Original Cast Album-Company (1970)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

D.A. Pennebaker

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Stephen Sondheim's musical "Company" opened on Broadway in the Spring of 1970, and tradition dictates...

Plot Keywords:

Recording Studio | Broadway Musical

Cast

Barbara Barrie	...	Herself (Sarah)
Charles Braswell	...	Himself (Larry)
Susan Browning	...	Herself (April)
George Coe	...	Himself (David)
John Cunningham	...	Himself (Peter)
Steve Elmore	...	Himself (Paul)
George Furth	...	Himself (book)
Harold Hastings	...	Himself (music director)
Beth Howland	...	Herself (Amy)
Dean Jones	...	Himself (Robert)
Charles Kimbrough	...	Himself (Harry)
Merle Louise	...	Herself (Susan)
Donna McKechnie	...	Herself (Kathy)
Pamela Myers	...	Herself (Marta)
Harold Prince	...	Himself (producer / director)
Teri Ralston	...	Herself (Jenny)
Thomas Z. Shepherd	...	Himself (record producer)
Stephen Sondheim	...	Himself (composer / lyricist)
Elaine Stritch	...	Herself (Joanne)

Runtime:

58 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Castle Drive

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Broadway: The American Musical" (2004)

Stunning--Even more than I anticipated

This one is for musical comedy fans only, but if you are, this somewhat mythic documentary will remind you why you love them so much.

Watching Sondheim at work, correcting the pronunciation of Bobby, Bubby (booby) Bobby Bob is worth the price of admission.

I've waited years to watch this and finally Netflix made it possible.

A month later, I watched the PBS screening of the John Doyle revival of Company. Since it won a Tony, I expected a decent show though I knew Doyle had staged it with his three-time gimmick, the performers playing their own instruments. (When I heard he was directing "Peter Grimes" at the Met, my first thought was how on earth the opera singers were going to manage to play their own instruments.

Not that I didn't care for the new Company, but I couldn't believe anyone on the planet earth would want to be friends with anyone of those people. They were unlikable, unsympathetic and wore incredibly ugly costumes. No dancing, of course, since you can't play an instrument and dance but there was the marching band doing What Would We Do Without You, which sort of worked. You Could Drive a Person Crazy was sort of cute, with them stopping to blow saxophones rather than do the Do-do-dododo part.

Amy had none of the whimsy that makes "I'm Not Getting Married Today" work. In fact, this Amy looked old and hard.

Joanne, however, had not a whit of the charm Elaine Stritch brought to the part. She seemed to mistake off key for acerbic and walking around playing the triangle just didn't work for me.

Maybe it's hard to be picky about a cast when they all have to play an instrument. What a stupid way to cast a musical comedy. Doyle seems to forget it's a musical.

So rent the Making Of because it truly captures the musical. And listen to the commentary. It's priceless. Once you know what Dean Jones was going through, his "Being Alive" is heart wrenching.