There is no version of Company that has touched me more than this one. I remember being totally shattered at the end, gasping for breath and sanity. This Company hurt like hell. But was also a splendid display of what live theatre and great actors can do with a show as rich as Company. All the later versions I saw (the Broadway revival in 96, the excellent new Elliot version on West End) were always fun, but this was the one for me. Easily in my top 5 theatre experiences EVER... For ever grateful to the BBC for recording this. I have a dusty VCR tape lying around somewhere, but now this magic is just one click away. What a loss we have suffered when Mr. Sondheim passed away... My hero for life!
The lyrics mentioned 'parallel lines' ... Cant you just imagine the moment that was voiced jokingly and then they went all the way with him dancing coked to the eyeballs
One of the most interesting things about this musical is how many directions you could take with it. I mean, compare this to the 2006 revival of the song! It's so different! Also- my God, can that man dance, and.... Wow, Bobby is a crack addict in this one? I guess it makes sense, coming from the guy who did American Beauty.
Remember the original production had a big dance number by Michael Bennett for this number (Elaine Stritch complained how much it winded the cast) though he cleverly did it as a group of parents putting on a PTA show. Coke isn't too weird for Bobby to do (Sondheim has admitted to doing it recreationally around the late 60s/70s anyway) but it does make his reaction and surprise to pot in the pot scene seem odd...
Maybe its becauae at thw time coke binge and a few beers to take the edge ofd was a part of a culture in itself. I knew some bods who 'stayed in their lane' of pills and powedera when looking for something to mellow out... The only bods i knew who easily ran the gamut from coke to cannabis tended to open themselves up to far too many tempting options from a dealer. once he knew they were more adventurous you often heard of "mad weekends and a candy flip" Or any of the other contradictory mixes of drugs that some people enjoyed not frisco speedballs... But that _type_ of thing. Does his reaction make any more sense? Or has my odd experien e juat been a rndom bolt feom the crazy blue...
Another good point. I think Sam Mendes has a lot of great ideas but needs to know where to draw the line. There are some things about this production that I really like and others I hate, but I think his 'nouveau' style of "Cabaret" was brilliant.
I have to completely disagree. The acting in this is genius, this acting company bases mostly on the acting first and everything else second. Now onto how they portray the show itself. The main plot of this show was simply 'Robert is lonely' and nothing else, and they portray this in a very large way. Have you noticed that bobby never actually touched or interacted with any of the couples? That is because they are an illusion he created to cope with the loneliness, so is the crack.
I wish I had been able to see doyle's cabaret when he did it at the watermill all those years ago, it would be very interesting to see an actormuso production of cabaret, for sure.
While i am not terribly fond of the coke-dream thing, i do see what they were trying to do. Everytime i see a rendition of this musical, this number always seems to come out of nowhere. Its like, "serious song, serious song FUNNY CIRCUS NUMBER, serious song" So on some level i like their attemtp to explain this seemingly-out-of-place number, but i am not really fond of how it turned out
Not a terrible production, it attempted at modernizing this story and watching the clips I managed to see, has the same feel of Sam Mendes other production of "Cabaret".
@wampabutt I agree. Trying too hard. The coke use isn't completely ridiculous, but to make the whole number a coke-induced fever dream is too much. It lacks subtext and a point of view to me.
I like a lot of Sam Mendes' ideas for this production but I think Adrian Lester is the ONLY actor who actually implements them to positive affect in the show with a fresh and gritty approach to Bobby. I THINK Mendes was going for creating characters who were singing because they so badly needed to express their emotions, so they didn't need good voices but could be good "singers". However, part of being a good singer is communication and I don't think Lester was the only one who pulled it off.
It's hard to believe he couldn't find enough credible actor/singers in London to do the score justice. Because there are some awful voices sticking out.
as for the accents, they are pretty decent, Americans often do British accents wrong so it is just as acceptable to have them do American accents wonky.
well its already all set in bobby's mind, everything up to "being alive" are memories in Bobby's head. Personally...i dont like this, but again, i am extremely biased to Raul's esparza's bobby and John Doyle's version of company. I just dont think this works...not one of Mendes' great choices, which kils me to say because his version of Cabaret is my 2nd fave(only after Doyle's version of Company)
I think your comment is nicely thought out, Eric. Elaine Stritch probably complained because she was such a smoker and had no breath. Heh heh. I just think this production is trying waaayyy too hard. Sam Mendes needs to stick with TV and film media.
