Synopsis It's Robert's 30th birthday. He seems to have everything: good looks, charm and a great sense of humour, and yet he is single. In Company, he watches the lives of his friends; five very different New York couples, and reflects on the joys and pitfalls of relationships. Presented in a series of vignettes through Robert's eyes, we see in their lives the less than ideal aspects of marriage...and yet there must be some reason why they stay together. A huge success when first performed in 1970, this show will make you laugh all evening and stay up thinking about it all night afterwards.
Evans is reunited with Samantha Spiro, with whom he appeared in Merrily We Roll Along at the Donmar in 2000. Both picked up Olivier Awards for their efforts.
The production, which opened on 5 December (previews from 29 November 2011) and continues until 7 January 2012, has received a rapturous response from the critics.
"In Jonathan Munby's superb production for Sheffield Crucible, casting from strength makes for an outstanding company … 'Getting Married Today' finds Samantha Spiro performing vocal gymnastics on a patter song while the equally excellent Anna-Jane Casey leads the choir in a saccharine distortion of a wedding hymn and Jeremy Finch (Paul) fails to understand how off-putting kindness and gentleness can be. The great individual set-pieces are given full value by Francesca Annis and Daniel Evans … As Robert, Evans never puts a foot wrong… and Christopher Oram's design sets the tone even before the show starts. Looking at that New York loft, hefty industrial structure contrasting with smart 70s furnishings, the Manhattan sky-line revealed through wall-wide windows, you know you're in for a treat of smart and worldly New Yorkery."
"Daniel Evans isn’t just any artistic director. He acts, sings, dances and, hey, he also makes damned fine programming choices … Evans, once a memorable Peter Pan at the National, takes on the central role of Robert … Jonathan Munby’s world-class revival reminds us why Sondheim is hailed as a genius … Neil Austin’s gorgeous lighting arrangements complementing the impeccable design (by Christopher Oram) of Bobby’s Manhattan loft apartment… the stage is set for ensemble playing of the highest order. Whether it’s Francesca Annis’s Joanne rasping her way through the barbed, drunken, mocking toast to empty marital bliss 'The Ladies Who Lunch, Samantha Spiro’s hyperventilating Amy with the show-stopping, tongue-twisting, hysterical 'Getting Married Today', or the tongue-in-cheek yet hand-on-heart Broadway pastiche 'Side by Side by Side', there’s never a dull musical moment ... In short: unmissable."
"This 1970 show which boasts the most astonishing score of any Stephen Sondheim work… also comes with a large dollop of irony … The beauty of Jonathan Munby's revival is that it is smart, sharp, and deliciously retro in Christopher Oram's 1960s design – but also full of real pain … The 15th member of the cast is in fact "the city of strangers" itself … It may be set 40 years ago, but it feels frighteningly modern. There is enough star voltage in the cast to blow the mains ring of the Crucible, and everybody gets a chance to shine. Samantha Spiro… is razor sharp in her delivery of 'Getting Married Today', and Francesca Annis as Joanne sings 'Ladies Who Lunch' with the snarl of a lioness … At the end, when Evans sings the spine-tingling 'Being Alive', he suggests a man who really has awoken from a long slumber and who has finally joined the human race."
Dominic Maxwell The Times ★★★★
"The opening of this lavish revival of Stephen Sondheim’s 1971 musical is transcendent … Jonathan Munby … The closing number 'Being Alive'… brings the house down, but because it’s a great song, masterfully sung by an arms-outstretched Evans … The cast of 14 convey the perfect mix of romanticism and cynicism, whether Claire Price’s Sarah and Damian Humbley’s Harry… or Samantha Spiro triumphing at speed with the anti-romantic 'Getting Married Today' … The songs are some of Sondheim’s best … Though Francesca Annis as Joanne lacks the lung power of some of the cast, she really sells her solo turn … Evans, also the artistic director here, holds centre-stage with adorable ease … With Christopher Oram’s plush but versatile set and period costumes, this Company looks and sounds superb. Its story, or conceit, isn’t quite as sharp as it wants to be. But it’s still a smart and invigoratingly staged show."
"Daniel Evans… has chosen Stephen Sondheim’s Company as the Crucible’s Christmas show this year, and the decision was an inspired one … George Furth’s crisp, almost acidic book and Sondheim’s biting, unsentimental score capture in perfect balance the glorious but perplexing contradictions in human nature. The set is a perfect New York loft created masterfully by Christopher Oram and lit by Neil Austin … Jonathan Munby’s impeccable production has several show-stopping moments, including Amy (Samantha Spiro)’s tongue-twisting 'Getting Married Today', a drunken rant by Joanna (Francesca Annis) with 'Ladies Who Lunch' and Evans’s soaring 'Being Alive', accompanied by the rest of the cast."
Surely Stephen Sondheim was being a touch disingenuous when he claimed that he had no idea that Company would be “unsettling”. Admittedly, when it was first staged in 1970, post-Hair, musical comedies didn’t have to be warm-hearted narratives like The Sound of Music, but the non-linear arrangement of inter-disconnected stories makes it still a most original and surprising period piece.
Robert, a New Yorker with a deep-seated aversion to commitment, is celebrating his 35th birthday. After news of a planned surprise party his life is revealed to him (and us) via scenes with five couples, friends of his, and three girlfriends to whom he is less than committed. In the first half he is often the third party, a negative catalyst, in the scenes with his friends; in the second half his problems (if he has any problems) move centre stage.
Apart from Robert, the various characters have their big numbers, their big scenes, then merge into the ensemble. In Jonathan Munby’s superb production for Sheffield Crucible, casting from strength makes for an outstanding company.
Many of the musical numbers are mini-dramas in themselves, George Furth’s clever and economical book and Sondheim’s oblique lyrics merging perfectly. So, for instance, “Another Hundred People”, delivered with terrific pizazz by Rosalie Craig as one of the girlfriends, is punctuated by typically funny/poignant scenes with all three. “Getting Married Today” finds Samantha Spiro performing vocal gymnastics on a patter song while the equally excellent Anna-Jane Casey leads the choir in a saccharine distortion of a wedding hymn and Jeremy Finch (Paul) fails to understand how off-putting kindness and gentleness can be.
The great individual set-pieces are given full value by Francesca Annis and Daniel Evans. Wonderfully sardonic in “The Little Things You Do Together”, she attacks “The Ladies Who Lunch” with vodka-fuelled survivalism, overall a sort of desperate mix of Edith Piaf and Dorothy Parker. As Robert, Evans never puts a foot wrong (literally, in a highly impressive singing and dancing performance), but above all characterises vividly someone who has no discernible character.
Nigel Lilley (in charge of a proper ten-piece band) and Lynne Page (with inventive and precise choreography) add much to a memorable performance, and Christopher Oram’s design sets the tone even before the show starts. Looking at that New York loft, hefty industrial structure contrasting with smart 70s furnishings, the Manhattan sky-line revealed through wall-wide windows, you know you’re in for a treat of smart and worldly New Yorkery.
Couldn't agree more with William! I went along with high expectations after the professional reviews but it was absolute tosh. Second half slightly better than the first but dreadful over all. Such a shame after Daniel Evans' blinder in Me and My Girl last year which was terrific. - Witchy Lynne
01 Jan 12
Company is the WORST show I have ever seen.The singing and acting were abysmal and the music so monotoned I find it difficult to call it music.The story line non existent and to call it a comedy should be against the trades description act.D NOT waste your money on this production
- William Harvey
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