The "new" Company

[edjames]

It was no "duh" that this new production would come to Broadway.

 

Anne Hathaway was asked to play the lead, however she is pregnant with her second child, so the wonderful Katrina Lenk will star.

 

‘Company’ Returning to Broadway, With a Woman at Its Center

The revival, starring Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone, will open next spring on Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday.

 

Goodbye, Bobby. Hello, Bobbie.

A re-gendered revival of the 1970 musical “Company,” which had a well-received production in London that opened last year, will arrive on Broadway next spring starring the Tony Award winners Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone.

The show, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth, is about a chronically single about-to-turn 35-year-old wrestling with the judgment of a group of married friends. The original production won six Tonys, including best new musical, in 1971, and it has been revived twice, most recently in 2006.

The new production involves a significant rejiggering of the show’s gender dynamics. The protagonist, who is celebrating a 35th birthday in the show, is now female, implicitly introducing the biological clock into perceptions of her singleness. The production also reverses the genders in one of the show’s married couples, so that there is now a stay-at-home husband and a bread-winning wife, and transfers one of the show’s signature songs, “Getting Married Today,” which is about last-minute wedding jitters, from a straight woman (Amy) to a gay man (Jamie).

The revival is directed by Marianne Elliott, a celebrated British director who won Tony Awards for “War Horse” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” and who directed last year’s Tony-winning revival of “Angels in America.”

 

“Company” will be the first musical directed by Ms. Elliott on Broadway, and also her first Broadway venture as lead producer. She and Chris Harper formed a production company, Elliott & Harper, so that she could take more control of her own work.

“I wanted to do something that was fun and creative and could speak to a large audience about being a woman now,” Ms. Elliott said. “By taking ‘Company,’ which is a musical that I’ve always loved, and giving it a female Bobbie rather than a male Bobby, it suddenly becomes very now — she’s single, she’s got a great career, she’s clearly got a lot of friends and a good apartment, but she is going into her late 30s and she hasn’t got a life partner, and all of her friends have an opinion on that.”

 

Ms. Elliott said that her production also reframes the story so that it is taking place inside Bobbie’s head — she is imagining what her friends will say about her. And she said the Broadway production will not be a replica of the London version — for starters, it will feature an American cast, she said, but also, “there’s no way we’re just going to reproduce what we did in London — hopefully we’ve learned what we can make better, and now we get a chance to do that.”

Ms. Lenk, who won a Tony last year for “The Band’s Visit,” will play Bobbie, succeeding Rosalie Craig, who played the role in London. Ms. LuPone, a legendary Broadway star who won Tonys for “Evita” and “Gypsy,” will play Joanne, a friend with a drinking habit and an amazing song, “The Ladies Who Lunch”; Ms. LuPone also played the role in London, to great acclaim.

 

The revival will be staged at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, with an opening scheduled on March 22, which is the night of Mr. Sondheim’s 90th birthday.

[MscleLovr]

FWIW we saw this in London and enjoyed it very much. Our only disappointment was that we couldn’t get tickets to see it a second time.

 

Also in the UK press it was reported that Mr Sondheim refused another producer who wanted to update it, but was persuaded by Ms Elliott to permit the gender role-change. It said that he became enthusiastic and readily offered to change several songs for the new show.

[bostonman]

Also in the UK press it was reported that Mr Sondheim refused another producer who wanted to update it, but was persuaded by Ms Elliott to permit the gender role-change. It said that he became enthusiastic and readily offered to change several songs for the new show.

 

Several years ago, Sondheim participated in a reading of a proposed version of the show with a gay theme, dealing with gay marriage, etc, but ultimately didn't give permission to let it go forward. I wonder if that's what's being referred to here.

 

I haven't listened to the new recording of the London production yet - I know I will eventually, but I've been hesitant because I've seen a lot of opinions that the recording didn't come out well (mostly that it doesn't match the energy and tone of the onstage performance). I do have to say that I'm not all that interested in the idea of the update, but as a huge fan of Company in general, I'll still be interested to see what they do.

[MscleLovr]

as a huge fan of Company in general, I'll still be interested to see what they do.

 

Then I’d urge you to see the production. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

[bostonman]

Then I’d urge you to see the production. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

 

I hope you're right. After all, I have seen my share of strange productions already lol. I played in the pit for one years ago where the set was supposed to resemble a birthday cake (tiered white platforms) and all of the drinks - be it bourbon, orange juice, or whatever - were blue liquid. Luckily, the performers were quite good.

[+ oldNbusted]

I managed to go to a preview performance before everything shut down, I really liked it. The production design, the choreography, all surprisingly entertaining. Lenk is very funny and her acting is quite good, although I think her voice doesn't really come up to the same high level. The only thing that bothered me was her white sneakers in one stretch of the show, very distracting. She is moving around a lot, so I wondered if this was just temporary while getting used to it. Very minor thing. I can hardly believe Patti was 70 at that time! I do hope I can get to see it again.

[handiacefailure]

I saw it in London and Patti was great. My friend was in a hurry to eat after and wish I could have been there for the stage door signing, would have loved to have asked Patti about trump lol

[nsguy45]

The production at the Barrington in the Berkshires summer of 2017 starring Aaron Tveit was excellent. Sondheim made the trip from NYC, sat two rows away from me.