35th birthday sparks questions about marriage, life decisions in updated musical 'Company'
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Here comes “Company,” Stephen Sondheim’s landmark musical about marriage and friendship, but updated for today.
The Ohio premiere of the national tour, which launched in October, will open Tuesday at the Ohio Theatre.
“I’ve loved ‘Company’ over the years, but hadn’t done Sondheim before, because I didn’t think I could. He’s Sondheim! It’s like doing Arthur Miller or Tennessee Williams while they’re alive,” director Marianne Elliott said from London.
Hailed as Sondheim’s breakthrough in 1970, “Company” established the composer-lyricist at the cutting edge of musical theater.
“Sondheim was extraordinary, a game-changer writing very different types of musicals. No one else managed to do quite what he did, finding deeper psychological meanings in every choice musically, so you understand his characters on many levels, consciously and subconsciously,” Elliott said.
How’s the lead reimagined?
Conceived by Sondheim and playwright George Furth, “Company’ originally revolved around Bobby, a Manhattan bachelor turning 35, and his married friends.
Working with Sondheim over three years, Elliott conceived the 2018 London revival re-envisioning Bobby as Bobbie, with his girlfriends becoming her boyfriends.
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“I’ve always been interested in the female side... I thought this could really work, especially if we set it now,” said Elliott, a three-time Tony winner.
Making Bobbie a woman, she said, raises the stakes and enhances a sub-theme of loneliness.
“People would have problems now if a man’s sleeping with lots of girlfriends and can’t commit. Bobbie’s isolated, lonely. Does she want children? She has to make a decision quick. Everyone starts to have opinions if she isn’t with someone at 35,” Elliott said.
What defines the new look and flow?
The London hit prompted Elliott’s 2021-2022 Broadway production, which won five Tonys, including best musical revival, direction and scenic design.
“Intimate and in-tune with the currents of modern life... and funny as hell... Elliott’s sensational new revival strikes like a lightning bolt, surging with fresh electricity,” critic Naveen Kumar wrote in “Variety.”
Elliott compared Bunny Christie’s design concept — Bobbie moving, climbing or falling through large room boxes — to Alice in Wonderland falling through the looking glass.
“Each box is a thought bubble because ‘Company’ isn’t a linear story. The whole evening happens over a few minutes in her head as Bobbie drinks whiskey and disappears into her own memories of moments she’s shared with friends and boyfriends,” she said.
Who is Bobbie?
Britney Coleman, who assumed the Broadway role, plays Bobbie.
“She has everything she thinks she needs: a great job, home and friends. Bobbie’s happy with the way her life is going and enjoys the company she keeps,” Coleman said.
Her surprise birthday party sparks reflections.
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“All of her friends show up to give their opinions of her still being single. Each couple shows her different facets of love, marriage and divorce,” Coleman said.
Charting Bobbie’s surreal inner journey, the 2½-hour two-act becomes a “bourbon-fueled fever dream,” Coleman said.
Like Bobbie, Coleman recently turned 35.
“It’s interesting to be the same age as my character for the first time... and my real-life friends reflect every character,” she said.
How gender shifts themes
With Bobbie now female, additional issues surface.
“The stakes are different,” Coleman said. “When the other couples encourage her to have a married life, the pressures are more about having everything going on... Can she even fit this in?”
With the sounds of babies crying added to scene transitions, “a subconscious undercurrent” emerges as Bobbie “starts to think about her biological clock,” she said.
Yet, much remains the same.
“About 95 percent of the script is intact, except for pronouns and some roles being gender-swapped. Nothing has been added suggesting it’s time to be a mom or that women should give up their jobs,” Coleman said.
Who else changes?
One couple becomes gay, with Jamie (formerly Amy) and Paul facing wedding-day jitters.
“Jamie and Paul are just another couple. That equalizes them, among Bobbie’s friends, as part of the broader picture of married life today,” Matt Rodin said.
Rodin plays Jamie, Bobbie’s best friend and birthday host.
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“Generous and kind, Jamie (has an)... excitement for life, but there’s an undertone of anxiety because he doesn’t love or believe in himself much,” Rodin said.
Rodin, who recently celebrated his seventh anniversary with his husband, sees himself in Jamie.
“We’re both anxious,” he said. “In terms of commitment, I was definitely afraid of what it meant to give myself over to another human being, so this feels close to home.”
How good is Sondheim’s score?
The rueful, witty score is widely ranked among Sondheim’s best.
“His lyrics are specific and yet so profound,” Rodin said.
Jamie’s anxiety peaks in “Getting Married Today,” a fast-patter mini-opera.
“Each verse is its own little aria... as he falls apart in this four-minute mad dash,” Rodin said.
Other signature songs: “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “Side by Side,” “Sorry-Grateful” and “You Could Drive a Person Crazy.”
“Sondheim’s scores take you on a journey, embracing every feeling and exploring all sides, joyful and scary,” said Coleman, who’s sung Sondheim in concerts and appeared in his musical “Into the Woods.”
“Being Alive,” her final solo, is about the need for connection.
“It’s Bobbie’s next step,” Coleman said. “For me, it becomes a bit of a prayer... because she’s ready to move in a new direction.”
Why ‘Company’ resonates today
The original production won six 1971 Tony awards, including best musical, book and score.
“Our interpretation is a testament to its richness. What a gift Sondheim left us. His catalog is so vast, speaking to our humanity, questionable choices and brokenness,” Rodin said.
“Company” was the last revival of his shows Sondheim saw and blessed before his death at 91 in 2021.“He was working so creatively,” Elliott said.
Together, she said, they “meticulously” rethought “Company” “as if he was composing and I was directing a new musical.”
Elliott views “Company”, along with current Broadway revivals of “Sweeney Todd” and “Merrily We Roll Along,” as a tribute to Sondheim’s enduring appeal and legacy.
“The more time passes,” she said, “the more people will realize what a legend he was.”
@mgrossberg1
At a glance
PNC Broadway in Columbus and the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts will present “Company” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. next Sunday at the Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St. Tickets start at $40. (614-469-0939, capa.com)
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Stephen Sondheim’s 'Company' to premiere at the Ohio Theatre Feb. 13
