Stephen Sondheim Speaks Out on Female Bobby in Upcoming Marianne Elliot-Directed COMPANY

Back in November, BroadwayWorld reported that Stephen Sondheim agreed to director Marianne Elliot's request to change the gender of the beloved character Bobby in her upcoming production of Company in the West End. Now, Sondheim is speaking out about the changes for the first time.

In an interview with the LA Times about this weekend's Sondheim on Sondheim at the Hollywood Bowl, he said, "And Company's going to be done later in the year, directed by Marianne Elliott - and get this, with a female Bobby."

Musicals are known to be timeless, especially those written by Stephen Sondheim. And while some theatrical geniuses don't want any changes done to their work once complete, Sondheim feels the opposite. He went on to say, "The thing about the theater as opposed to movies and television is, it's malleable. What keeps theater alive is that every generation there are new actors to play Hamlet...Shows are performed and, most important, directed by different people, and that keeps them alive.

"If you've got somebody as distinguished and inventive and good as Marianne Elliott, and she says, 'I would love to do "Company" with a female central character.'... What is there to lose? It can only make the play either interesting or, if you dislike it... dislikable... but still. I'm fumfering here, but the point is: That's what keeps the theaters alive. So I'm always open."

Check out the full interview in the LA Times here.

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