Company Previews Thread- Page 24

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 10:47pm

jacobsnchz14 said: "https://fb.watch/9xoOfGSTTf/"

Absolutely beautiful. Marianne and this cast is so special. 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 10:51pm

jacobsnchz14 said: "https://fb.watch/9xoOfGSTTf/"

Thank you for sharing-posting

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 10:51pm

Just think, had this production begun performances as originally planned (December 20th previews, January 9th opening): Mr. Sondheim may have not gotten to see this production one more time before his passing. I'm so glad he did. Not only did he adore the production, but the cast got to perform it for him again and he got to see crowds loving his work on Broadway again. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 11:09pm

Robbie2 said: "jacobsnchz14 said: "https://fb.watch/9xoOfGSTTf/"

Thank you for sharing-posting"

A beautiful tribute.

[Scott Stephen]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 11:17pm

The rest of the show went beautifully. Patti LuPone received an immediate standing ovation after Ladies Who Lunch and pulled out a tissue to wipe her eyes afterwards. Katrina Lenk is also doing amazing work and delivered a gut-wrenching Being Alive. What a beautiful night and loving way to honor and celebrate him. I feel so fortunate to have been witness to this performance. Also forgot to mention, but the entire audience rose to their feet for Sondheim during the pre-show speech, it was very touching and deeply emotional.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 11:20pm

BCfitasafiddle said: "Just think, had this production begun performances as originally planned (December 20th previews, January 9th opening): Mr. Sondheim may have not gotten to see this production one more time before his passing. I'm so glad he did. Not only did he adore the production, but the cast got to perform it for him again and he got to see crowds loving his work on Broadway again."

Wow, this is such an amazing point. 

[luvcaroline]

Posted: 11/26/21 at 11:40pm

Scott, thank you for posting your report. 

[windowwaving]

Posted: 11/27/21 at 12:13am

The audience was amazing tonight. During Marianne’s speech, people were already tearing up, audience and Patti included. People cheered and howled at every “moment.” 
 

I was hoping they would do something after curtain call, but I think the cast just really wanted to leave. Patti looked like she was ready to cry again and other cast members were comforting her. 
 

Sieber and Simard did “point up” during their curtain call. 
 

I think our show finished later than others due to the speeches, so outside people were waiting to see/hear what happened. There was a memorial already set at the stage door with roses on the steps. 

What a fabulous night though. This show is really special and my expectations were blown. 

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/27/21 at 12:21am

It’s truly heartwarming reading the reports of those who were there tonight. Thank you for sharing. 

[BJR]

Posted: 11/27/21 at 9:25am

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "You can now be able to watch all the pre-show activities from the first preview (which includes Sondheim's standing ovation, Marianne Elliott's introduction, and Patti LuPone's comments) on YouTube. It was recently uploaded by Aurora Spiderwoman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKoGrTGK7fY"

I'm so happy someone braved the ushers and LuPone to capture this. And that I had the wherwithal to grab a ticket that night.

[fosterfan2]

Posted: 11/27/21 at 9:41am

Tbh,Patti might not have even noticed. When people are grieving,sometimes they're less aware of little things. She looked very sad and as great an actress as she is,I don't think she was acting.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/27/21 at 11:40am

I know there is already a recording from london, but what are the chances they’ll release a cast recording of this cast?

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/27/21 at 11:46am

I don’t think there’s a chance it won’t be recorded. Sadly, it will be the first major revival recording without his presence and input. He was very involved in the London cast recording. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/27/21 at 11:47am

I’m sincerely hoping they record it. This company (ha) is unmatched in talent.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/27/21 at 11:47am

I’m sincerely hoping they record it. This company (ha) is unmatched in talent.

[fosterfan2]

Posted: 11/27/21 at 1:08pm

I hope so too! I would LOVE a cast album; these performers are some of my very favorites.  Especially since I probably won't get to see it.

