COMPANY in Cincinnati Review- Page 2

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/19/06 at 11:35pm

I saw the Tony in the lobby while I was there. I've never seen one before!

[JO125]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 12:18am

Yes I remember they won the Tony.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 12:31am

It was so pretty and shiny.

[CJWesselman]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 3:19am

Saw the show tonight. Everything the reviews said it was. Wonderful. It was amazing to see Raul perform like 50 feet away from me. lol. love the guy. Rest of the cast is superb and it's amazing how talented they all are musically. Some play 2 or 3 instruments throughout the show. At one point the girl playing Kathy (I think...) is playing the flute with one hand and then flips it under her arm and switches right over to a sax. craziness. It's simple, it works, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if producers deem it broadway worthy. go see it (if you can get tickets!)

[JO125]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 8:13pm

A review from Theatermania.com
Company review

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 8:28pm

Any concerns that Raúl Esparza might be too dynamic a performer for the role of Bobby, who more or less functions as a blank slate upon which the neuroses of his friends and lovers are writ, are dispelled by this extraordinary actor's expertly calibrated performance. He skillfully underplays the part with offhand humor and the occasional wry observation until the penultimate scene; when this Bobby shouts "Stop!" to finally silence the nattering of his married friends, it's a primal scream from the soul, so violent and seemingly throat-searing that Esparza's subsequent, gorgeous singing of the cathartic "Being Alive" is all the more astounding. Another stunning Doyle touch: Robert is the only character who never plays a musical instrument during the show (except for a single cymbal crash) until he sits down at the piano to play and sing "Being Alive," as if only now expressing his true feelings. By the way, in keeping with the current performing edition of Company, the song "Marry Me a Little" has been restored and is movingly performed by Esparza as a fittingly ambivalent ending to Act I.

Daaaaamn.
God, he was so wonderful.

Updated On: 3/20/06 at 08:28 PM

[Fantabulous428]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 8:29pm

Go, Raul!

[Bohemian1232]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 8:31pm

That makes me so happy!

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 8:41pm

I fully support their gushing over him, he was definitely amazing in this.

[GoSmileLaughCryClap]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 9:24pm

Isherwood helps make the case for moving Company to Broadway. No, he isn't forgiven for his "Crimes Against The State" posturing about Ms. Blanchett and company, but I'll gladly accept his positive ravings on the first day of Spring!
NYT Company Review

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 9:27pm

Hot damn, Raul!

And Mr. Esparza, giving what may well be the richest and strongest performance of his career, remakes the challenging character of Bobby as a seductive, moody figure who might easily be found coolly sizing up the offerings at one of the oversize, overcrowded pan-Asian eateries frequented by single women who continue to cavort like the gals from "Sex and the City." Bobby, eternally age 35, is, after all, a 35-year-old prototype of that show's ever-unavailable Mr. Big.

Mr. Esparza inflects Bobby's wry considerations of his married friends' emotional dilemmas with slashes of dark humor slung straight at the audience, suggesting at times the mischief-making of Jon Stewart at his most deadpan. But his splendid singing throbs with an ardor that expresses the intense confusion under Bobby's veneer of semi-contented solitude.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 10:57pm

These reviews are great. I would love to see it. But still have issues about having this show on Broadway again, and with a Philharmonic production coming.

A question. I know Act 1 closes with MARRY ME A LITTLE in this version. But does it still have the little music similar to what opens the show and the cast does the "bubby bubby" stuff. They call it the "Act 1 Finale" on the revival cast recording. I don't know how else to explain. Does that still close Act 1 in this production?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:00pm

Yes. It's right before Marry Me a Little, I believe.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:03pm

Oooh. On the revival cast recording it's right after.

So before the black out right after Act 1 (I'm assuming there's no curtain?) What is the last thing we hear?

Thanks for answering all my little question, Em.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:08pm

There's no curtain, no. It's a thrust stage, and the lights just go completely dark.

The last thing you hear is Raul's GORGEOUS rendition of Marry Me a Little; he fades out with the accompaniment.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:11pm

Interesting. Thanks!

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 7:51am

I guess it's probably kind of early to tell, but given the rave reviews... is New York interested in this?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 9:58am

I still think it's just too similar to Sweeney. If this comes to New York, Doyle is going to get SLAMMED for being a one-trick pony, as great as both shows are.

[sicetergo]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 10:00am

Nice Variety review - but opens with a worry that if Company were to transfer there might be too much Doyle product.
Variety

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 10:03am

I really didn't expect this to get so much attention. Wow.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 10:04am

I can't get the Variety page to load; would someone be so kind and post an excerpt for me? (About Raul, if you really want to be kind... )

[GoSmileLaughCryClap]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 10:10am

from Variety:
...Even Raul Esparza's Bobby sits down to play the piano when we finally get to "Being Alive," which is designed to show that music flows into his fingers at his moments of greatest vulnerability. It is a lovely touch.

If Esparza goes to New York with this show, his performance likely will divide the Sondheim fanatics. It all depends how arch you like your Bobby to be. If you see him as a cipher, a confused sweetheart of a regular single dude who is set atwitter by all that prattling pressure, Esparza won't be your man.

If you see the central character as more of a self-knowing cynic than he lets on, you'll probably be willing to go where Esparza and Doyle clearly want you to go. Given that Bobby could well be gay anyway, this interpretation is most certainly justified by the material. And it is exquisitely sung.

[sicetergo]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 10:10am

Too slow


Updated On: 3/21/06 at 10:10 AM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 10:12am

Hm.

That's..... interesting. Especially that they "went there" with the sexuality; and not only because given the way he plays that scene, the reviewer seems to have misinterpreted, but because they've conflated Raul's Bobby's cynicism with his possible being gay.

Very interesting. Especially given that this is some of the least flambuoyant Raul's ever been on stage.

Updated On: 3/21/06 at 10:12 AM

[sicetergo]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 10:16am

It's one of those old chestnuts with Company...even tho' everybody who has had anything to do with creating the show has categorically said that Robert isn't gay.....