Benutzerin:Quod-erat-demonstrandum./Artikelwerkstatt/Company

Musicaldaten
Originaltitel:	Company
Originalsprache:	Englisch
Musik:	Stephen Sondheim
Buch:	George Furth
Liedtexte:	Sondheim
Originalregie:	Harold Prince
Uraufführung:	1970
Ort der Uraufführung:	Broadway, Vereinigte Staaten NYC
Rollen/Personen
→ Figuren → Besetzungen

Company ist eine Musical Comedy von Stephen Sondheim mit einem Libretto von George Furth. Die Uraufführung 1970 war für rekordträchtige 14 Tony Awards nominiert und gewann schließlich sechs davon.

Das ursprünglich mit Threes betitelte Musical handelt von Bobby, seinen drei Freundinnen und fünf verheirateten Paaren, seinen besten Freunden. Bobby ist ein alleinstehender Mann, der sich (noch) nicht bereit fühlt, eine stabile Liebesbeziehung – geschweige denn eine Ehe – zu führen.

Originally titled Threes, its plot revolves around Bobby (a single man unable to commit fully to a steady relationship, let alone marriage), the five married couples who are his best friends, and his three girlfriends. Unlike most book musicals, which follow a clearly delineated plot, Company is a concept musical composed of short vignettes, presented in no particular chronological order, linked by a celebration for Bobby's 35th birthday.

Company war eines der ersten Musicals, welche sich mit erwachsenen Themen und alternden Liebesbeziehungen auseinandersetzte. Sondheim sagte darüber: „Das Broadway-Theater “puts it, "Broadway theater has been for many years supported by upper-middle-class people with upper-middle-class problems. These people really want to escape that world when they go to the theatre, and then here we are with Company talking about how we're going to bring it right back in their faces."

Handlung

In the early 1990s, Furth and Sondheim revised the libretto, cutting and altering dialogue that had become dated and rewriting the end to act one. This synopsis is based on the revised libretto.

I. Akt

Robert is a well-liked single man living in New York City, whose friends are all married or engaged couples: Joanne and Larry, Peter and Susan, Harry and Sarah, David and Jenny, and Paul and Amy. It is Robert's 35th birthday and the couples have gathered to throw him a surprise party. When Robert fails to blow out any candles on his birthday cake, the couples promise him that his birthday wish will still come true, though he has wished for nothing, since his friends are all that he needs ("Company"). What follows is a series of disconnected vignettes in no apparent chronological order, each featuring Robert during a visit with one of the couples or alone with a girlfriend. The first of these features Robert visiting Sarah, a foodie supposedly now dieting, and her husband Harry, an alcohol abuser supposedly now on the wagon. Sarah and Harry taunt each other on their vices, escalating toward karate-like fighting and thrashing that may or may not be playful. The caustic Joanne, the oldest, most cynical, and most-oft divorced of Robert's friends, comments sarcastically to the audience that it is "The Little Things You Do Together" that make a marriage work. Harry then explains, and the other married men concur, that you are always "Sorry-Grateful" about getting married, and that marriage changes both everything and nothing about the way you live.

Robert is next with Peter and Susan, on their apartment terrace. Peter is Ivy League, and Susan is a southern belle; the two seem to be a perfect couple, yet they surprise Robert with the news of their upcoming divorce. At the home of the uptight Jenny and chic David, Robert has brought along some marijuana that they share. The couple turns to grilling Robert on why he has not yet gotten married. Robert claims he is not against the notion, but three women he is currently fooling around with—Kathy, Marta, and April—appear and proceed, Andrews Sisters-style, to chastise Robert for his reluctance to being committed ("You Could Drive a Person Crazy"). David tries to tell Robert privately that Jenny didn't like the marijuana, after she asks for another joint. "I married a square," he reminds his wife, demanding she bring him food.

All of Robert's male friends are deeply envious about his commitment-free status, and each has found someone they find perfect for Robert ("Have I Got a Girl For You"), but Robert is waiting for someone who merges the best features of all his married female friends ("Someone is Waiting"). Robert meets his three girlfriends in a small park on three separate occasions as Marta sings of the city: crowded, dirty, uncaring, yet somehow wonderful ("Another Hundred People"). Robert first gets to know April, a slow-witted airline flight attendant. Robert then spends time with Kathy; they had dated previously and both admit that they had each secretly considered marrying the other. They laugh at this coincidence before Robert suddenly considers the idea seriously; however Kathy reveals that she is leaving for Cape Cod with a new fiancé. Finally, Robert meets with Marta; she loves New York, and babbles on about topics as diverse as true sophistication, the difference between uptown and downtown New York, and how you can always tell a New Yorker by his or her ass. Robert is left stunned.

