Company is airing tonight on PBS' Great Performances series at 9pm. My friends and I are having a Company party in celebration. I'm really excited to see Raul Esparza as Bobby and John Doyle's unique staging, which has all the actors playing instruments on stage in character. Bobby plays the piano only at the end for his "Being Alive" finale.
Background
For those of you not familiar with Company, here's a little background. This show has a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondhiem. The original production of Company opened on April 26, 1970 at the Alvin Theater where it ran for 7 previews and 705 performances. Dean Jones played the main character Bobby. Larry Kurt, who originated the role of Tony in West Side Story, replaced him shortly after opening night. The show garnered a record-breaking 14 Tony nominations (the most until The Producers in 2001).
This production of Company airing on PBS began at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in spring 2006. Later it opened on November 29, 2006 at the Ethel Barrymore Theater where it played 34 previews and 247 performances. As previously stated, John Doyle directed and choreographed. The entire show was re-orchestrated by Mary-Mitchell Campbell to bring it out of the seventies and into the modern day. Raul Esparza plays the troubled bachelor Bobby.
Synopsis
Company is about Bobby, a singe man with trouble committing to a relationship, accompanied by five couples of his best friends along with three of his girlfriends. A combination of vignettes of each couple, the show is tied together by his 35th birthday celebration.
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