After allowing some of my "oh my God, they're finally here!!" thrill and excitement surrounding Company's much-anticipated arrival to settle, I made a return visit; wanted to comment on a few of the changes, all of which I love. And even with that anticipation slowly fading, the show is still stunning, I think.
They're selling window cards now, for anyone interested. They look just like the ads have looked -- full cast, cubes stacked vertically, Raul on top, with the "five married couples..." blurb and list of credits. They're nice.
I rushed and sat in the front row this time. I think I do for the most part prefer seeing it from up above; the lighting effects are much more beautiful to look at when you can see the "shapes" of sorts projected on the stage and everything. What I found most striking about seeing it up close is how claustrophobic it feels. The edge of the diamond shape sticks right out into the audience; it's all just right there, and you're really right on top of everything, surrounded by it all, in a way, just like Bobby is. Up close enough, the "blocks" also do something really interesting -- if you look into or through them, you see all of the instruments, set pieces and sometimes the actors reflected two or three times. In doubling (and sometimes tripling) everything, it makes the whole claustrophobic element a lot more... menacing, really. I don't know if that's an intentional choice, but it definitely makes Bobby's plight a lot more personal -- he's surrounded by pressure from everywhere he might look. It's a completely different show to watch it that way than to watch it from afar, looking in and still having some distancing effect. I found it overall to be a bit more cathartic when I was physically distanced from the action -- not sure why that is.
As for the actual changes to the show, I'm just going to go in performance order. Overall, everything is much clearer, especially symbolically speaking. There were probably a bunch of things I didn't catch, too, just as a disclaimer.
Raúl still comes on stage first, but instead of standing behind the column at the "top" of the diamond for the whole voicemail sequence, he spends it leaning on the piano, at that sort of "home base" that's been created for Bobby. It works better in two ways, I think: for one, you can actually see him, whereas before from some places, the column totally blocked him from view. Secondly, the whole idea of him just sitting by in his apartment is really bluntly stated by putting him there.
The book scene with Harry and Sarah's been toned down a little bit, and Kristin Huffman is playing it all more downstage. She's doing the whole "food orgasm" scene with a little bit more introversion and isn't quite so overstated about the comedy, but it still works. It works in the sense that now it feels like Sarah is a bit less aware of how funny and odd she is, but rather, this is just how she does things. This is her normal.
The pot smoking scene is essentially the same, with a few very minor blocking changes... as far as I could tell only on Raúl's part, when he sits on the floor. It's a little hammier, and a little bit more emotionally reactive. There's a heightened sense of his relationships with the two of them, in a way that answers the often-asked question of just why these people love Robert so much. It's subtle, but sweet.
The choreography in You Could Drive a Person Crazy is tightening, but I'm not sure if it changed. I don't think it did.
The blocking in the "pulse of the city" scene (Marta and Robert) is pretty different. In Cincinnati, almost the entire scene was played with Angel on the piano and her legs wrapped around Raúl. Last week, that part was still in, but they spent most of it talking without any physical contact. Now Angel sits on the piano and Raúl is a good few feet away from her. She jumps down to hug him for the end of the scene; they hold each other for a moment, broken by Marta's description of the two types of New Yorkers, and they almost kiss just before she shares her "theory." It, as do many of other changes, again highlights Bobby's isolation and hesitation to get too close.
Side by Side by Side was re-done almost entirely. It's GREAT. It's still very active, but not as chaotic and looks a lot less like an accident waiting to happen. It's much tighter overall and the kick line is much cleaner as well. They had cut the cymbals during rehearsals in NYC, and rather had Raúl play a kazoo solo, for lack of better terminology, after the other soloists had their turns. He's still doing that (hamming it up, for sure), but the blocking where the cymbals had been returns. Instead of playing them, he hops up on the block in the middle of the crowd and just claps his hands, after weaving in and out of everyone for a bit. He's trying so hard to fit in and be a part of the crowd, but he can't -- he doesn't have an instrument. He's not ready yet, but he's just trying so hard. It's heartbreaking.
There are a lot of differences in the whole Bobby/April sequence -- that sort of "dance" they do around the piano is more defined during Poor Baby, and much more flirtacious. The reprise of Poor Baby has a bit more action going on away from Bobby and April, within the commentary by the women. The scene itself has lost most of its implicit quality and grows racier and much more explicit -- it's not excessively graphic and still preserves all of the urgent immediacy that I really liked about it after the transfer. Instead of essentially just making out in two separate locations, they do that for a bit, and the sex is much, much more bluntly implied than it was before (again, still not overstated or tactless) with their interaction sitting down on the piano bench. Raúl keeps his eyes open and looking around for about half of it, which is incredibly telling for the character -- aware and detached, perhaps even almost frightened and alarmed. The scene ends with April "asleep" on Bobby's chest, and it's very clear that Barcelona is "the morning after." The entire thing is very, very sexy.
The "homosexual experience" scene is becoming tighter, too -- Raúl is hestitating more and really drawing out that moment before he says to Peter "oh, I get it, you're putting me on!" He's committing to the outcome of the scene much more, I think, and finally feels like he's really got command of where the audience goes with it.
The Ladies Who Lunch is growing on me, but no overt changes that I saw to speak of. I think it's just also becoming subtler.
Being Alive is still totally revelatory -- the only difference I noticed was that after Bobby steps into the second beam of light, it brightens toward the finale of the song. An excellent addition.
The entire cast was even better this time than last, by far; and they were incredible last time -- they're extremely impressive. Raúl's performance is growing and changing for the better. He is truly something else to see up so close -- his facial expressions are incredible, calculated and precise without losing their realism. He continues to be beautifully heartbreaking.
I'm definitely in love.
It's fascinating to watch the show change. Every choice makes sense and seems thoughtful, which makes it all the more interesting to check back and watch the process happen. I'm so glad I'm having the opportunity to do so.
A work of art is an invitation to love.
Updated On: 12/3/06 at 01:31 AM
