Company, the musical comedy masterpiece about the search for love and cocktails in New York, is turned on its head in Elliott's revelatory staging, in which musical theatre's most iconic bachelor is now a bachelorette. At Bobbie's 35th birthday party, all her friends are wondering why isn't she married? Why can't she find the right man? And, why can't she settle down and have a family? This whip smart musical comedy, given a game-changing makeover for a modern-day Manhattan, features some of Sondheim's best loved songs, including "Company," "You Could Drive a Person Crazy," "The Ladies Who Lunch," "Side by Side," and the iconic "Being Alive."
The show retains some of the 1970s feel, with minimalist set design by Bunny Christie and Stanley Kubrick-esque numbers like “Poor Baby” and “Side by Side by Side.” It’s Sondheim at his best, and the talent in this show is a fitting tribute to a man whose unique sound changed the American musical. Company is the gift that keeps on giving…the more you listen to it, the more you take from it. At its surface, it’s about a woman who just wants to live life to the fullest. Probing deeper, its themes resonate with anyone who has felt alone, who feels adrift, and who craves human connection. After all, we all want “someone to crowd us with love.”
All in all, I very much enjoyed this production and the gender-swapped aspects of it were very well done. I enjoyed seeing a female Bobby grapple with the pros and cons of marriage, wondering if it is worth tying oneself down to someone else while still desiring freedom and independence. So often the stereotype is that women are all ready and eager to marry and that iit is only men who face such struggles. It was refreshing to see a female version represented on stage.
1970 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
1971 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
1972 | West End |
London Production West End |
1978 | Off-Broadway |
Equity Library Theatre Revival Off-Broadway |
1980 | Off-Off-Broadway |
Off-Off-Broadway Revival Off-Off-Broadway |
1987 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Revival Off-Broadway |
1993 | Broadway |
Reunion Concert Broadway |
1995 | Broadway |
Roundabout Revival Broadway |
1995 | West End |
Donmar Warehouse Revival West End |
2002 | Washington, DC (Regional) |
Sondheim Festival Production Washington, DC (Regional) |
2004 | Los Angeles |
Reprise! Concert Los Angeles |
2006 |
Cincinnati Playhouse Revival |
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2006 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2007 | New York |
New York Concert New York |
2017 | Regional (US) |
Barrington Stage Company Revival Regional (US) |
2018 | West End |
West End Revival Production West End |
2021 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2023 | US Tour |
US Tour US Tour |
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