Company--a documentary film about recording the Original Cast Album

Forbidden Broadway has an hilarious version the title song from Company in its most recent incarnation: "No strings, no drums, unaccompanied." The only version of the show I've seen is the pared down "unaccompanied" version, so I was interested in hearing the full orchestrations as presented in this documentary film from the long night of recording Company: The Cast Album.

Firstly, I have to get this out of the way: Dean Jones is sexy. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit it, but the dimples, the soulful brown eyes, the long lashes--okay I'm back now. That said, he seems to make a very good Bobby with the boyish appeal, the vulnerability and the singing voice I want from Bobby. I was surprised how well he sang "Being Alive". This is a difficult song (emotionally, too, but I'm mean musically) with a high range that lies so much of the that danger-zone of middle C to F above it. Mr. Jones handles it all very well, and has a lovely sound to boot.

I had wondered why I've seen more pictures of Larry Kert playing Bobby in the original production than I have of Mr. Jones. Mr. Kert was also nominated for the Tony Award for the role. I had to listen to the commentary track to this documentary to find out; in an arrangement with Hal Prince, Mr. Jones was let out of his contract two weeks after the show opened because his marriage was falling apart and his wife was in California with their kids.

This documentary focuses a lot of attention on Elaine Stritch, who goes from being a car wreck-- as she tries to sing "The Ladies Who Lunch" at the end of a 16-hour recording session--to being a revving Rolls Royce as she completes the song. Ms. Stritch is one of the voices on the commentary track, and she does provide some insight into what was going on, why it was going badly, and how it got righted. But this is only one song (albeit a great one) from this score, and I would have liked a little more time with some of the others.

One beef with the film. It lists identifiers for the producers, composer, director and playwright as they appear on screen, but doesn't have the same courtesy for the performers. Am I supposed to know them all? The ones I recognize are from their later TV roles: Charles Kimbrough (Murphy Brown), Beth Howland (Alice), Barbara Barrie (Barney Miller). The others are a bit of a mystery to me. The commentary track does identify Pamela Meyers who is phenomenal singing "Another 100 People."

One of the other unidentified cast members is Charles Braswell, with a robust baritone voice I've encountered before. Company was his final Broadway show, as he died at the age of 52 folling his run in the show.

Company
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth
Opened in 1970
Documentary film made in 1970 by DA Pennbaker
Cast from the show: Dean Jones, Donna McKechnie, Beth Howland, Pamela Meyers, Elaine Stritch, Charles Braswell, and others.
Show producers in the film: Stephen Sondheim, George Furth, Hal Prince, Thomas Z. Shepard

Applause original cast album on CD

Fasten your seat belt, it's going to be a bumpy night--it's All About Eve on the musical stage with screen siren Lauren Bacall, singing and dancing as Margot Channing and being shoved aside by upstart Eve. I had only heard the title song from Applause as sung by Bonnie Franklin (her only Broadway credit), and didn't even know what the context of the song or what the story of the musical was. Well, this is another score that is a delightful find for me.

There are lots of funny theater inside jokes in this score--starting from the opening chorus "Backstage Babble" with it's blah, blah, blah of compliments. Also there are lots of funny references to stars of the time of the show (1970) and the early career of Ms. Bacall. While the musical score is definitely of its time and sounds straight out of the 60s, its doesn't sound dated to me--maybe because the songs are all new to me.

Len Cariou made his musical Broadway debut in this show, previously having been in straight plays on the Great White Way. He would go on to be closely associated with the shows of Stephen Sondheim (A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd), but is very good in this score.

Ms. Bacall is delightful on this cast album. She won the Tony for this role (over Katharine Hepburn also sprech-stimme'ing her way through the musical Coco). Bacall is surprisingly musical. Possessing a raspy voice with more legato then I expected, she delivers on all her numbers and clearly has a sense of humor about herself. "Something Greater" that comes near the end of the show is a wonderful song.

The only musical disappointment is the group number "Fasten Your Seat Belts." That title comes straight out of the script for All About Eve, but the line is given to chorus characters rather than to Margot Channing. The CD reissue features some bonus tracks of song cut from the show sung and played by composer Charles Strouse. "The Loneliest Man in Town" is a good song, but I can understand why it didn't make it to the stage--this is a musical about two women. "Smashing New York Times" is a funny, bittersweet song about working so hard for a few nice words in reviews.

Applause
Music by Charles Stouse
Lyrics by Lee Adams
Book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Cast album recorded in 1970, released on CD by Decca Broadway in 2000
Cast: Lauren Bacall, Len Cariou, Robert Mandan, Ann Williams, Brandon Maggart, Bonnie Franklin, Lee Roy Reams, Penny Fuller

Company 2006 Broadway production filmed for television on DVD

RRRRRRauuuuuuuuuuullll!

This entry is for a friend who introduced me to the charms of Raul Esparza. A Sondheim fan, she went to the Kennedy Center and saw Mr. Esparza perform. She came back singing "Marry Me A Little, Raul!" And who can blame her. Mr. Esparza seems the perfect embodiment of Bobby--the guileless bachelor at the center of Company--charming, vulnerable, flirty, and handling all the twists and turns of Sondheim's music.

This stage production was by John Doyle and it uses the actors as the orchestra as well. I imagine the audition process: "You sang 'Not Getting Married Today' very well, I could understand every word. Can you play the trumpet?" It's an interesting form, although I don't know if it really adds anything to my understanding of this work of theater.

In a discussion on the extras of the DVD, Raul Esparza talks about how much he tried to strip away the theatricalities of Bobby to be a true observer in the play, and that seems the right approach, where Bobby reacts to so much, but isn't an active participant until the finale (when for the first time, not coincidentally, he plays an instrument).

This production is well-filmed for television, with lots of camera angles and camera movement. I wonder if that runs counter to the feeling when one saw the play live on stage. Except for a couple of very choreographed songs, with instrumentalists/singers bounding all over the stage, a lot of Company seems like it would be purposefully visually static.

Musically the show is very satisfying, with each song well-performed. Barbara Walsh seems to channel (or should I say Chanel) Elaine Stritch in the "Ladies Who Lunch" song.

Company
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth
2006 Broadway production
Directed by John Doyle
Produced for WNET Channel Thirteen New York
Released on DVD by Image Entertainment
Cast: Raul Esparza, Kelly Jeanne Grant, Angel Desai, Elizabeth Stanley, Matt Castle, Amy Justman, Fred Rose, Leenya Rideout, Keith Buterbaugh, Kristin Huffman, Robert Cunningham, Heather Laws, Bruce Sabath, Barbara Walsh