#301
Posted: 11/21/06 at 3:44am
I was yet another member of this board who saw this show on Saturday evening. As a matter of fact, "Company" was my 13th show in 13 days of seeing theatre between New York and London.
My first and only exposure to this musical was a production performed at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts by the second year students during my first year there back in 1978. I purchased the album after seeing it and have listened to that recording over the years. A number of months back I purchased the documentary on the recording of that album and it was great to go behind the scenes of this musical that I had enjoyed listening to these many years.
Of the 13 shows that I saw, only one had really disappointed me and that show was definitely not this one. "Company" lived up to what I expected it to be. I was not at all bothered by the actors playing instruments. As a matter of fact it was not something that occupied my mind that much during the musical. I wondered afterward if maybe it was because it was something to which I had become accustomed, after seeing the same thing done in "Sweeney Todd", or was it that it was more of a natural fit in this production? I have only great admiration for those performers who did what was quite a difficult job and will not dismiss that out of hand as a gimmick. After all it's Sondheim's brilliant music that they had to play, which can be difficult for the most seasoned musicians. I thought they did a great job playing it and making that playing look effortless.
What I had not remembered from seeing this musical, almost thirty years ago, was a lot of the crisp dialogue. It was good to here the words of George Furth coupled with the lyrics of Stephen Sondheim and to remember that there is some brilliant writing contained in this piece.
The comparison to "Sweeney Todd" is inevitable because of the actors playing instruments. I feel, however, that it's difficult to compare these works based on that aspect alone. One can say that the instrument thing worked better in one show than in the other, but, outside of just that element, these are quite different musicals. I enjoyed "Company" for what it is but, in my opinion, it's no "Sweeney Todd", which is one of the most brilliant musicals ever written, so it's not really a good comparison to make.
My last experience watching Raúl Esparza on stage was in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". I was not very impressed with that show and therefore kind of dismissed his performance. I was very impressed with his performance on Saturday night. His renditions of both 'Marry Me A Little' (don't know why this song was ever cut from the original) and 'Being Alive' were brilliant. I think that it was a pretty even cast and that the people who stood out did so mainly because their characters are written to stand out more than others like 'Joanne' (Barbara Walsh) and Amy (Heather Laws). I did not feel that there were any weak performances in this production.
I enjoyed my evening at the theatre. Did I see one of the greatest musical ever written? No. I did however see a show that is so much better than a number of musicals presently playing on Broadway, including the Tony Winning Best Musical "Spamalot" and that disappointment up on 53rd street called "A Color Purple".
My first and only exposure to this musical was a production performed at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts by the second year students during my first year there back in 1978. I purchased the album after seeing it and have listened to that recording over the years. A number of months back I purchased the documentary on the recording of that album and it was great to go behind the scenes of this musical that I had enjoyed listening to these many years.
Of the 13 shows that I saw, only one had really disappointed me and that show was definitely not this one. "Company" lived up to what I expected it to be. I was not at all bothered by the actors playing instruments. As a matter of fact it was not something that occupied my mind that much during the musical. I wondered afterward if maybe it was because it was something to which I had become accustomed, after seeing the same thing done in "Sweeney Todd", or was it that it was more of a natural fit in this production? I have only great admiration for those performers who did what was quite a difficult job and will not dismiss that out of hand as a gimmick. After all it's Sondheim's brilliant music that they had to play, which can be difficult for the most seasoned musicians. I thought they did a great job playing it and making that playing look effortless.
What I had not remembered from seeing this musical, almost thirty years ago, was a lot of the crisp dialogue. It was good to here the words of George Furth coupled with the lyrics of Stephen Sondheim and to remember that there is some brilliant writing contained in this piece.
The comparison to "Sweeney Todd" is inevitable because of the actors playing instruments. I feel, however, that it's difficult to compare these works based on that aspect alone. One can say that the instrument thing worked better in one show than in the other, but, outside of just that element, these are quite different musicals. I enjoyed "Company" for what it is but, in my opinion, it's no "Sweeney Todd", which is one of the most brilliant musicals ever written, so it's not really a good comparison to make.
My last experience watching Raúl Esparza on stage was in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". I was not very impressed with that show and therefore kind of dismissed his performance. I was very impressed with his performance on Saturday night. His renditions of both 'Marry Me A Little' (don't know why this song was ever cut from the original) and 'Being Alive' were brilliant. I think that it was a pretty even cast and that the people who stood out did so mainly because their characters are written to stand out more than others like 'Joanne' (Barbara Walsh) and Amy (Heather Laws). I did not feel that there were any weak performances in this production.
I enjoyed my evening at the theatre. Did I see one of the greatest musical ever written? No. I did however see a show that is so much better than a number of musicals presently playing on Broadway, including the Tony Winning Best Musical "Spamalot" and that disappointment up on 53rd street called "A Color Purple".
"Smart! And into all those exotic mystiques -- The Kama Sutra and Chinese techniques. I hear she knows more than seventy-five. Call me tomorrow if you're still alive!"