[Zion24]

Posted: 11/27/21 at 5:50pm

Robbie2 said: "Saw the matinee today and the rain scene is there - Lenk's ''Being Alive'' really moved me and she took me along on her journey. Thoroughly enjoyed her well acted performance- she has a delicate voice but handled the score nicely and not once was she flat this afternoon. Sitting in the front row center-mezz was perfect viewing and seeing the solid rich sounding orchestra pearched above the set added to a great afternoon at this revival. Btw, Patti is having a blast in the show and it shows that she's having much fun and her ''Ladies Who Lunch'' scene is the showstopper we expect from her and she powerfully delivers! This production is Exquisite! Cast is perfect and the score never sounded better! Just found out that Sondheim passed when I arrived home which makes this afternoon at Company even more of a special day! RIP Steve! Show started at 2:05 and let out at 4:50."

I was also there Friday afternoon. Show let out at 4:50, and we jumped straight into an Uber to head to the airport. Getting the NYT alert that Stephen Sondheim had died twenty minutes later was.... absolutely surreal, I have no other word for it. To still have that score humming in your ears and see that news was like a strange joke / punch in the gut. 

And I think Company is the best example of Sondheim's genius. Specifically because its not a strong show. Its book is muddled and the main character is mostly reactive to those around him/her. There really isn't much of a plot. And yet the music and lyrics are so genius, and convey so much, and are such a thrill. No one- and I really do believe that no one- else could possibly have made this show watchable beyond Sondheim. 

And god bless Marianne Elliott for taking a plot-less musical and imposing a plot where one wasn't there before. The only full live production I had ever seen before this one was John Doyle's, and musical concerts. Doyles basically was that-- by stripping it down to its bareness, he highlighted how little was going on. I enjoyed it plenty (see above re: Sondheim music) but seeing this production is like night/day. 

This was nearly perfect. Start to finish. Mining moments and storyline out of every word, look, wink. Perfectly cast. The 2.5 hours simply flew by. I thought everyone made the most of their moments but special mention for Jennifer Simard and Matt Doyle. (I'm surprised the production made Amy into Jamie, and then made Jamie a little bit of an old school gay caricature, but Doyle ran with it and to a stop-the-show standing ovation, well deserved). I also thought Clybourne Elder and Manu Narayan were particularly pitch perfect. (I have no idea what Bobby Conte was doing, or why he was directed to perform Another Hundred People in such halting fashion, he clearly has the talent to belt it all out). 

I know what I'm about to say here is going to get me yelled at but: Patti LuPone is doing exactly what we'd expect, and shes fantastic, and her enunciation and voice are perfect. But whether its the production wanting to bill her as a Star, or her negotiating it, I actually thought the strength of the production overshadowed her character? Maybe a case of heightened expectations but I felt like I've seen her perform this song before?

And speaking of warped expectation, it could be the reactions here but... Katrina Lenk was pretty great? Bobbi/Bobby is a cipher that really just reacts to couples around him/her. Its funny to me that people here think Lenk's Bobbi is "cold"-- was Esparza's warm and cuddly? Lenk has a very sultry, almost mysterious intelligence about her and while that was perfect for Dina, I understand that it isn't ideal for Bobbi but I thought she had no problem turning Bobbi into someone trying to figure it all out. It resonated. And I genuinely do not understand how anyone could think she has trouble singing this score? What am I missing? In "Barcelona" she sounded like she was straining but she was also playing someone who was woken up early morning. Otherwise, I thought she sounded fantastic. She wept through Being Alive and then nailed a big final note with ease. I thought her finale was devastating. 

while I hope this runs a long time, I must say I am looking forward to whenever it gets super easy to get good seats for less than the obscene amounts we paid for these. i will be back.

Updated On: 11/27/21 at 05:50 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/27/21 at 7:04pm

For some reason, I find it so comforting to read reports of both shows yesterday. 
Thank you for sharing. It sounds like the show is getting tighter, and by recent reports, it sounds like Lenk’s vocals are really growing. I always thought people were overreacting about her singing.

If anyone was at either show today, please share some thoughts. 

[Synecdoche2]

Posted: 11/28/21 at 12:03am

Well said Zion24. I agree with everything you said and echo it back as strongly as possible. This show is a home run.