Adrian Lester is truly a talented guy, but this staging completely misses the point of the song: Bobby is alone in dancing while the couples are enjoying putting on a little show for each other (hence the song-and-dance isn't a standard production number, it's about the COUPLES performing.) Michael Bennett's original brilliant staging helped to highlight how much fun the couples were having and how alone Bobby was. Donmar's was just bizarre. (And Doyle's wasn't all that successful either.)
i'm not a big fan of this version. I just don't think its fits the show so well. And also, one can say "oh, that's the point, that the person has a bad voice" all they want, but if the script doesn't ask for that specifically, i don't like the choice to put a bad singer in a lead role like Bobby. Not that Adrian is a BAD singer. But he isn't a good singer.
hey! we cast someone who dances. let's change the ENTIRE concept (because we can probably do it better than Sondheim) to accomodate a technical skill and just f*** the story. let's also give the actors so much choreography that they can't breathe enough to get the words out. some parts of this production are so ridiculous and so FAR from what this show is about that it's sad. OOH! let's be edgy and have Bobby do coke! this show is about as New Yorky as a turd in a punchbowl
There are so many things wrong with this. First of all, they're so ridiculously over the top that all meaning is lost. They're just shouting the lyrics. Making Bobby a crack user is used as an excuse for him going mental with the dancing and makes Bobby fundamentally unlikeable: even in 1996 it wasn't acceptable. And we're supposed to empathise with the guy? I don't think so. Oh, and it's supposed to be done with American accents, not... whatever the hell that is!
There is no version of Company that has touched me more than this one. I remember being totally shattered at the end, gasping for breath and sanity. This Company hurt like hell. But was also a splendid display of what live theatre and great actors can do with a show as rich as Company. All the later versions I saw (the Broadway revival in 96, the excellent new Elliot version on West End) were always fun, but this was the one for me. Easily in my top 5 theatre experiences EVER... For ever grateful to the BBC for recording this. I have a dusty VCR tape lying around somewhere, but now this magic is just one click away. What a loss we have suffered when Mr. Sondheim passed away... My hero for life!
Woah, Adrian Lester doing cocaine all under the name of Sondheim. Didn't expect that.
The lyrics mentioned 'parallel lines' ...
Cant you just imagine the moment that was voiced jokingly and then they went all the way with him dancing coked to the eyeballs
BUT boy, can Adrian dance! He's a maniac!
I love this!
Its my favourite musical. Have seen it live! Absolutley breath taking! Casted really well!
He's brilliant.
One of the most interesting things about this musical is how many directions you could take with it. I mean, compare this to the 2006 revival of the song! It's so different! Also- my God, can that man dance, and.... Wow, Bobby is a crack addict in this one? I guess it makes sense, coming from the guy who did American Beauty.
Well, it was 1970
I think the cocaine is a good device for this number, where the couples are all in Bobby's head, or something to that effect.
Remember the original production had a big dance number by Michael Bennett for this number (Elaine Stritch complained how much it winded the cast) though he cleverly did it as a group of parents putting on a PTA show.
Coke isn't too weird for Bobby to do (Sondheim has admitted to doing it recreationally around the late 60s/70s anyway) but it does make his reaction and surprise to pot in the pot scene seem odd...
Maybe its becauae at thw time coke binge and a few beers to take the edge ofd was a part of a culture in itself.
I knew some bods who 'stayed in their lane' of pills and powedera when looking for something to mellow out...
The only bods i knew who easily ran the gamut from coke to cannabis tended to open themselves up to far too many tempting options from a dealer.
once he knew they were more adventurous you often heard of "mad weekends and a candy flip"
Or any of the other contradictory mixes of drugs that some people enjoyed not frisco speedballs... But that _type_ of thing.
Does his reaction make any more sense? Or has my odd experien e juat been a rndom bolt feom the crazy blue...
@@fomoran Ha no that even tracks with my clubbing time in the late 90s/early 2000s
Another good point.
I think Sam Mendes has a lot of great ideas but needs to know where to draw the line. There are some things about this production that I really like and others I hate, but I think his 'nouveau' style of "Cabaret" was brilliant.
Wow, what a great voice!