The scene turns to the day of Amy and Paul's wedding; they have lived together for years, but are only now getting married. Amy is in an overwhelming state of panic and, as the upbeat Paul harmonizes rapturously, Amy patters an impressive list of reasons why she is not "Getting Married Today." Robert, the best man, and Paul watch as she complains and self-destructs over every petty thing she can possibly think of and finally just calls off the wedding explicitly. Paul dejectedly storms out into the rain and Robert tries to comfort Amy, but emotionally winds up offering an impromptu proposal to her himself. His words jolt Amy back into reality, and with the parting words "you need to marry some body, not just some body," she runs out after Paul, at last ready to marry him. The setting returns to the scene of the birthday party, where Robert is given his cake and tries to blow out the candles again. He wishes for something this time, someone to "Marry Me a Little."

II. Akt

The birthday party scene is reset, and Robert goes to blow out his candles. This time, he gets them about half out, and the rest have to help him. The couples share their views on Robert with each other, comments which range from complimentary to unflattering, as Robert reflects on being the third wheel ("Side By Side By Side"), soon followed by the up-tempo paean to Robert's role as the perfect friend ("What Would We Do Without You?"). In a dance break in the middle of the number (or, in the case of the 2006 Broadway revival, in a musical solo section), each man (or actually four of them, as there's not music for a fifth) in turn does a dance step (or, in the revival, plays a solo on his instrument), answered by his wife. Then Robert likewise does a step (or, in the case of the 2006 Broadway revival, plays two bad notes on a kazoo), but he has no partner to answer it.

Robert brings April to his apartment for a nightcap after a date. She marvels ad nauseam at how homey his place is, and he casually leads her to the bed, sitting next to her on it and working on getting her into it. She earnestly tells him of an experience from her past, involving the death of a butterfly; he counters with a bizarre remembrance of his own, obviously fabricated, and designed to put her in the mood to succumb to seduction. Meanwhile, the married women worry about Robert's single and lonesome status (as they see it), and particularly about the unsuitable qualities they find in the women he does date, asking, "Isn't she a little bit, well--Dumb? Tacky? Vulgar? Old? Tall? Aggressive? Where is she from?...She's tall enough to be your mother...." ("Poor Baby"). When the inevitable sex happens, we hear Robert's and April's thoughts, interspersed with music that expresses and mirrors their increasing excitement. This music often (as in the original Broadway production) accompanies a solo dance by Kathy, conveying the emotions and dynamics of making love; it has also been staged as a pas de deux, a group number, or been cut altogether in various productions ("Tick-Tock"). The next morning, April rises early, to report for duty aboard a flight to "Barcelona." Robert tries to get her to stay, at first wholeheartedly, parrying her apologetic protestations that she can't, with playful begging and insistence. As April continues to reluctantly resist his entreaties, and sleepiness retakes him, Bobby seems to lose conviction, agreeing that she should go; that change apparently gets to her, and she joyfully declares that she will stay, after all. This takes Robert by surprise, and his astonished, plaintive "Oh, God!" is suffused not with triumph, nor even ambivalence, but with evident fear and regret.

In the following scene, Robert takes Marta to visit Peter and Susan, on their terrace. Apparently, Peter flew to Mexico to get the divorce, but he phoned Susan and she joined him there for a vacation. Bizarrely, they are still living together, claiming they have too many responsibilities to actually leave each other's lives, and that their relationship has actually been strengthened by the divorce. Susan takes Marta inside to make lunch, and Peter asks Robert if he has ever had a homosexual experience. They both admit they have, and Peter hints at the possibility that he and Robert could have such an encounter, but Robert uncomfortably laughs the conversation off as a joke just as the women return.

