Tick Tock- Company

I love Tick-Tock. It was there for a reason, or a couple of reasons.

Sondheim has said it balances our look at the three "current ladies" in Bobby's life: April (Barcelona), Marta (Another Hundred People), and Kathy (Tick-Tock). Without it, Kathy gets the short end of the stick (as it were).

I also think it adds a physical carnality to the show that is missing if you cut the dance and just have songs and scenes. It's a sexy, strong moment that ends in an artistic "orgasm." I also love that Bobby is in bed with April, but Kathy is the one doing the dance, as if Bobby is thinking of her while he's sleeping with April.

As far as other dancers in the number, I would keep it to a bare (no pun intended) minimum. This is Kathy's moment, not a chorus of Victoria's Secret models. I didn't mind the other dancers in the concert version, because they were kept in the background for the most part. I would have preferred it with Kathy alone, though. We don't need to see the off-stage chorus singers suddenly on stage behind Marta while she sings Another Hundred People. Why should we need to see a group of chorus dancers behind Kathy?

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I too like Tick Tock.

I absolutely don't think it belonged in the Doyle revival (on which I can elaborate but I know I already have in older threads), but I do think it can have a place in other productions. However, I didn't really go for the 2011 concert version where they added other dancers. Tick Tock is, in a broad sense, a referent to the sexual revolution, but its primary purpose in the story is that it's about Bobby, and what it shows us about him. I found all those other dancers distracting from what the audience needs to get out of that moment.

As the others have said, it adds a contrasting element to what we see in Barcelona. Yes, if you consider the trio of Poor Baby/Tick Tock/Barcelona one scene, it is kind of long, but what it shows us about Bobby is really important, and important enough to justify it.

I want to make sure is worth it, from the audience's perspective at least.

Tick Tock has the potential to do a lot for the audience. But whether it's "worth it," as I'm sure you know, is up to you.

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I agree with that, to a degree -- depending on how much weight you put on the Bobby/Kathy park scene, I think that can really hold its own as Kathy's moment in the "trilogy." Plus, that's where the show really sets up, IMO, that Kathy is the girl that got away.

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If you have a sexy Kathy who can dance, it works. And there's no topping that music with original orchestrations. Saw both Donna in original production and Antonia Ellis in London. Both exciting and danced the hell out of it. Do you have elevators? That original set was incredible. Poor Baby is a very funny song and gives the women a catty moment- they all want him and are jealous of his conquest. Barcelona is a great song with many psychological layers. Perfect musical. Good luck.

But what does she do that is different from the other two girlfriends?

Theatrically? Nothing. Which is why I said I agree with your point to a degree. But in terms of the story, that scene does set her apart.

Also, I think Marry Me A Little Gets a bad rap, but keeping it in adds a lot of power to Being Alive, in that it allows you to see another one of Bobby's stepping stones to that breaking point. (The other being Someone Is Waiting.)

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Updated On: 6/30/13 at 12:23 PM

"How odd does the dance feel in the run of the show?"

Very odd. And pointless, really.

"Did something feel missing with a production you saw that ommited it?"

Not at all. I was glad it was gone.

"I feel like Tick Tock along with Poor Baby and Barcelona make Robert's scene with April very long. "

I agree. Best to omit it altogether.

Good luck with your production.

Thank you for all the insight! Everyone but AfterEight seem to think it's a necessary part of the show, which is funny, because I always found that his scene in the park with Kathy is one of the most important scenes in the show and that Kathy is enough of an established character, keeping in mind her solo in You Could Drive a Person Crazy, to not have to have Tick Tock to balance out the girlfriends.
Luvtheemcee: our production isn't fully staged like the original, and yet it's not completely black box like the Doyle revival... So it could work either way, I guess. Also, and I'm still trying to get used to the idea of it,the theatre we're using is almost in the round. The audience is on three sides of the stage, and I'm wondering if anyone happened to see a regional production of Company, in the same kind of a theatre?

The audience is on three sides of the stage, and I'm wondering if anyone happened to see a regional production of Company, in the same kind of a theatre?

The John Doyle production was originally produced by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; their space is a thrust. It was stunning.

I've also seen the show staged in a much smaller thrust space.

The dance was originally created to showcase the dancer, but I still don't quite think of the number as Kathy's big moment in the show -- it's using movement of a character who's not even in the scene to comment on that scene. A total oddity.

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The dance was originally created to showcase the dancer, but I still don't quite think of the number as Kathy's big moment in the show -- it's using movement of a character who's not even in the scene to comment on that scene. A total oddity.

You mean like Joanne does when she sings "The Little Things You Do Together" or Marta does when she sings "Another Hundred People?"

They're also commenting on scenes they aren't in.

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It was thrilling. And it cemented the impression that Bennett was going to take over the mantle of Jerry Robbins in integrating dance with words and music, which he then furthered with Chorus Line and Dreamgirls.

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very true. Bennett & Fosse were the last true, great broadway choreographers. no one's even come close to them since.

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"Has anyone ever topped Michael Bennet?"

Perhaps no one since, which is more of a reflection on his successors' lack of genius than any on his part. He was talented, to be sure, but in no way exceptional. I did like Turkey-Lurkey Time, though.

As for the stick-out-like-a-sore-thumb Tick-Tock, audiences were both confused and bored by it. Nor was it an especially effective dance. Give it the old heave-ho. The audience will be grateful to you.