COMPANY starring Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone will open March 22

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Dolly80 said: "I for one am totally on board for Claybourne Elder running around in next to nothing during ‘Barcelona’..."

...and he can sing the pants off of anybody as well...(G)..i saw him at the Hollywood Bowl  2 years ago singing FINISHING THE HAT and i fell in love with that song and Claybourne Elder...

[qolbinau]

Owen22 said: "Dollypop said: "A question for those who have seen the London production:

Is the "Tick Tock: ballet still part of the show? Is it danced by a woman?"

"Tick Tock" now, title appropriately, addresses Bobbie's biological clock.

"

I don’t know if it just does that. The nightmare shows her what it might be like to be stuck in a repetitive day to day life of being married burdened with children and domestic abuse in a loveless marriage. It continues to reinforce the theme that Bobbi isn’t really ready for marriage yet and the segue to ‘Barcelona’ makes sense of why she is happy for Andy to go on his way to BCN since he was the abuser and presumably the father in the dream. 

[Lot666]

Dolly80 said: "I for one am totally on board for Claybourne Elder running around in next to nothing during ‘Barcelona’..."

[Mike Barrett]

Eh, id rather have Matt Doyle prance around stage but not complaining here either 

[Mister Matt]

Eh, id rather have Matt Doyle prance around stage but not complaining here either 

If he's costumed like Jonathan Bailey was, you really won't be disappointed.

[Mike Barrett]

Mister Matt said: "Eh, id rather have Matt Doyle prance around stage but not complaining here either

If he's costumed like Jonathan Bailey was, you really won't be disappointed."

Luckily I am admittedly not too familiar with this show actually, so thats exciting! 

[Dancingthrulife2]

For a production that aspires to update the setting to TODAY's New York, the casting feels not much further from 1970. 

[JSquared2]

Dancingthrulife2 said: "For a production that aspires to update the setting to TODAY's New York, the casting feels not much further from 1970."

 

Huh?  Half of this cast wasn't even born yet in 1970!

 

[ljay889]

I think they’re referring to the obvious lack of diversity in the cast.

[qolbinau]

As per P.J.'s lines perhaps Bobbie needs to expand her social circle. 

[benfox2]

Obviously this casting is Katrina Lenk’s fault. Can’t Bobbi go make some black friends?

[Mike Barrett]

The Music Man is even more white, believe it or not

[GreatBroadwayFan]

So excited for this revival but I've got a serious question:

Do we think that this revival will get professionally filmed and released on BroadwayHD, Fathom Events, DVD/Blu-Ray, etc? Considering that almost every single Sondheim musical does get ProShot (Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into The Woods, Passion and of course Company) will they continue the tradition because I would love to be able to own the version for home viewing lol. But seriously, what do we all think??

[benfox2]

GreatBroadwayFan said: "So excited for this revival but I've got a serious question:

Do we think that this revival will get professionally filmed and released on BroadwayHD, Fathom Events, DVD/Blu-Ray, etc? Considering that almost every single Sondheim musical does get ProShot (Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into The Woods, Passion and of course Company) will they continue the tradition because I would love to be able to own the version for home viewing lol. But seriously, what do we all think??"

I really doubt it tbh. None of the last 4(5 if you count Gypsy) Sondheim revivals  got pro shots. I would really love for this to be preserved but it’s just not very likely on broadway today. I’m pretty sure the last broadway one we got was the last company revival, so that probably lessens the odds even more.

[JSquared2]

Mike Barrett said: "The Music Man is even more white, believe it or not"

Besides Jackman and Foster, they have announced casting for FOUR roles --- that's hardly a basis for you to determine that the entire cast will be white.

 

[givesmevoice]

benfox2 said: "GreatBroadwayFan said: "So excited for this revival but I've got a serious question:

Do we think that this revival will get professionally filmed and released on BroadwayHD, Fathom Events, DVD/Blu-Ray, etc? Considering that almost every single Sondheim musical does get ProShot (Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into The Woods, Passion and of course Company) will they continue the tradition because I would love to be able to own the version for home viewing lol. But seriously, what do we all think??"