Joanne and Larry take Robert out to a nightclub, where Larry dances, and Joanne and Robert sit watching, getting thoroughly drunk. She blames Robert for always being an outsider, only watching life rather than living it, and also persists in berating Larry. She raises her glass in a mocking toast to "The Ladies Who Lunch", passing judgment on various types of rich, middle-aged women wasting their lives away with mostly meaningless activities. Her harshest criticism is reserved for those, like herself, who "just watch," and she concludes with the observation that all these ladies are bound together by a terror that comes with the knowledge that "everybody dies." Larry returns from the dance floor, taking Joanne's drunken rant without complaint and explains to Robert that he still loves her dearly. When Larry leaves to pay the check, Joanne bluntly invites Robert to begin an affair with her, assuring him that she will "take care of him." The reply this elicits from him, "But who will I take care of?" seems to surprise him, and to strike Joanne as a profound breakthrough on his part, "...a door opening that's been stuck for a long time." Robert insists it's not, that he's studied and been open to marriages and commitment, but questions "What do you get?" Upon Larry's return, Robert asks again, angrily, "What do you get?" Joanne declares, with some satisfaction, "I just did someone a big favor." She and Larry go home, leaving Robert lost in frustrated contemplation.

The couples' recurrent musical motif begins yet again, with all of them focused anew on their "Bobby Bubbi," "Robert darling," "Bobby baby," and again inviting him to "Drop by anytime...." Rather than the cheery, indulgent tone he'd responded with in earlier scenes, Robert suddenly, desperately, shouts "STOP!" In their stunned silence, he challenges them with quiet intensity: "What do you get?" The music to "Being Alive" begins, and he sings, openly enumerating the many traps and dangers he perceives in marriage; speaking their disagreements, his friends counter his ideas, one by one, encouraging him to dare to try for love and commitment. Finally, Bobby's words change, expressing a desire, increasing in urgency, for loving intimacy, even with all its problems, and the wish to meet someone with whom to face the challenge of "Being Alive." The opening party resets a final time; Robert's friends have waited two hours, with still no sign of him. At last, they all prepare to leave, expressing a new hopefulness about their absent friend's chances for loving fulfillment, and wishing him a happy birthday, wherever he may be, as they leave. Robert then appears alone, smiles, and blows out his candles.

Hintergrund

George Furth wrote eleven one-act plays planned for Kim Stanley as each of the separate leads. Anthony Perkins was interested in directing, and asked Sondheim to read the material. After Sondheim read the plays, he asked Harold Prince for his opinion; Prince thought the plays would make the basis for a musical. The theme would be New York marriages with a central character to examine those marriages.

Charakterisierungen

• Robert – zentrale Figur des Stückes, wird von den anderen „Bobby“ genannt, sein 35. Geburtstag bringt die Figuren zusammen

Die Paare (verheiratet mit Ausnahme von Amy und Paul)

• Sarah – lernt Karate, hat Schwierigkeiten mit dem Essen und Diät halten
  Harry – freundlich und umgänglich aber trinkt zu viel
• Susan – A gracious Southern belle who suffers from fainting spells
  Peter – Formerly Ivy League, possibly gay
• Jenny – Sweet, but square
  David – Chic and a bit controlling
• Amy – Neurotic Catholic who gets cold feet on her wedding day
  Paul – Amy’s fiancé, Jewish, who has learned how to put up with her manic spells
• Joanne – Cynical, older than Robert's other friends, and very acerbic; only drinks with Robert
  Larry – Joanne's third husband; sweet and understanding

Die Freundinnen

• April – naive Flugbegleiterin, beschreibt sich selbst als dumm
• Marta – angesagt und vulgär, liebt New York über alles
• Kathy – Kleinstadtmädchen, fühlt sich in New York unwohl, Roberts Langzeit-On-Off-Freundin

Die lautstarke Minderheit (The Vocal Minority)

• pit singers – nur in wenigen Inszenierungen (Broadway-Uraufführung 1970 und Konzert in der New Yorker Philharmonie 2011)

