Company (Stephen Sondheim) (2011)

When you're a theater lover, you greet every revival of a Sondheim work with great enthusiasm. "Company," to my mind, has always been one of the master's more accessible pieces. Originally produced in 1970, the show may be a product of its time but with a powerhouse roster of songs including "The Ladies Who Lunch," "Being Alive," "Side by Side by Side," and "Another Hundred People," it makes for an era well worth revisiting. This star-studded production, shot at Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic, certainly had a curiosity factor working for it with its eclectic cast. Headlined by Neil Patrick Harris, the show also features the always welcome Patti Lupone. But in addition to these two, the cast boasts a number of less likely (but no less recognizable) faces. Craig Bierko, Anika Noni Rose, Katie Finneran, Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope), Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), and Stephen Colbert are some of the others on stage. This filmed version of that event was presented in theaters at a one night only showcase with Fathom Entertainment. And admittedly, I was first in line.

"Company" tells the story of a perpetual bachelor, in this instance played by Harris. With minimalist staging, he is surrounded by five married couples who are at hand to celebrate his thirty-fifth birthday. The couples are at different points in their relationships (from bliss to divorce) and all have an opinion about the lifestyle that the central protagonist has chosen to live. Whether it is envy or mild disapproval, the show features them battling him and one another in a series of mildly comic scenarios. Harris, as might be expected, shows a light touch with the dramatics of the work. He is effortless and likable and the show has an easy sexiness not always apparent in other productions. But it seems that the choice has been made to concentrate on the story as opposed to the song. So while amusing and pleasant, this production of "Company" lacks some of the big moments that you might be hoping for.

While most of the voices are serviceable, none of the vocal performances come anywhere close to setting a new standard. To my mind, only Patti Lupone's rendition of "The Ladies Who Lunch" really brings down the house. But what else would you expect from such a diva? Unfortunately, the 2007 Broadway revival (with a tremendous Raul Esparza, also on DVD if you haven't seen it) was still quite fresh in my mind when I watched this. I thought that version was an absolute powerhouse and, frankly, this seemed much slighter by comparison. Still, I can't NOT recommend a Sondheim and if this cast brings a wider audience to appreciate his work, who am I to complain? And it is genuinely amusing to see a different side of some of the performers. I enjoyed "Company" fine. It's certainly not the definitive performance of this great musical, but it's still a bit of light fun. KGHarris, 8/12.

In 2011, I was sitting at the local movie theatre when a preview for Stephen Sondheim's Company came on the screenI immediately had a musical theatre nerd-gasm. I've listened to this show over and over again, but I never really grasped the full concept of the show. I bought the 2006 Broadway Revival DVD in hopes to gain some more insight into the showI received, some. It wasn't until I saw this production (one of only a few in the theatre), that I completely understood Bobby's story.

The scale of this production, and the staging was simply magnificent. Many forget that this was Company: In Concert because it feels as though it's a full-scale Broadway production. The full orchestration was fantastic, and the talent on stage, sublime: Neil Patrick Harris embodied Bobby perfectly. Patti LuPone's Joanne had me on the edge of my seatI've always been a fan of her. And the three young ladies playing Bobby's girlfriends (Chryssie Whitehead, Anika Noni Rose, & Cristina Hendricks) were excellent choices: each one played their character beautifully.

Ms. LuPone brought her own to the role of Joanne. Each of her musical numbers brought down the house: during "The Ladies Who Lunch" I forgot I was in a movie theatre and actually gave a standing ovation. NPH's "Being Alive" had me in tearsI couldn't help it, again a standing "o". Anika Noni Rose's "Another Hundred People", amazing; Christina Hendricks' "Barcelona", hauntingly simple; Chryssie Whitehead's nimble pins during "Tick Tock" (cut from most productions) had me moving my own feet. Kate Finneran's "Getting Married Today", funny as always.

If you're looking to add this to your collection, I promise, you won't be disappointed.

Hesitant about seeing it for one reason or another? It can't hurt to give it a chance.

