Sondheim Nixed "Gay Company"

Turns out Sondheim had vetoed a gay production of Company. Initially it sounds very interesting to make Bobby gay, but I really think the reason the show doesn't lend itself to it is the abundantly heteronormative pressures the other characters are placing on Robert. The male queer community has done the work to bend the "rules" and create an open space for any routes of living whether it be starting a family or not.

That's why a female straight (or Bi) Bobbie works cause that pressure we put on women to have a nuclear family is seemingly never going away unfortunately.

Male Bobby productions flirt with being dated cause society doesn't push that agenda on straight men as much anymore. So they work best as period pieces reflecting Bobby as someone who grew up in the 50's around the pressures on his parents after the War to settle down and make a home and his ambivalence comes from "do I have to ape that or can I forge my path?"

I saw the recent revival and I thought it was well-done and is meant for today's audiences. It just shows that Bobbie doesn't need to be married to feel complete or perfect. You could be EXTREMELY successful and still be single.

It’s well known that the accepted death greeting for dead Jews is “may their memory be a blessing.” But for Sondheim it was “rest in peace.” That’s not a blessing, it’s an order- if we didn’t bury Sondheim deep, he’d have risen up and kept working like death was just a common cold.

Wow, If this interview was from before Company opened in London, there must’ve been enough Bunuel/Square One material by the time of his death for a somewhat full show. I would even take the first act!

Also, I don’t have any interest in a gay Company, it sounds like he made the right decision.

Updated On: 2/14/22 at 01:05 PM

To "make" Bobby gay? hahahahahahahahahahahaha

This revival being scrapped isn't news –– it would have required a lot more surgery than the current revival, I think. Though it can be interesting to tinker with shows to see if there's a new angle, sometimes it just doesn't work, as with this one.

For those wanting to see Cumming's Ladies Who Lunch, it's not as good as I would have hoped:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef61eRNKJgY

This current revival is a little bit of a cheat in my mind. Yeah, they changed all of the genders with the exception of one: they thought they needed a legendary diva to put over THE LADIES WHO LUNCH, so Joanne remained Joanne and Patti’s delivering the song as we all knew she would.

What if Joanne became Johnny (or whatever name they would’ve chosen) and Nathan Lane (for example) belted out a martini-fueled THE LADIES WHO LUNCH…as his “beard,” Laurie, sat by and waited to take Johnny home. The whole original “when are we going to make it” material could still stay as Johnny was still trying to hide his true sexuality…and he’s got the martinis going for him in the moment. Think about it.

Just a thought…

Updated On: 2/14/22 at 05:44 PM

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "joevitus said: "To "make" Bobby gay? hahahahahahahahahahahaha"

The entire cast was gay men in this version, with Alan Cumming in the Joanne role."

Yes, that was obvious. But it's still funny to think of "making" Bobby gay when about 50% or more of the audience has always read him as gay, anyway.

MichelleCraig said: "This current revival is a little bit of a cheat in my mind. Yeah, they changed all of the genders with the exception of one: they thought they needed a legendary diva to put over THE LADIES WHO LUNCH, so Joanne remained Joanne and Patti’s delivering the song as we all knew she would.

What if Joanne became Johnny (or whatever name they would’ve chosen) and Nathan Lane (for example) belted out a martini-fueled THE LADIES WHO LUNCH…as his “beard,” Laurie, sat by and waited to take Johnny home. The whole original “when are we going to make it” material could still stay as Johnny was still trying to hide his true sexuality…and he’s got the martinis going for him in the moment. Think about it.

Just a thought…

"

I absolutely love this in theory. The issue is, what is his issue with the ladies who lunch? If he’s not one of them and isn’t feeling trapped by the inevitable life cycle of being one of that social group, what is the song about? If he’s a gay man, married to a woman…?

I can’t see how it works in an all male version either. Unless the entire scene that proceeds it is rewritten so it’s about a waspish elder gay who missed out on the freedom of his younger counterparts because he was forced into a certain lifestyle by his mother, who was a lady who lunched and and and Etc…my head hurts. I can see why it didn’t happen.