November 30, 2006

Sondheim's 'Company' revived on Broadway

"Company" the revival of Stephen Sondheim's 1970s musical comedy opened on Broadway on Wednesday dividing critics on the overall quality of the show. But it's star, Raul Esparza, is roundly priased for his performance as Bobby, the 35-year-old bachelor celebrating his birthday amid a cast of mostly unhappy married friends who nonetheless keep urging him to settle down. The show is directed by John Duyle, who has saddled his actors with instruments, in the same fashion he did with last season's revival of Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd."

"Company" has an open-ended run at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 243 W. 47th St., map.

Excerpts from the reviews:

New York Times - " Mr. Doyle’s 'Company,' first staged at the Cincinnati Playhouse earlier this year, isn’t the unconditional triumph that his 'Sweeney Todd' was, partly because the show itself is less of a fully integrated piece and partly because much of the acting is weaker. Only a few of the 14 ensemble members — playing the couples who are permanent fixtures in Bobby’s life and his strictly temporary girlfriends — seem at ease dispensing Mr. Furth’s brittle, uptown, shrink-shrunk dialogue. But they all blossom as musicians and singers of wit and substance. As soloists they’re more than adequate, but it’s their work as a team that sounds new depths in 'Company' in ways that get under your skin without your knowing it."

Variety - "Esparza has been hovering on the brink of Broadway stardom for some years, and this is a terrific role for him with his sad-eyed, brooding good looks, wry humor and passionate singing voice."

Newsday - "Until now, however, George Furth's stagy, dated dialogue felt like filler we had to endure between the wondrous, bittersweet songs."

Daily News - "The ensemble is overall bland and none of the characters ever comes alive."

Post - " There's a lot to praise in 'Company,' especially Sondheim's compelling music and lyrics. Looking back, this was the musical in which Sondheim became indisputably Sondheim - and the Broadway musical theater would never be the same again. But musicals don't live by their scores alone. There's the book, which, although it won George Furth a Tony Award, had my then-colleague, the late Walter Kerr, "feeling rather cool and queasy." "

Washington Post - "Invigorated by the brooding charisma of Raul Esparza, in the most controlled and captivating performance of his career, Doyle's 'Company' proves a marvelous showcase for Sondheim's artistry. Many of the songs in this savvy, inventive musical -- whose importance seems only to grow with time -- are handled as wittily and tenderly as you are likely to hear them."

Associated Press - "The show may not always be joyous, but it shouldn't be funereal, which is what occasionally comes across in this production. "

Sun - "But despite the occasional bit of staging trickery and Raúl Esparza's magnetic performance as Bobby, the charming but slippery commitment-phobe at the play's center, a conceit that leapt off the stage in 'Sweeney' now feels hogtied by its own logistical requirements. "

Newark Star-Ledger - "Newly redone by Mary-Mitchell Campbell to be performed by a dozen actors onstage rather than by an orchestra in the pit, the music seems both warmer in quality and more spontaneous in nature. The effect is one of deeper humanity than before."

USA Today - "But the show as a whole has not aged as well as its music, at least not judging by this interpretation (which also draws on 1995 productions). For all their elegant ennui and implied sexual quirks, Company's urban sophisticates seem very much like the pre-baby boomers they technically are."

Bloomberg - "In this variety-show version, characters file past us two-dimensionally. There are serial impressions, but the full impact of Sondheim's splendid work is diminished by the packaging."

November 30, 2006 08:31 AM in Broadway

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