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I saw Company! at the Alvin Theater, of Broadway on December 8th, 1970 (Elaine Stritch forgot a line in "Ladies who lunch" and turned to the audience after a LONG pause saying "Do you think I forgot the line?") and have seen every reincarnation I could find since then. I have a copy of the script, the Alvin Theater Playbill and am a Company! junky. Loved Raul Esparsa in the 2006 revival, but it lacked the full orchestra Sondheim deserves (Angel Desai strained to sing "Another Hundred People"). This cast solves every problem I've seen in previous reincarnations and NPH pays great tribute the the Late Larry Kert, while Martha Plimpton and Stephen Colbert are awesome. No one else could be Elaine Stritch, but Patti Lupone holds her own. Bravo!

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I love the play so I went to see this version when it was in theaters and enjoyed it. However, now that I have it in my own home, I remember some of the problems it had. There is a fine line between projecting your voice to be heard and shouting the lines, and unfortunately, a few of the cast members cross that. There are a few spots where the singing is off-key. And the acting is a tad awkward in several scenes. It really gives you the feeling that they just threw this together and there wasn't a lot of rehearsing. If you're a fan of the play then I would get it, seeing NPH, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Cryer in this is a real treat. But if you're new to the play I would not recommend this for your first viewing.

Want Company (Stephen Sondheim) (2011) Discount?

Stephen Sondheim fans should rejoice that Lonny Price's superb production of "Company" is now on DVD. Price restores and rescues "Company", (from the awful, over-rated clutches of "acclaimed" director John Doyle) - placing it firmly back in New York City in 1970. Well, it takes place there and it doesn't. "Company" actually takes place inside Bobby's (Neil Patrick Harris) mind.

With "Company," Sondheim effectively moved the musical theatre from the "integrated musical" (pioneered by his mentor Oscar Hammerstein II) into the "concept musical." The concept or "theme" of "Company" is the difficulty of maintaining interpersonal relationships in an increasingly depersonalized society. Sondheim writes in his career retrospective "Finishing The Hat", ("Company") "takes place not over a period of time, but in an instant in Robert's mind; perhaps on a psychiatrist's couch, perhaps at the moment when he comes into his apartment on his thirty-fifth birthday." The unattached and seemingly "emotionally unavailable" Robert imagines his surreal birthday party; reviewing his relationships with his "good and crazy" married friends, as well as his relationships with three disparate girlfriends (Chrysse Whitehead, Christina Hendricks and Anika Noni Rose). The "in his head" approach allows Robert's interactions with his married friends to unfold as a series of vignettes, outside of time and space. It also provides for a great amount of theatrical fluidity and versatility. In this cerebral-emotional context, it is quite natural for Bobby's three girlfriends to pop in and sing "You Could Drive A Person Crazy" in the style of the Andrews Sisters; or Bobby and all of his friends to perform a vaudeville-circus routine to "Side By Side-What Would We Do Without You?"

But "Company" is far from a cold, cerebral "head trip". It is, indeed, a profound emotional journey. Robert and his friends are all full of angst, deeply flawed and neurotic; which makes them wonderfully human. Sondheim's observations and commentary on relationships (married, divorced, or some stage of single to coupling or uncoupling) are, by turns, astringent, cynical, rueful and often ruthless. In my opinion, Sondheim is right on the emotional mark. As expected, Kate Finneran as Amy, the frazzled bride on the verge of a nervous breakdown, stops the show with her delivery of "Getting Married Today." Also as expected, Patti Lupone as Joanne, turns the stinging "The Ladies Who Lunch" into her own volcanic, personal tour-de-force. But this production delights and surprises in several unexpected ways as well. Martha Plimpton, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Cryer all make welcome and effortless transitions from TV comedy to musical theatre. Anika Noni Rose offers an exhilarating performance of "Another Hundred People." At the center of it all is the extremely charismatic and talented Neil Patrick Harris, who imbues Bobby with an easy but potent sexiness, instead of aloofness or cold, cocky arrogance. It is easy to see why everybody is so attracted to, and worried about, him. By the conclusion, and Bobby's big emotional breakthrough with "Being Alive," Harris is also heartbreaking.

Sondheim writes in "Finishing The Hat", "Company" is a show I'm extremely happy with. It influenced musicals, for good and ill, for years afterwards and continues to do so. It made a lot of grown-ups who had disdained musicals take them seriously, and it not incidentally gave me my first good notices."

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