Company at Lincoln Center

[bob8rich]

Posted: 5/20/12 at 5:57am

I finally got to see the filmed recording of the recent concert staging of Sondheim's Company directed by Lonny Price at Lincoln Center - at my local cinema a few days ago. Has anyone else seen this? If so, would be interested to know what you think.

Overall I loved it - well, I think Company is one of the top ten best musicals ever written, so how could I not love it? lol
Seeing it yet again reminded me of not only how great Sondheim's score is but also how brilliant George Furth's Book is - I am in awe of the quality of his writing.

Re. the production - it was cleverly staged by Price and the performances were all pretty much from the top drawer, though in general it was perhaps acted better than it was sung (though there were exceptions, such as the gorgeous vocals of Aaron Lazar). Neil Patrick Harris was a superb Bobby, getting right inside the character and, though his vocals do not come close to matching Raul Esparza's in the John Doyle production, he delivered the songs with a perfect sense of vulnerability and credibility.

For me the absolute standout performances were the fabulous Anika Noni Rose as Marta (vocally brilliant on Another Hundred People)and Patti Lupone, who was IMO simply astonishing (apart from Stritch's definitive performance, the best Ladies Who Lunch I've heard).

Updated On: 5/20/12 at 05:57 AM

[FrontRowDress]

Posted: 5/20/12 at 6:35am

Praise indeed Bob, especially on The The Ladies Who Lunch. It's one of my top 10 favourite shows too, in fact it's probably in my top 3. Would love to see this recording, I'm hoping for a dvd some time soon.

[MamasDoin'Fine]

Posted: 5/20/12 at 6:59am

The DVD is slatted for release in December.

[FrontRowDress]

Posted: 5/20/12 at 12:54pm

Brilliant news, that'll be in a lot of stockings, including mine.