I have to completely disagree. The acting in this is genius, this acting company bases mostly on the acting first and everything else second. Now onto how they portray the show itself. The main plot of this show was simply 'Robert is lonely' and nothing else, and they portray this in a very large way. Have you noticed that bobby never actually touched or interacted with any of the couples? That is because they are an illusion he created to cope with the loneliness, so is the crack.
Very astute comment but also not correct, the friends are real
Once you’re older than Bobby you will understand
I wish I had been able to see doyle's cabaret when he did it at the watermill all those years ago, it would be very interesting to see an actormuso production of cabaret, for sure.
While i am not terribly fond of the coke-dream thing, i do see what they were trying to do. Everytime i see a rendition of this musical, this number always seems to come out of nowhere. Its like, "serious song, serious song FUNNY CIRCUS NUMBER, serious song" So on some level i like their attemtp to explain this seemingly-out-of-place number, but i am not really fond of how it turned out
Not a terrible production, it attempted at modernizing this story and watching the clips I managed to see, has the same feel of Sam Mendes other production of "Cabaret".
OMFG!!! UUUHHH- MAZING!!!!!!!
@wampabutt I agree. Trying too hard. The coke use isn't completely ridiculous, but to make the whole number a coke-induced fever dream is too much. It lacks subtext and a point of view to me.
I really liked Sam Mendes' take on Cabaret, but really don't like this version of Company
I like a lot of Sam Mendes' ideas for this production but I think Adrian Lester is the ONLY actor who actually implements them to positive affect in the show with a fresh and gritty approach to Bobby. I THINK Mendes was going for creating characters who were singing because they so badly needed to express their emotions, so they didn't need good voices but could be good "singers". However, part of being a good singer is communication and I don't think Lester was the only one who pulled it off.
It's hard to believe he couldn't find enough credible actor/singers in London to do the score justice. Because there are some awful voices sticking out.
as for the accents, they are pretty decent, Americans often do British accents wrong so it is just as acceptable to have them do American accents wonky.
But wow, is Adrian a brilliant actor. I could watch him perform all day. Just not a fan of his voice.
well its already all set in bobby's mind, everything up to "being alive" are memories in Bobby's head. Personally...i dont like this, but again, i am extremely biased to Raul's esparza's bobby and John Doyle's version of company. I just dont think this works...not one of Mendes' great choices, which kils me to say because his version of Cabaret is my 2nd fave(only after Doyle's version of Company)
I think your comment is nicely thought out, Eric. Elaine Stritch probably complained because she was such a smoker and had no breath. Heh heh. I just think this production is trying waaayyy too hard. Sam Mendes needs to stick with TV and film media.
Adrian Lester is truly a talented guy, but this staging completely misses the point of the song: Bobby is alone in dancing while the couples are enjoying putting on a little show for each other (hence the song-and-dance isn't a standard production number, it's about the COUPLES performing.) Michael Bennett's original brilliant staging helped to highlight how much fun the couples were having and how alone Bobby was. Donmar's was just bizarre. (And Doyle's wasn't all that successful either.)
Good point... His dancing was so impressive here that I didn't even really notice the other people/couples in the stage!
i'm not a big fan of this version. I just don't think its fits the show so well.
And also, one can say "oh, that's the point, that the person has a bad voice" all they want, but if the script doesn't ask for that specifically, i don't like the choice to put a bad singer in a lead role like Bobby. Not that Adrian is a BAD singer. But he isn't a good singer.
sorry...I THINK Lester was the only one who pulled it off
@claudgaged HAHAHA
It's very nasal.. he has a strange tone to his voice. but good for him, doing the Donmar.
hey! we cast someone who dances. let's change the ENTIRE concept (because we can probably do it better than Sondheim) to accomodate a technical skill and just f*** the story. let's also give the actors so much choreography that they can't breathe enough to get the words out. some parts of this production are so ridiculous and so FAR from what this show is about that it's sad. OOH! let's be edgy and have Bobby do coke! this show is about as New Yorky as a turd in a punchbowl
There are so many things wrong with this. First of all, they're so ridiculously over the top that all meaning is lost. They're just shouting the lyrics. Making Bobby a crack user is used as an excuse for him going mental with the dancing and makes Bobby fundamentally unlikeable: even in 1996 it wasn't acceptable. And we're supposed to empathise with the guy? I don't think so. Oh, and it's supposed to be done with American accents, not... whatever the hell that is!