By SHARON EBERSON
Before we get to the gender-swapped, contemporized Company that will arrive in Pittsburgh Tuesday, Kathryn Allison is required to talk about being in a room with Stephen Sondheim.
“To see him in person was wild,” says the actress who plays Sarah, after understudying the role on Broadway.
The 2022 Tony Award-winning revival had nine nominations, winning five, including best director for Marianne Elliott and scenic design for Bunny Christie’s neon-lit cubicles, representing life in fast-paced, crowded New York City – where making connections and forming lasting relationships are hard-fought personal victories, and the key to “being alive,” as the song goes.
This production started in London and was in previews for its Broadway opening when Sondheim died, on November 26, 2021. Company opened on December 9.
This is Allison’s first tour, after stints in Broadway shows including Wicked and Aladdin. But being in a room with Sondheim – who created the music and/or lyrics in shows such as Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park With George, A Little Night Music, Gypsy and Merrily We Roll Along – was magical.
with Britney Coleman as Bobbie and Judy McLane as Joanne, in Company tour.
(Image: Matthew Murphy)
“He had such lovely things to say about the production, about how proud he was to see this version come to life again, after London, and how he thought we really honored [librettist] George Furth’s text in particular,” Allison says. “And then right before he passed, he came to one of our last previews [and] stayed with us after the show for I think about two hours. And we just kind of all crowded around him, like the guru he is. … I feel so fortunate that I was able to meet him and to be in his presence for as long as we had him.”
Sondheim described Company as his most personal musical, and he wrote in his book, Finishing the Hat, that it is about “the challenge of maintaining relationships in a society becoming increasingly depersonalized.”
This latest version of the musical, which has had numerous revivals, features a female protagonist named Bobbie (Britney Coleman), instead of the male Bobby, who has been devoted to single life and multiple relationships. As she turns 35, Bobbie wonders if she’s been missing something, and takes a closer look at, “Those good and crazy people, my married friends.”
Those pals include Sarah and husband Harry (James Earl Jones II), the couple that remains closest to the original text. Sarah is an avid karate student, devoted to her family; while Harry is a recovering alcoholic who believes the advantages of marriage outweigh the disadvantages.
In reviewing the touring production when it was at the Kennedy Center, Thomas Floyd of the Washington Post writes of Sarah and Harry, “One couple, delightfully inhabited by Kathryn Allison and James Earl Jones II, presents marriage as gateway to middle-aged malaise, as both spouses give up their vices, cycle through new hobbies and prod at each other’s insecurities.”
A difference in the characters from the original script is that they are living in the 21st century, as director Elliott has relayed her vision to the cast, and not acting with 1970s sensibilities.
“In 1970, a man having three girlfriends was maybe seen as a little risque, but today, to see a man dating around, people are like, ‘Whatever. Woe is you,’ ” Allison says. “But in any era, particularly today, a woman having three boyfriends … Well, she’s 35, she hasn’t decided whether she’s going to get married yet. Her clock is ticking. That is an issue that a lot of women today are dealing with, and I think the subject of bodily autonomy is prevalent a little bit throughout this piece. So I think that’s the main takeaway from our conversations [with the director], and that’s the thing that has carried me through.”
In Sarah’s big scene, she is asked to demonstrate her karate prowess with husband Harry.
“It is physical, and it’s super fun. Me and my lovely partner in crime, James Earl Jones II, we have a good time fighting on that stage,” Allison says with a laugh.
“That stage” can be a tight fit, in that scene and in others. The claustrophobia of it all is purely intentional.
“I think a portion of what Bunny Christie, our brilliant set designer and costume designer, has brought to this piece is that idea of claustrophobia and this also kind of magical world that she’s created, that Bobbiee kind of comes in and out of these voids, right? I think she perfectly encapsulates these vignettes in these apartments.”
The audience, Allison adds, is made to feel a bit like a voyeur – “like you’re in an apartment across the street and you’re peering into someone else’s apartment, which is what I love about the set.” It also creates a forced perspective that “really makes you focus, and keeps you very present in the moment.”
She offers a hint for audiences, that there are “little gems” throughout the set that reference the main themes of Company.
The role of Joanne – which gave Patti LuPone her third Tony – is played by Judy McLane, a Drama Desk Award nominee and Outer Critics Circle Award winner.Among the “swaps” in the script is the now couple – Paul and Jamie (Ali Louis Bourzgui and Matt Rodin), instead of Amy – whose impending wedding sparks the brilliant patter song “Getting Married Today.”
They create some of Allison’s favorite moments to watch from the wings.
“I love “You Could Drive a Person Crazy.” I just think it’s brilliantly choreographed and especially the new arrangements, it’s got this barbershop-y quartet kind of vibe. So it’s just so beautiful to listen to, and the boys do it so well,” Allison says. “My favorite number in the show, I mean, “Getting Married Today” has been such a joy, and Matt Rodin is incredible. And then additionally, “Marry Me Little” is my favorite song, particularly in the scene change that happens. I think it is so beautiful. And the way that Britneey performs that number, I think it’s just really soul touching.”
The songs of Company, including “Ladies Who Lunch” and the 11th-hour number, “Being Alive,” are pop culture stand-alones, immortalized not just on stage, but in the 1970 documentary film “Original Cast Album: Company,” and brilliantly parodied in the Documentary Now television episode, “Original Cast Album: Co-Op.”
For Allison, the show that has produced some of Stephen Sondheim’s most beloved music and characters, has inspired
“It’s definitely a ride of a show. It’s super funny, and I think at times it can feel like a sitcom,” Allison said, noting the pacing and Christie’s set. “It can feel like you’re peeking into maybe an episode of Will and Grace, and then you’re in an episode of 227 … it’s really fun, and it’s high energy.”
award-winning set. (Image: Matthew Murphy)
And with those laughs, the themes are serious and relatable, as we see Bobbie navigate life choices with the help of his chosen family of friends.
The question Allison gets asked most about Company is, in the end, “What does Bobbie decide?”
That’s a question left to audience members, which is just the way she likes it.
“We have a large queer community that comes, and it is really exciting to see themselves in Jamie and Paul. There’s a lot of women who come together, and they see themselves in Bobbie, and then there’s the couples who come … so it’s been a really lovely response,” she says. “I think there’s something magical in the theater that happens when you’re able to see yourself, and then you can go home with your partner or your friend and be able to discuss the show and process it together.“
TICKETS AND DETAILS
PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust present Company at the Benedum Center, April 16-21, 2024. Tickets: visit https://trustarts.org/production/86820/list_performances or call 412-456-4800.
Categories: Our Posts, Preview, Show Previews
Leave a Reply Cancel reply