If ever there were a time to make a strong argument in support of public broadcast television, today would be the day, as the vultures are circling. With government funding getting slashed quicker than George Bush's approval ratings can drop, and The New York Times posing questions like, "is PBS still necessary?" perhaps only Stephen Sondheim can mount a worthy fight. On February 20, the series Great Performances is set to air a filmed evening of the recent Sondheim Broadway revival of Company, which proves as a shining beacon for poor endangered PBS.
Company centers itself around a bachelor, Robert (
Raúl Esparza), who upon turning 35 is endlessly hounded by his either married or engaged friends, all hoping to force him off the market. Bobby, as he is often referred, views the prospect of marriage as a near death sentence, and rightfully so as all those around him are bitter and resentful of his "freedom." This is one of Sondheim's greatest character studies, uncluttered and without extraneous plot or gimmicks, while also most upsetting, as it is realistically depressing.
For those unable to make it to New York in the past couple seasons and witness director
John Doyle's uniquely revived versions of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd and
Company, where the actors doubled as musicians, carrying and often lugging around their own instruments as part of a master vision, then prepare for a treat courtesy of PBS. This production of
Company was magnificently filmed at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre June 30, 2007, and thanks to television director
Lonny Price's affectionate treatment of a generation defining musical, it has been given a chance to resonate for many more generations to come.
On television, Doyle's technique of using actors and the orchestra plays out more like a semi-staged concert as opposed to a full fledged musical, though it does allow a closer and often literal reflection on the musical's score, and when such music is from Sondheim, there can never be too much introspection. The benefit here is often the lack of a full orchestra, as the sound comes off fresh and contemporary, avoiding the dated nature of its 1970's origin.
There does remain a slightly disconnected relevance in
Company, as its book (
George Furth) does remain somewhat dated in a prior decade, though in all that passed time, it is certainly true that relationships have not gotten any less complicated. Yet, with a proposed modern setting, one imagines any logical thirtysomething New Yorker might be more consumed with the plummeting economy or sky-high housing costs, rather than merely settling in for the long haul with a significant other.
Viewing a Broadway production on film, or in this case the small screen, is always a curious experience, as some of the director's staging decisions are overruled by the cameras' forced perspectives, though to
Company's credit, anyone who had seen the live performance can rest assured it remains in its purest possible form. There are no lavish effects or confusing shot choices to be found.
Frantic circus-like choreography, digressing to constant pacing in the opening, gets some much needed quick edits here, allowing the speedy nature of Bobby's conflicted emotions to play out all around him as he stands center stage nearly swept up by the chaos surrounding him. Many of the actors get caught up drifting into blank stares - how wonderful the close-up is here - during the course of the evening, latching onto the conflicted and often confusing ideas of love and marriage examined in
Company.
Bobby is a mere observer throughout most all of
Company, even avoiding playing an instrument, watching as the craziness balloons into a giant parade float around him, with each of his friends' relationships stumbling. Esparza proves his leading man authority in the perennial transformation tune "Being Alive," a number the actor surges through with wonderment. He explores the idea of wanting something in life while taking slow steps, finally realizing what love is all about with a guttural belt and ultimate acceptance, expressed through his playing the piano.
A quirky tempo number like "You Could Drive a Person Crazy," performed by Bobby's three love interests (
Elizabeth Stanley,
Kelly Jeanne Grant and
Angel Desai), adds some peppy energy to the often serious score, coming off on screen as sax-a-licious. Desai asserts herself as the spunky stand out amongst the threesome as she tackles "Another Hundred People," a song that can still immediately throw you right into the mindset of a hustle and bustle New York.
Barbara Walsh works her ultra snarky role of Joanne as well as one can expect in the face of an already iconic portrayal by the original cast member,
Elaine Stritch, who immortalized "The Ladies Who Lunch," although it is unfair to compare the two actresses, well, almost unfair, but not completely.
Heather Laws, as the nervous bride Amy, gives a rousing frantic delivery of "Not Getting Married Today," showing a comic spiral into madness, just as I can only imagine how one's wedding day could easily end up. I will purposefully avoid such a day as long as shows like
Company continue to highlight the mayhem involved with love. Such a giver that Sondheim is.
In terms of a filmed Broadway stage production,
Company is a triumph, presenting all that the Tony Award winning stage show was in its modern glory, and it has the ability to draw attention to the greater issue at hand, saving public access television. Sleek and modern interpretations of Broadway classics rarely are given the opportunity to shine like
Company, and with the eventual airing of another recently recorded production,
Cyrano de Bergerac starring
Kevin Kline and
Jennifer Garner, audiences owe it to the arts community to voice their disapproval at the government's shameful treatment of such a legacy.
Company airs Wednesday, February 20 at 9 p.m. Eastern on Thirteen/WNET New York's Great Performances on PBS (check local listings). For more information visit
thirteen.org or
pbs.org. And for more from
James Sims visit www.simsscoop.com.
Photos by Joe Sinnott – Thirteen/WNET. (1) Raúl Esparza. (2) Elizabeth Stanley, Kelly Jeanne Grant and Angel Desai. (3) Company.
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