Inszenierungen und Besetzung

Rolle	Uraufführung Boston / Broadway	Erstaufführung West End	Erstaufführung Kennedy Center	Konzert New York Philharmonic	Aktuelles West-End-Ensemble
Robert „Bobby“	Dean Jones		John Barrowman	Neil Patrick Harris
Sarah	Barbara Barrie		Keira Naughton	Martha Plimpton
Harry	Charles Kimbrough		David Pittu	Stephen Colbert
Susan	Merle Louise		Christy Baron	Jill Paice
Peter	John Cunningham		Dan Cooney	Craig Bierko
Jenny	Teri Ralston		Emily Skinner	Jennifer Laura Thompson
David	George Coe		Marc Vietor	Jon Cryer
Amy	Beth Howland		Alice Ripley	Katie Finneran
Paul	Steve Elmore		Matt Bogart	Aaron Lazar
Joanne	Elaine Stritch		Lynn Redgrave	Patti LuPone
Larry	Charles Braswell		Walter Charles	Jim Walton
April	Susan Browning		Kim Director	Christina Hendricks
Marta	Pamela Myers		Marcy Harriel	Anika Noni Rose
Kathy	Donna McKechnie		Elizabeth Zins	Chryssie Whitehead
Sänger im Parkett	Cathy Corkill Carol Gelfand Marilyn Saunders Dona D. Vaughn	–	–		–

1971 US Tour
1972 West End
1995 Broadway revival
1995 West End revival
2002 Kennedy Center
2006 Broadway revival
2007 Australia
2011 New York Philharmonic
2013 Buenos Aires
2018 West End revival

1970–1971

Uraufführung am New Yorker Broadway

Company eröffnete mit mehreren Vorpremieren außerhalb Bostons, welche gemischte Kritiken erhielten: Der Boston Evening Globe beispielsweise bezeichnete die Show als „brilliant“, Variety dagegen beschrieb die Lieder als „großenteils gewöhnlich“ und die Inszenierung als „in ihrer jetzigen Form nur geeignet als Nachmittagsvorstellung für die Damen, Homos und Frauenhasser“.

Positive Kritiken überwogen und so erfolgte die Uraufführung am 26. April 1970 wie geplant am New Yorker Broadway. Das dortige Alvin Theatre beherbergte die Inszenierung für sieben weitere Vorpremieren und anschließend mehrere sehr erfolgreiche Spielzeiten von insgesamt 705 Aufführungen unter der Regie von Hal Prince. Die Hauptrolle des Bobby übernahm Dean Jones (er ersetzte bereits zu Beginn der Probenphase Anthony Perkins, welcher die Inszenierung verließ, um bei einem anderen Stück Regie zu führen). Zur Hauptbesetzung gehörten außerdem George Coe, Barbara Barrie, Charles Kimbrough, Merle Louise, Beth Howland und Elaine Stritch. Michael Bennett inszenierte das Stück, unterstützt durch Bob Avian. Das Bühnenbild entwarf Boris Aronson, es bestand aus zwei funktionstüchtigen Aufzügen und mehreren vertikalen Platten, welche das im Musical vorherrschende Thema der Isolation hervorheben sollten.

Bereits kurz nach der Eröffnung zog sich Jones aus der Inszenierung zurück. Begründet wurde dies in der Presse erst mit einer Erkrankung. Jones revidierte später diese Aussage und erklärte seinen Rücktritt damit, er habe die Geschichte als zu nihilistisch empfunden – besonders angesichts seines andauernden Scheidungsverfahrens. An seine Stelle trat seine Zweitbesetzung Larry Kert, der zuvor bereits die Hauptrolle des Tony in der Uraufführung von West Side Story gespielt hatte. Kert wurde für seine Darbietung als Bobby von der Kritik hoch gelobt und erhielt durch eine Sonderentscheidung eine Tony-Nominierung, obwohl diese Ehrung normalerweise der Originalbesetzung eines neuen Stückes vorbehalten ist.

1971–1972

Erste US-Tournee

The first national tour opened on May 20, 1971, at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California, with George Chakiris as Bobby, and closed on May 20, 1972, at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C..

1972

Erstaufführung im Londoner West End

The first West End production opened on January 18, 1972, at Her Majesty's Theatre, where it ran for 344 performances. The original cast included Larry Kert, Elaine Stritch, Joy Franz, and Donna McKechnie; Dilys Watling and Julia McKenzie were replacements later in the run.

1986

Australische Erstaufführung in Sidney

The Sydney Theatre Company presented the first Australian production at the Sydney Opera House's Drama Theatre in January and February 1986. Directed by Richard Wherrett, it featured John O'May as Bobby with other cast members including Simon Burke, Terence Donovan, Barry Quin and Geraldine Turner.

