded by her 2005 Mrs. Lovett, she completely reinvented her interpretation of the role (and the role itself) and sang with nuance.

Updated On: 8/3/14 at 07:53 PM

NPH is the first Bobby I've seen who really made me understand the character.

I didn't see Esparza, but I've seen countless productions of COMPANY (including original and national tour), and I'm with Charley and Kad on this one.

NPH's was the first Bobby I've ever seen who was likable enough to have so many friends. Leave your kids with Larry Kert? I don't think so. (I'm not suggesting Larry (whom I knew and liked very much) was some sort of child molester; he just wasn't the type you'd call for a babysitter.)

There's a big difference between making a marriage and being everybody's best pal. NPH's "Being Alive" was about choosing the former and leaving the latter behind.