COMPANY musical (STEPHEN SONDHEIM) 1995 BROADWAY (BOYD GAINES, KATE BURTON, DEBRA MONK, LaCHANZE)

Posted: 7/8/20 at 10:38am

Highlights from COMPANY's 1995 revival have been posted on YouTube.  A national tour followed & visited my city.  I was blown away. 

(Archived comments from this message board were less than enthusiastic.)

These are Broadway pros at the top of their game. 

 

Updated On: 7/8/20 at 10:38 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/8/20 at 10:41am

Ah yes, the account that I like to think is Aurora Spiderwoman's burner.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/8/20 at 12:47pm

Boyd Gaines is a friend of mine and was going through SEVERE acid reflux problems at the time and missed about half of his performances. His understudy was okay but came off as somewhat effeminate. It gave the production a different slant despite the excellent work by the rest of the cast.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/8/20 at 3:30pm

I remember him being the brunt of a lot of gossip columnists at the time, but I thought it was for vocal reasons.  I managed to see him in the role and he was in great voice at that performance.  It may have been helped by the venue that it played in, that old semi-thrust(???) Roundabout space on Broadway, but I thought he was as good as any Bobby I have seen.  It was really unfortunate that he was not in great form when the critics saw the show, because the performance I saw proved that he was more than capable of being a great Bobby.  How does one be a great Bobby...by making us care about him.  For comparison, I never felt that Dean Jones or Larry Kert really made us care avery much bout Bobby, although Larry Kert sang a great Being Alive.  Gaines really had us feeling his hurt.

I find it interesting that he has won 4 Tony awards in three different categories, and is not better known.  With those credentials, I have also been surprised at how little TV and film work he has done over the years.  A shame.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/8/20 at 4:36pm

I'm not contradicting you, Jarethan, but some of us know Boyd Gaines very well without ever having seen him on stage. From HEARTBREAK RIDGE through four entirely different roles on LAW & ORDER, Gaines stands out in everything he does. Hollywood seems to have "typed" him as a character actor, which may not be entirely wrong.

Again, I'm not saying you are wrong. Not at all. Just reassuring you that some of us have noticed his many TV and film appearances in supporting roles.

[Blue_Lotus]

Posted: 7/8/20 at 4:50pm

GavestonPS said: "I'm not contradicting you, Jarethan, but some of us know Boyd Gaines very well without ever having seen him on stage. From HEARTBREAK RIDGE through four entirely different roles on LAW & ORDER, Gaines stands out in everything he does. Hollywood seems to have "typed" him as a character actor, which may not be entirely wrong.

Again, I'm not saying you are wrong. Not at all. Just reassuring you that some of us have noticed his many TV and film appearances in supporting roles."

I remember Mr. Gaines for his role as Valerie Bertenelli's husband on the 70s version of "One Day At A Time"

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/8/20 at 5:38pm

No, it was definitely acid reflux. I saw the x-rays and it was fierce. If you meet Boyd on the street, you'll find he's always chewing gum to counter-act it.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 7/8/20 at 8:56pm

His understudy was okay but came off as somewhat effeminate.

Paving the way for Katrina Link.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/8/20 at 10:42pm

GavestonPS said: "I'm not contradicting you, Jarethan, but some of us know Boyd Gaines very well without ever having seen him on stage. From HEARTBREAK RIDGE through four entirely different roles on LAW & ORDER, Gaines stands out in everything he does. Hollywood seems to have "typed" him as a character actor, which may not be entirely wrong.

Again, I'm not saying you are wrong. Not at all. Just reassuring you that some of us have noticed his many TV and film appearances in supporting roles."

I guess I am saying that I would expect him to have had a higher profile than he does.  Outside of a core theatergoing crowd, he is not very well known, which is just a shame, because he has been at least excellent in every show he has done.  

One Day at a Time is decades ago...I actually thought he would be more visible just because of that; he was good looking AND charming, but not much side happened.

(This comment is not meant to be anything but an anecdote.  I really have always liked Gaines a lot; I loved Heartbreak Ridge, and have seen it no less than half a dozen times.  With that, I don't even remember that he was in it.  I do remember that he was in Porky's 40ish years ago and had a tiny role that anyone could have done in Funny Games).  Why is he never in a prominent role in the zillion streaming series that are constantly being introduced...I just don't get it).

 

Updated On: 7/9/20 at 10:42 PM

[Owen22]

Posted: 7/8/20 at 10:48pm

I have never seen the opening number done better than in this production. Looking forward to checking it out on YouTube to see if my memory holds out!

[Owen22]

Posted: 7/8/20 at 10:48pm

I have never seen the opening number done better than in this production. Looking forward to checking it out on YouTube to see if my memory holds out!

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 7/8/20 at 11:11pm

I tend to agree! He’s so great. But maybe that’s what he wants? Maybe he doesn’t want to travel as much? Who knows. I mean he did a lesser role in “Driving Miss Daisy” not too long ago.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 8:55am

I've always wondered why this flopped. It's a very strong cast, but some of the clips I've seen didn't work. Charlotte isn't a strong Kathy. Gaines doesn't seem to have the vocals to sing Bobby. There's clearly some misses in this production.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 1:10pm

SouthernCakes said: "I tend to agree! He’s so great. But maybe that’s what he wants? Maybe he doesn’t want to travel as much? Who knows. I mean he did a lesser role in “Driving Miss Daisy” not too long ago. "

 

For the most part Boyd keeps to himself. He's done some regional productions lately; including a marvelous OUR TOWN in New Jersey. He spends lots of time recording books, where he spends full days locked in a room reading a text into a microphone. He's content doing this until the next appropriate project comes his way.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 3:08pm

Although the opening number of this production was well-staged, it presented problems at the old Roundabout--which housed two theaters. There was a serious drama being performed on the other stage and sounds of "Bobby Baby" could easily be heard through the wall of the other theater.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/12/20 at 9:17pm

Man, I don't enjoy the cheesy staging/choreography of the title number. The Mendes and Elliot productions did/do a much better job with the number. Sondheim has told Elliot that her staging of the number is actually how he always envisioned it. 

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 7/12/20 at 11:29pm

ljay889 said: "Man, I don't enjoy the cheesy staging/choreography of the titlenumber. The Mendesand Elliotproductions did/doa much better job with the number. Sondheim has told Elliot that her staging of the number is actually how he always envisionedit."

Well know I’m even more interested in seeing Elliot’s version. Is there any footage showing this staging?

I agree that in the wrong hands, that number can come across as extremely cheesy. 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/13/20 at 12:40am

ljay889 said: "Man, I don't enjoy the cheesy staging/choreography of the titlenumber. The Mendesand Elliotproductions did/doa much better job with the number. Sondheim has told Elliot that her staging of the number is actually how he always envisionedit."

It might have been more helpful if he had told previous directors as well. (j/k)

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/13/20 at 7:47pm

Hot Pants said: "ljay889 said: "Man, I don't enjoy the cheesy staging/choreography of the titlenumber. The Mendesand Elliotproductions did/doa much better job with the number. Sondheim has told Elliot that her staging of the number is actually how he always envisionedit."

Well know I’m even more interested in seeing Elliot’s version. Is there any footage showing this staging?

I agree that in the wrong hands, that number can come across as extremely cheesy."

You can see a few glimpses of it here from the London production. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtlFd6LWZZw

It's staged with Bobbie in her kitchen completely cramped and suffocated by her friends. 

Posted: 7/14/20 at 3:59pm

And here are a few glimpses from the 1995 revival.  (Really delightful for me to find this while quarantined.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5g00h89l1o