Company, the musical comedy masterpiece about the search for love and cocktails in New York, is turned on its head in Elliott's revelatory staging, in which musical theatre's most iconic bachelor is now a bachelorette. At Bobbie's 35th birthday party, all her friends are wondering why isn't she married? Why can't she find the right man? And, why can't she settle down and have a family? This whip smart musical comedy, given a game-changing makeover for a modern-day Manhattan, features some of Sondheim's best loved songs, including "Company," "You Could Drive a Person Crazy," "The Ladies Who Lunch," "Side by Side," and the iconic "Being Alive."
All in all, I very much enjoyed this production and the gender-swapped aspects of it were very well done. I enjoyed seeing a female Bobby grapple with the pros and cons of marriage, wondering if it is worth tying oneself down to someone else while still desiring freedom and independence. So often the stereotype is that women are all ready and eager to marry and that iit is only men who face such struggles. It was refreshing to see a female version represented on stage.
Coleman is a cool, yet quirky Bobbie. Having understudied the role on Broadway, Coleman makes it completely her own with an authenticity that has the audience gravitating towards her. With much of the comedy occurring among her friends, it’s when the stage is bare and it’s just Bobbie and her thoughts that Coleman shines, belting “Marry Me a Little” or “Being Alive,” where you see the anguish and frustration as she navigates all of these personal interrogations, giving little revelations in each song as she soaks in what she’s learned.
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