1995

Erneute Inszenierung am New Yorker Broadway

Nach 43 Vorpremieren im Roundabout Theatre eröffnete das Stück am 5. Oktober 1995 am Criterion Center Stage Right unter der Regie von Scott Ellis und choreografiert durch Rob Marshall. Dort hielt es sich für 60 Aufführungen. Zur Besetzung gehörten Boyd Gaines, Kate Burton, Robert Westenberg, Diana Canova, Debra Monk, LaChanze, Charlotte d’Amboise, Jane Krakowski, Danny Burstein und Veanne Cox.

1995–1996

Erneute Inszenierung im Londoner West End

Regisseur Sam Mendes inszenierte Company 1995 am Londoner Donmar Warehouse, John Tunick schrieb neue Orchester-Arrangements. Vorpremieren begannen am 1. Dezember, das Stück eröffnete schließlich am 13. Dezember. Vorführungen dauerten bis zum 2. März 1996, dann zog die Produktion weiter ins Albery Theatre (heute Noël Coward Theatre). Dort begannen die Vorpremieren bereits am 7. März, die offizielle Eröffnung folgte am 13. März. Der letzte Vorhang fiel am 29. Juni 1996. Die Hauptrolle des Bobby spielte Adrian Lester, er war der erste schwarze Schauspieler in dieser Rolle. Eine Video-Aufzeichnung der Inszenierung im Donmar Warehouse wurde am 1. März 1997 auf BBC Two ausgestrahlt.

Am 7. November 2010, einem Sonntag, veranstaltete das Queen’s Theatre an der Shaftesbury Avenue ein einmaliges Konzert mit der Musik aus Company anlässlich Sondheims achtzigstem Geburtstag. Dazu luden die Intendanten als Sänger den Großteil der Darsteller von 1995 auf die Bühne, darunter auch erneut Lester in der Rolle des Bobby.

2002

Inszenierung im Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Als Teil einer den Sommer überdauernden Präsentation diverser Sondheim-Musicals im Kennedy Center inszenierte Regisseur Sean Mathias Company als strictly limited run von 17 Vorstellungen ab dem 17. Mai 2002. Zur Besetzung gehörten u. a. John Barrowman, David Pittu, Kim Director und Lynn Redgrave. Diese Produktion verwendete das Buch der ursprünglichen Inszenierung von 1970, nicht die revidierte Fassung von 1995. Auch die Lieder wurden aus Sondheims Original-Inszenierung übernommen, einzig Tick Tock wurde gestrichen. Auch die Kostüme spiegeln die gewählte Handlungszeit wieder.

Alice Ripley (Amy) und John Barrowman (Bobby) waren im Rahmen der Feierlichkeiten außerdem jeweils mit Soloprogrammen im Kennedy Center zu sehen.

2006

Erneute Inszenierung am New Yorker Broadway

A new revival had try-outs at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Robert S. Marx Theatre in March through April 2006. This production, directed and choreographed by John Doyle, opened Broadway on November 29, 2006, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre with a cast that included Raúl Esparza, the first Latino actor to play Bobby in a major production of the show, alongside Barbara Walsh as Joanne. As in Doyle's 2005 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the actors themselves provided the orchestral accompaniment. For example, in the closing number, "Being Alive," Raul Esparza, as Bobby, accompanies himself on piano; Angel Desai, as Marta, plays saxophone and violin, as well as singing solo on "Another Hundred People"; the entire company sings and plays accompaniment during the second-act opener. The production won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The musical closed on July 1, 2007, after 34 previews and 246 performances. It was taped and broadcast on the Great Performances program of PBS in 2007. That video was released on DVD in 2008.

2007

Erneute Inszenierung in Sydney, Australien

Kookaburra Musical Theatre mounted a production directed by Gale Edwards in Sydney in June 2007, starring David Campbell as Bobby, with a cast including Simon Burke, Anne Looby, James Millar, Pippa Grandison, Katrina Retallick, Tamsin Carroll and Christie Whelan. The show was well-received, and Sondheim travelled to Australia for the first time in thirty years to attend the opening night. However, the production caused major controversy when Whelan was out sick for one performance and (with no understudy) Kookaburra chief executive Peter Cousens insisted the show be performed anyway, but without the character of April. This involved cutting several numbers and scenes with no explanation, and that night's performance ended twenty minutes early. Following complaints from the audience, there was considerable negative press attention to the decision, and Sondheim threatened to revoke the production rights for the show.