I really doubt it tbh. None of the last 4(5if you count Gypsy) Sondheim revivals got pro shots. I would really love for this to be preserved but it’s just not very likely on broadway today. I’m pretty sure the last broadway one we got was the last company revival, so that probably lessens the odds even more."

The last two New York productions of Company were recorded though, so Company has a significantly better track record than most other Sondheim shows. 

[Robbie2]

Mister Matt said: "Sad we won't get Jonathan Bailey's knockout star turn as Jamie, but I've no doubt Matt Doyle will be wonderful.

Kind of disappointing Kyle Dean is playing such a tiny role.

If he plays Andy anything like Richard Fleeshman did in London, you won't be disappointed in the least. Of the males in the cast, the character of Andy was second only to Jamie in being the most memorable performance.

Interesting the casting announcement called this "Not a replica" of the London production and "some changes".

I do find that a tiny bit worrisome as I thought the London production was perfection. The staging was absolutely brilliant. There were a couple of set reveals that I thought were jaw-dropping."

 

Ahhhhhh Richard

[Robbie2]

broadwaybabywannabe2 said: "Dolly80 said: "I for one am totally on board for Claybourne Elder running around in next to nothing during ‘Barcelona’..."

...and he can sing the pants off of anybody as well...(G)..i saw him at the Hollywood Bowl 2 years ago singing FINISHING THE HAT and i fell in love with that song and Claybourne Elder..."

 

Ahhh Claybourne

[JBC3]

Elder was one of the stiffest George's I've ever seen. He could sing the part, but certainly not act it. He should fare better here though.

[ljay889]

I wonder if they’ll announce a Susan soon? Hopefully it’ll be a Latin or Asian woman. This cast desperately needs some more diversity.

[JSquared2]

ljay889 said: "I wonder if they’ll announce a Susan soon? Hopefully it’ll be a Latin or Asian woman. This cast desperately needs some more diversity.

Why is that?  Are we casting with "quotas"  now?  Why can't it just be the best person for the role?

 

[Mike Barrett]

Now I just wish Johnathan Groff was playing the role Claybourne is. Clay Bourne is in the category of “too sexy”
For me. First world problems, but it’s a thing. Can’t stop fantasizing about it lol.


Besides that part of the show however, this may the most excited I’ve been to see a show on Broadway. A classic musical I have yet to see, with Broadway talent I haven’t yet seen but have been following since I was a kid/young teen. It almost feels like the Super Bowl of broadway performances for me, I expect this evening to be pure bliss.

[ljay889]

In 2019 in NYC, I would think a character like Bobbie would have a more diverse group of friends than what’s been presented so far.
It’s not about a quota for me, it’s about reality.

[YvanEhtNioj]

ljay889 said: "
It’s not about a quota for me, it’s about reality."

 

Bingo. and it's sad that also in 2019, this still has to be explained. 

 

 

 

[joevitus]

ljay889 said: "In 2019 in NYC, I would think a character like Bobbie would have a more diverse group of friends than what’s been presented so far.
It’s not about a quota for me, it’s about reality."

Sounds more like an idealized concept than reality to me. Most people hang out with people like themselves--mostly the same race, gender, sexuality. Most of my gay friends don't spend a whole lot of time--especially social time--among straights. I don't know that many people of color who choose to hang out with whites, and of course with no effort at all whites can socialize without really knowing any people of color at all. 

There are exceptions, and I'm guessing I'm not the only one here connected to the arts, so our lives are different. But Bobbie/Bobby is a yuppie in a fairly exclusive community: somewhat monied, college-educated and cultured. Put that together with the average person seeking out those who resemble themselves and you end up with a lot of very similar people--heck, even their names are fairly interchangeable. 

There's also the issue that the characters were originally written as white and heterosexual (subtly swinging Peter excepted), and trying to diversify them for the sake of a new production while sticking to the script is a somewhat difficult task. Say you make Amy a woman of color. Or Joanne. Well, neither character evinces any viewpoint or even a way of expressing their viewpoint that comes with being a woman of color--which is different from the viewpoint that comes with being a white woman because racism and the social realities of America wind up forming a woman of color or a white woman differently--so the performer playing Amy under those circumstances comes off as unreal/artificial: a white person in a person of color's body, essentially. It's a fake solution.