[jbird5]

Posted: 11/28/21 at 12:42am

I was at the evening show.  It seemed like a celebration, a party atmosphere.  No one was distraught - the man did make it to 91 and lived to see the show.  Patti got the biggest reaction- 2 full standing ovations: 1 for Ladies and 1 for bows.  Other cast members got partial standing ovations during bows except for Katrina whose bows carried over from Patti.  Her vocals come and go but she sure looks gorgeous from the fourth row.  I think she suffers in comparison to the vocal prowess of the other cast members, especially the female ones.  Chris Fitzgerald seems to have brought Ogie along with him from Waitress.  Jennifer Simard steals her scenes and Chris Seiber is the perfect foil.  Somehow Patti manages to upstage even her.  
 

I think the shock of his death has worn off.  We all knew it was a matter of time.  Now its time to celebrate and appreciate what he left us,

[JasonC3]

Posted: 11/28/21 at 1:39am

I don't get standing Os for Ladies Who Lunch unless it is becoming such a musical diva moment that people can't help themselves.  Patti does fine with it, but having seen her three times in London, I don't think it was such an exceptional performance that I would break mid-show to stand up for it.

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 11/28/21 at 3:25am

From Finishing the Hat, 

"Privately, I had hoped that the number would be such a showstopper in Elaine's hands that the audience would actually get up on the "Rise!" repetitions and give her a standing ovation. It was a showstopper all right, but not quite that big. My hope was probably a holdover from my Hollywood fantasies in which on opening nights black-tied men and bejeweled women stood up at anything--much as they do nowadays, where standing ovations are a foregone conclusion, it being necessary for audiences to remind themselves that they've had a live experience by participating in it."

The cynic in me agrees with his words and wonders if the mid-show standing ovation is truly "earned" or not, but right now, I'm just thinking about how wonderful it is that 50 years later, the man lived long enough to see that secret ambition of his become realized.

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 11/28/21 at 8:36pm

I was at the Saturday matinee. No pre-show speeches or special mention, but Patti seemed to choke up around the "everybody dies" line during "Ladies Who Lunch."

I absolutely loved the fluid way the scenes changed, especially the way people and the sets would seemingly fade away into the heavy fog used throughout.

I agree with the previous comments about the vocals during "Another Hundred People."  I felt like the book scenes fell a bit flat during that sequence, too. I think they're perfection in the John Doyle version.

Loved the rain effect during "Marry Me A Little," and I really liked the transition to the club scene, when the set rolls forward with everyone back-lit. Great image!

Katrina Lenk was wearing a white wrist brace on her right hand. Not sure that I've seen it mentioned in the thread before.  Hope she feels better and/or heals quickly. 

 

[StylishCynic]

Posted: 11/28/21 at 11:31pm

JasonC3 said: "I don't get standing Os for Ladies Who Lunch unless it is becoming such a musical diva moment that people can't help themselves. Patti does fine with it, but having seen her three times in London, I don't think it was such an exceptional performance that I would break mid-show to stand up for it."

Re: Patti’s standing O —she’s evolved her interpretation since London, and there’s definitely a stronger dash of fevered cynicism on the book scene prior to her number. It’s truly exceptional, spitfire book work that she does. 
The biggest change, that Patti admitted in an interview, is that since coming back to Broadway after the great break (when she thought she’d never return to the show) she holds the last note of the song as long as she can, going much longer than it’s written.
To paraphrase her interview, she and the audience have waited so long to have the moment again, why not give it her all?
Well, that note is rewarding and rousing enough to beckon everyone on their feet. And as Sondheim was in the audience already, he seemed to approve as well. Perhaps his last revision…

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 11/29/21 at 11:25am

StylishCynic said: Re: Patti’s standing O —she’s evolved her interpretation since London, and there’s definitely a stronger dash of fevered cynicism on the book scene prior to her number. It’s truly exceptional, spitfire book work that she does.

I couldn't agree more!  She's taken that dialogue and completely made it her own. Very different from the interpretation we're used to hearing, including Patti's own previous performances as Joanne.