2011

Konzert mit den New Yorker Philharmonikern

Im April 2011 inszenierte Regisseur Lonny Price eine Konzertfassung des Musicals in Zusammenarbeit mit den New Yorker Philharmonikern in deren Hauptspielstätte, dem Lincoln Center. Paul Gemignani dirigierte das 35-Mann-Orchester, sie verwendeten ähnliche Arrangements wie in der Original-Inszenierung am Broadway 1970. Tony-Preisträger Neil Patrick Harris übernahm die Hauptrolle, Peabody-Preisträger Stephen Colbert war als Harry zu sehen. Zur Besetzung gehörten außerdem Craig Bierko, Jon Cryer, Katie Finneran, Christina Hendricks, Aaron Lazar, Jill Paice, Martha Plimpton, Anika Noni Rose, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Jim Walton, Chryssie Whitehead, und Patti LuPone.

Das Konzert war Teil einer langen Reihe von Stephen-Sondheim-Konzerten mit den Philharmonikern, darunter Sweeney Todd und Passion. Eine Filmaufnahme des Konzertes wurde am 15. Juni 2011 in ausgewählten Kinos gezeigt. The DVD version was released on November 13, 2012. The cast of the production gathered again for a live performance at the 2011 Tony Awards, hosted by Harris, on June 12, 2011.

2018

Erneute Inszenierung in London

On 24 November 2016, it was announced that a revival would be part of Elliott & Harper Productions' debut season, a production company formed by director Marianne Elliott and producer Chris Harper which begins in Autumn 2018 at an unannounced West End theatre.

In this production of Company the character of Bobby will be changed to Bobbi, a female role (as well as references to other characters) and will be played by Rosalie Craig. Sondheim approved of this gender change for the character as well as minor revisions to the text.

In September 2017 it was announced that the production would be staged at the Gielgud Theatre from September 2018 and would also star Patti LuPone as Joanne.

On Friday 3rd November 2017, The free daily British tabloid 'Metro' mistakenly advertised that this was the 'Latest Sondheim musical about Bobby, a 35-year-old man, who becomes Bobbi, a woman'

Weitere internationale Inszenierungen

• A 1997 Repertory Philippines production starred Victor Laurel as Bobby.
• A Brazilian production opened on February 8, 2001, at the Teatro Villa-Lobos in Rio de Janeiro, closed April 22, opened April 27 at the Teatro Alfa in São Paulo, then returned to the Teatro Villa-Lobos in Rio.
• A 2010 production opened in Norway at The National Venue of Norway(Den Nationale Scene) in Bergen. The cast included Jon Bleiklie Devik, Karoline Krüger/Ragnhild Gudbrandsen, Wenche Kvamme, Monica Hjelle, among others.
• A 2011 Israeli production opened on May 28, 2011, at the Beersheba Theatre.
• A 2011 production by Sheffield Theatres at the Crucible Theatre
• A 2012 production in Lima, Perú, directed by Alberto Ísola. The cast included Rossana Fernández-Maldonado, Marco Zunino, Tati Alcántara and Paul Martin.
• A 2012 production in Singapore, directed by Hossan Leong. Staged at the Drama Centre 1.–16. November 2012. The cast included Peter Ong, Seong Hui Xuan, Mina Ellen Kaye, Tan Kheng Hua and Petrina Kow.
• A 2013 production in Buenos Aires, directed by Nicolás Roberto, opened in La Comedia Theatre. It was starred by Alejandro Paker as Robert, Cecilia Milone as Joanne and Natalia Cocciuffo as Amy, among others.

Musik

Titelliste

I. Akt	Darbietende	Anmerkungen
Overture	Orchester
Company	Robert und Ensemble
II. Akt	Darbietende	Anmerkungen

• "The Little Things You Do Together" — Joanne and Couples
• "Sorry-Grateful" — Harry, David and Larry
• "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" — Kathy, April and Marta
• "Have I Got A Girl for You" — Larry, Peter, Paul, David, Harry
• "Someone Is Waiting" — Robert
• "Another Hundred People" — Marta
• "Getting Married Today" — Amy, Paul, Choirgirl, and Company
• "Marry Me a Little" — Robert

II. Akt

• "Entr'acte" - Orchestra
• "Side by Side by Side"/"What Would We Do Without You?" — Robert and Couples
• "Poor Baby" — Sarah, Jenny, Susan, Amy, Joanne
• "Have I Got A Girl for You" (Reprise) - Larry, Peter, Paul, David, Harry
• "Tick-Tock" — Kathy (Instrumental)
• "Barcelona" — Robert and April
• "The Ladies Who Lunch" — Joanne
• "Being Alive" — Robert
• "Finale Ultimo (Company)" - Robert and Company

Alben

Original Cast Album

Company

The making of the original cast recording was captured by award-winning documentary filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker shortly after the show opened on Broadway as a pilot for a TV series highlighting the different ways a cast-album recording session could be conducted. However, a week after the original screening, all the original producers for the proposed series were hired to go out to Hollywood and head up production at MGM. As nobody was left in New York to spearhead the project, the series was scrapped. Only this lone pilot film remains of an idea never brought to fruition.

