NPH in Company- Page 2

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 8:36pm

We can disagree about this for days, but in reality Dean Jones was probably the best Robert by far, and the small snippets of his performance available are incredible.

Updated On: 8/3/14 at 08:36 PM

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/3/14 at 9:05pm

I'm in agreement with those who really enjoyed Harris in this production- I thought his Bobby was terrifically acted and made me see the appeal of the character that the show spends so much time telling us about. True, his singing was on the weaker side, but Being Alive still made me cry because I believed every word of that song when Harris sang it.

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 12:13am

COMPANY is one of the great musicals of the last 50 years, imo, and the most recent production, wonderfully captured on video, was terrific. Some times I feel that it is part of the process for very big, successful stars to be bashed, which seems to be what's happening with NPH, who is a brilliant performer and was a terrific Robert. The John Doyle production, was cold and dead, and I don't ever need to see it again.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 5:05am

NPH is pretty good in the role. He is not a very strong singer, but makes up for that with his acting and knows how to sell a song. I feel he is a little overrated, but he I have never found him really bad in anything I have seen him in.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 9:08pm

We can disagree about this for days, but in reality Dean Jones was probably the best Robert by far, and the small snippets of his performance available are incredible.

Despite what I said in praise of NPH, when it comes down to sheer vocal performance I agree: nobody touches Dean Jones. (Unfortunately, I didn't see him in the part.)
Updated On: 8/4/14 at 09:08 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 9:29pm

"The John Doyle production, was cold and dead, and I don't ever need to see it again."

I couldn't agree more, it was such a dark, chilly production.

[Luscious]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 9:42pm

"I couldn't agree more, it was such a dark, chilly production."

Dark and chilly, perhaps. But far from dead. Raul Esparza's Bobby was a revelation.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 9:46pm

May I ask why you thought that? ^^^

[indytallguy]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 10:35pm

The "dark and chilly" tone as others described it was what made Esparza's breakdown/breakthrough so powerful in the closing number. It was this incredibly visceral release of pent-up emotion.

I get that the tone didn't work for some people, but I still found the production very enjoyable, wasn't troubled at all by actors playing instruments, and liked the black, white, and crystal decor a great deal.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 11:31pm

I thought both were remarkable productions in their own right. Lonnie Price's production was hilarious and provocative, while John Doyle's cut straight to the heart. I don't like that so many people feel a need to classify one production as better than the other because they were completely separate entities--they weren't trying to do the same thing. Same thing with the lead performers: Neil Patrick Harris showed us a Bobby who used his charm to avoid facing the possibility of commitment, while Raul Esparza wore the emptiness of the character on his sleeve, allowing the friends to project onto him whatever they wanted him to be. They were very different approaches, but neither one is wrong, they both make sense for the character.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 11:51pm

I thought both the NY Phil and the Doyle revivals brought something wonderful to the material. The Doyle production definitely honed in on the aching sadness at the core of COMPANY and it was very psychologically and emotionally available, sometimes to a fault (Raúl's "Being Alive" is an amazing achievement in volume, but sometimes I prefer the more reserved vocal take... my favorite "Being Alive" of all time is still Adrian Lester's, for being wildly emotional while vocally held back.)

What the Phil production gave me was the best (and funniest) performance of the book scenes I'd ever seen. I thought the acting was better than the singing! Which, given that it was a staged concert, was a remarkable achievement of A) casting and B) trusting instincts in the quick rehearsal process. I love both Bobby's for different reasons, but the Phil production felt like a more fully-realized version of COMPANY as I'd interpret it, and Doyle's felt like a beautiful vision I wouldn't have taken to the material personally but I'm very glad I experienced.

[The Other One]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 7:03am

Dean Jones did not do "Company" for very long, so it was an incredible surprise to see him reunite with his castmates in the early 90s and still sound spectacular. I really don't think anyone ever sang those songs as well as he did, but of course the show was put together around his and his castmates' specific talents.

[indytallguy]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 8:32am

What AwesomeDanny said.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 9:17am

Beyond Harris's performance - which as I've said I personally loved - the Philharmonic's was, for my money, the most intelligent and entertaining interpretation of this very challenging musical I have ever seen (which includes the two Broadway revivals, the first of which was horrible and the second of which was a very mixed bag, for me distinguished only by Esparza's fascinating take on Bobby and Heather Laws's adorable and very underrated Amy).

As for the Philharmonic, there is only one performance that I wouldn't call revelatory. The usually wonderful Anika Noni Rose failed to impress me as Marta. Apart from that I couldn't have found the production more transporting. The book scenes didn't just bring the libretto to life; they cracked the safe on it.



Updated On: 8/5/14 at 09:17 AM

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 9:34am

^^That^^ Every word of it.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 9:38am

I refused to see the Doyle production. I don't get his concept. I don't understand the need for the characters to play the instruments. Call me old fashioned but let the actors act, sing and dance and leave the instruments for the orchestra to play.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 12:41pm

You're old-fashioned.

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 12:44pm

"I refused to see the Doyle production. I don't get his concept."

Refusing to see things does make it harder to understand them.

[Jon]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 1:35pm

I loved the philharmonic concert. Nothing compares to the original full orchestration.

What I remember most from the Doyle version is three flatulent saxophones replacing the "doo doo's" in You Could Drive a Person Crazy, and Barbara Walsh constantly singing slightly flat, as if that's how you vocalize "sarcasm".

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 1:50pm

I saw the Doyle production. It didn't offend me in the ways his Sweeney Todd offended me. And I agree that Esparza certainly went for broke with his portrayal. I just felt that it wasn't the actual character of Bobby being portrayed. The man in the Doyle revival was a barely functional alcoholic who would never be asked to babysit kids. It certainly was a committed, fascinating portrayal. I just don't think it was of the character that Sondheim and Furth created.

Watching the Philharmonic version, you remember that it is still a musical comedy, which I think is essential to putting COMPANY over. Harris was an overgrown child who you could imagine making friends with all of those people. His Being Alive wasn't a breakdown. It was a moment of realization that was profoundly moving simply because we weren't hit over the head that THIS IS PROFOUNDLY MOVING. His performance made the whole thing click.

As for Rose's Marta, I tend to agree. But I also think the role is hamstrung by the fact that her propulsive song about life in the city is diced up between book scenes and is never allowed to take on the build that is there on the cast recording.

[newintown]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 2:25pm

"We can disagree about this for days, but in reality Dean Jones was probably the best Robert by far, and the small snippets of his performance available are incredible."

I'll drink to that.

I haven't seen a Company since the late 70s that worked completely for me - the show is all about a kind of offbeat, neurotic, slightly chilly sophistication that was big in the 60s and early 70s that I think vanished pretty quickly after that, and that a lot of people just don't much like, because it's not tidy, or warm, or fuzzy, or easy, or sentimental.

[ken8631]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 8:26am

Raul was amazing in Company and wife and I are still upset that he lost the Tony to David Hyde Pierce that year (who we also saw).....

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 1:58pm

I thought I'd respond, but this thread just makes me want to take a nap.

[ken8631]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 4:05pm

Technically you did respond.....

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 4:11pm

You still luv me though, right?