Today in theatre history: Phone rings, door chimes, in comes the groundbreaking Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical Company, which officially opened April 26, 1970, following previews that began April 15 at the Alvin (now the Neil Simon) Theatre.
Company centers on the perpetually single Robert, a.k.a. Bobby鈥攐riginated on Broadway by Dean Jones鈥攐n his 35th birthday and his married friends, all of whom seem to want him to settle down. The work was one of the first so-called "concept" musicals to be a big success on Broadway, in that it lacked a linear plot in favor of a collection of thematically linked vignettes.
With a score introducing such tunes as "Sorry-Grateful," "You Could Drive a Person Crazy," "Getting Married Today," "Another Hundred People," "Barcelona," and "Being Alive," Company also firmly established Sondheim as a musical theatre powerhouse. The musical was the first collaboration between Sondheim and director Hal Prince, a partnership that would go on to produce a string of landmark musicals throughout the 1970s鈥攊ncluding A Little Night Music, Follies, and Sweeney Todd.
Also in the original cast: Barbara Barrie as Sarah, Charles Braswell as Larry, Susan Browning as April, George Coe as David, John Cunningham as Peter, Steve Elmore as Paul, Beth Howland as Amy, Charles Kimbrough as Harry, Merle Louise as Susan, Donna McKechnie as Kathy, Pamela Myers as Marta, Teri Ralston as Jenny, Elaine Stritch as Joanne, and Cathy Corkill, Carol Gelfand, Marilyn Saunders, and Dona D. Vaughn as Members of the Vocal Minority.
The new musical also had musical staging by Michael Bennett, associate choreography by Bob Avian, scenic design and projection design by Boris Aronson, costume design by D.D. Ryan, lighting design by Robert Ornbo, and sound design by Jack Mann.
While Company has been revered in the decades, it had a colder critical reception in 1970. In his mixed review for The New York Times, Clive Barnes wrote, "The musical, directed and produced by Harold Price, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth, is about the joys and pains of married love in New York City. Particularly the pains.鈥reatively, Mr. Sondheim's lyrics are way above the rest of the show; they have a lyric suppleness, sparse, elegant wit, and range from the virtuosity of a patter song to a kind of sweetly laconic cynicism in a modern love song. The music is academically very interesting. Mr. Sondheim must be one of the most sophisticated composers ever to write Broadway musicals, yet the result is slick, clever and eclectic rather than exciting鈥 was antagonized by the slickness, the obviousness of Company. But I stress that I really believe a lot of people are going to love it. Don't let me put you off. Between ourselves, I had reservations about West Side Story."
Due to personal issues, leading man Jones only stayed with the production for a month, and was succeeded by Larry Kert (though Jones can still be heard on the cast album).
The musical subsequently garnered 14 Tony Award nominations (the record until The Producers in 2001), winning six: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical (Furth), Best Original Score (Sondheim), Best Scenic Design (Aronson), Best Direction of a Musical (Prince), and Best Lyrics (Sondheim).
D.A. Pennebaker's 1970 documentary Original Cast Album: Company documented the studio sessions for the original Broadway cast recording of Sondheim and Furth's Company. Originally planned as the first in an ultimately unrealized series of documentary films on original cast album recording sessions, Original Cast Album: Company offers a candid look at how the album was recorded. The film famously gets its unplanned dramatic climax as the session stretches on to the wee hours of the morning, with Stritch struggling against nerves, exhaustion, and an ornery album producer to record what would become her signature tune, "The Ladies Who Lunch." It's a spoiler to say that eventually, she nails it.
Company went on to play a total of 12 previews and 705 regular performances, before closing January 1, 1972. The
musical has continued to be a favorite among theatre fans, receiving
Broadway revivals in 1995, 2006, and 2021.
The first Broadway revival, which played 43 previews and 68 regular performances (August 30-December 3, 1995) at the Criterion Center Stage Right, was produced by Roundabout Theatre Company and directed by Scott Ellis. Boyd Gaines led the company as Robert with Danny Burstein as Paul, Kate Burton as Sarah, Diana Canova as Jenny, Veanne Cox as Amy, Charlotte d'Amboise as Kathy, Jonathan Dokuchitz as Peter, John Hillner as David, Jane Krakowski as April, LaChanze as Marta, Timothy Landfield as Larry, Debra Monk as Joanne, Patricia Ben Peterson as Susan, and Robert Westenberg as Harry. The revival earned two 1996 Tony nominations: Best Revival of a Musical and Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Cox.
The 2006 revival, directed by John Doyle, cast the Tony-nominated Ra煤l Esparza as
the confused bachelor Bobby with Barbara Walsh as Joanne, Keith Buterbaugh as
Harry, Matt Castle as Peter, Robert Cunningham as Paul, Angel Desai as
Marta, Kelly Jeanne Grant as Kathy, Kristin Huffman as Sarah, Amy
Justman as Susan, Heather Laws as Amy, Leenya Rideout as Jenny, Fred
Rose as David, Bruce Sabath as Larry, and Elizabeth Stanley as April. The revival began previews October 30, 2006, and opened November 29 at the Barrymore, playing 34 previews and 246 regular performances before closing July 1, 2007. This version was notable for having its actors play instruments, including Esparza accompanying himself on the piano during "Being Alive." It was a device Doyle also used for his 2005 revival of Sweeney Todd.
This Company won the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League Awards for Best Revival of a Musical. The production also picked up Tony nominations for star Esparza and director Doyle.
That revival was filmed for PBS, and .
Company was reimagined again for its third Broadway revival. The most recent revival, director Marianne Elliott, with Sondheim's blessing, changed the male Bobby to the female Bobbie. The show played London's West End in 2018 and was in previews for its Broadway transfer when the COVID-19 pandemic shut Broadway down in March 2020. The production resumed performances November 15, 2021, ahead of a December 9 Broadway opening night at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
The Broadway cast was led by Katrina Lenk as Bobbie, Patti LuPone as Joanne, Matt Doyle as
Jamie, Christopher Fitzgerald as David, Christopher Sieber as Harry,
Jennifer Simard as Sarah, Terence Archie as Larry, Etai Benson as Paul,
Nikki Ren茅e Daniels as Jenny, Claybourne Elder as Andy, Greg Hildreth as
Peter, Rashidra Scott as Susan, Bobby Conte as P.J., and Manu Narayan
as Theo.
The production went on to win five 2022 Tony Awards: Best Revival of a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical (Elliott), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Bunny Christie), and for the performances of LuPone and Doyle. It played a total of 32 previews and 265 regular performances before closing July 31, 2022.
Keeping Company With Sondheim, a documentary exploring the legacy of Sondheim and Furth鈥檚 musical Company, premiered on PBS in May 2022. Filmed over two years, the documentary was part of Great Performances' fifth 鈥淏roadway鈥檚 Best鈥� lineup and offered an inside look at Tony-winning director Elliott鈥檚 creative process of bringing the reimagined, gender-swapped production to Broadway during the COVID-19 pandemic. .
Learn what other theatre milestones happened on April 26 by visiting the 半岛体育 Vault.
Look back at the original Broadway production of Company in the gallery below.