The 1970 film Original Cast Album: Company is filled with behind the scenes footage of the 14-hour recording process at the Columbia Records Big Church recording studio at East 30th Street and Third Avenue on the first Sunday in May, complete with much of the musical direction from and insight of Sondheim himself. Several of the show's numbers were captured in the film—including "Another Hundred People", "Getting Married Today", and "Being Alive"—all recorded with a live orchestra, done in multiple takes over the course of several hours.

Eventually only "The Ladies Who Lunch" remained to be recorded. It was well past midnight, and Stritch, Sondheim, and the orchestra were all clearly suffering from the effects of the day's marathon recording session. Stritch struggled repeatedly to record a satisfactory version of the song, even going so far as to slightly drop the key for a few takes. Her voice continued to degrade and her energy continued to ebb away. As she struggled, some conflict was seen between Stritch, the producer Thomas Z. Shepard, and Sondheim.

Before dawn, everyone agreed to stop. They recorded one last take of the orchestra by themselves and agreed to have Stritch come back early in the week and record the vocal over the previously recorded orchestra track. The finale of the film features a revitalized Stritch, in full hair and makeup in preparation for a Wednesday matinee performance of the show, successfully performing "The Ladies Who Lunch" in one take.

Weitere

The Broadway cast album did not include Kert, because it had already been recorded before he assumed the role of Bobby. However, after having Jones' original vocals mixed out of the original Broadway backing tracks, when the cast travelled to London to reprise their roles, Columbia Records took Kert into the studio to record new vocal tracks. This "new" recording featuring the new vocals laid over the original Broadway backing tracks was released as the Original London Cast recording. In 1998, when Sony Music who had acquired the Columbia catalogues, released a newly digitalized CD version of the original Broadway cast recording, Kert's rendition of "Being Alive," the show's final number, was included as a bonus track.

There are also cast recordings of the 1995 Broadway and London productions and the 2006 Broadway production.

Video recordings are available of the 1995 London, 2006 Broadway, and 2011 New York Philharmonic revivals.

A mockumentary based on the musical, One's Company, was released in 2013.

Auszeichnungen

Das Stück wurde mit Tony Award/Best Musical, Tony Award/Best Book of a Musical, Tony Award/Best Original Score, Tony Award for Best Lyrics, Drama Desk Outstanding Music, Tony Award for Best Revival und Drama Desk Outstanding Revival ausgezeichnet.

1971 war das einzige Jahr in der Geschichte der Tony Awards, in dem die Auszeichnung für das beste Songwriting in die beiden Kategorien Beste Komposition und Beste Liedtextung unterteilt wurde. Sondheim gewann beide Auszeichnungen.

Original Broadway production

Jahr	Auszeichnung	Kategorie	Nominierte/r	Ergebnis
1971	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Book of a Musical	George Furth	Vorlage:Won
		Outstanding Director of a Musical	Harold Prince	Vorlage:Won
		Outstanding Lyrics	Stephen Sondheim	Vorlage:Won
		Outstanding Music		Vorlage:Won
		Outstanding Set Design	Boris Aronson	Vorlage:Won
	Theatre World Award		Susan Browning	Vorlage:Won
	Tony Award	Best Musical		Vorlage:Won
		Best Book of a Musical	George Furth	Vorlage:Won
		Best Score (music)	Stephen Sondheim	Vorlage:Won
		Best Lyrics	Stephen Sondheim	Vorlage:Won
		Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical	Larry Kert	Vorlage:Nom
		Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical	Elaine Stritch	Vorlage:Nom
			Susan Browning	Vorlage:Nom
		Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical	Charles Kimbrough	Vorlage:Nom
		Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical	Barbara Barrie	Vorlage:Nom
			Pamela Myers	Vorlage:Nom
		Best Direction of a Musical	Harold Prince	Vorlage:Won
		Best Choreography	Michael Bennett	Vorlage:Nom
		Best Scenic Design	Boris Aronson	Vorlage:Won
		Best Lighting Design	Robert Ornbo	Vorlage:Nom

1995 Broadway revival

Jahr	Auszeichnung	Kategorie	Nominierte/r	Ergebnis
1996	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical	Veanne Cox	Vorlage:Nom
	Tony Award	Best Revival of a Musical		Vorlage:Nom
		Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical	Veanne Cox	Vorlage:Nom

1995 London revival

Jahr	Auszeichnung	Kategorie	Nominierte/r	Ergebnis
1996	Laurence Olivier Award	Best Actor in a Musical	Adrian Lester	Vorlage:Won
		Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical	Sheila Gish	Vorlage:Won
			Sophie Thompson	Vorlage:Nom
		Best Director	Sam Mendes	Vorlage:Won

2006 Broadway revival

Jahr	Auszeichnung	Kategorie	Nominierte/r	Ergebnis
2007	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Revival of a Musical		Vorlage:Won
		Outstanding Actor in a Musical	Raúl Esparza	Vorlage:Won
		Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical	Barbara Walsh	Vorlage:Nom
		Outstanding Director of a Musical	John Doyle	Vorlage:Nom
		Outstanding Orchestrations	Mary Mitchell Campbell	Vorlage:Won
	Tony Award	Best Revival of a Musical		Vorlage:Won
		Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical	Raúl Esparza	Vorlage:Nom
		Best Direction of a Musical	John Doyle	Vorlage:Nom

Verfilmung

Sondheim once asked William Goldman whether he would be interested in writing a screenplay for a film version of the musical. Goldman responded:

Company is one of those great shows, along with Gypsy and Pal Joey, that I think of as the greatest, quintessential, most beloved musicals. I remember seeing Company five times and I loved it, and I had a huge... problem which was that the main character's obviously gay but they don't talk about it. Hal, George and Steve all claim it's about a straight guy with commitment problems. Anyway I loved the show. And I figured out a way to change it, keep the score, but give it some narrative.

Herbert Ross was meant to direct but Goldman says the director talked Sondheim out of doing the film.

In 2010 there was talk Neil LaBute would direct a film version.

Literatur

• Hutchins, Michael H. (June 7, 2006). The Stephen Sondheim Reference Guide. sondheimguide.com. Retrieved on October 4, 2007.
• Interview with Barbara Walsh. Downstage Center (a collaboration of the American Theatre Wing and XM Satellite Radio). First aired January 12, 2007. Retrieved on February 4, 2007. (RealAudio interview; MP3 podcast.)
• Interview with John Doyle. Downstage Center First aired November 24, 2006. Retrieved on February 4, 2007. (RealAudio interview; MP3 podcast.)

• Ilson, Carol. Harold Prince: A Director's Journey (2004), Limelight Editions, ISBN 0-87910-296-9.
• Prince, Harold. Contradictions: Notes on twenty-six years in the theatre (1974), Dodd, Mead, ISBN 0-396-07019-1.
• Rich, Frank. The Theatre Art of Boris Aronson (1987), Knopf. ISBN 0-394-52913-8.
• Mandelbaum, Ken. A Chorus Line and the Musicals of Michael Bennett (1990), St Martins Press, ISBN 0-312-04280-9.

Weblinks

• Vorlage:Ibdb show
• Vorlage:IMDb title, documentary about the making of the original cast recording
• Vorlage:IMDb title, filmed stage revival starring Adrian Lester
• Vorlage:IMDb title, filmed stage revival starring Raul Esparza
• Vorlage:IMDb title, filmed stage revival starring Neil Patrick Harris
• "Company Listing" Music Theatre International
• Company recordings at CastAlbums.org
• One's Company - a faux documentary centered around the musical
• Musical Cyberspace: Company
• You’ve Got Company: Stephen Sondheim's Masterpiece Comes to Singapore

Einzelnachweise

Kategorie:1970 musicals Kategorie:Broadway musicals Kategorie:Drama Desk Award-winning musicals Kategorie:West End musicals Kategorie:Original musicals Kategorie:Musicals by Stephen Sondheim Kategorie:Plays set in New York City Kategorie:Tony Award for Best Musical