Stephen Sondheim COMPANY Kert Stritch 1970 Souvenir Program 3 PLAYBILL LOT frz

Description

3 piece LOT /
original 1971 Playbill
plus Souvenier Program /
also 2006 Roundabout revival
a beautiful souvenir program from the Original Broadway production of the STEPHEN SONDHEIM and GEORGE FURTH musical comedy "COMPANY" at New York's Alvin Theatre.
light wear / very good condition / original owner
happy to consider a best offer
please contact seller for more specifics regarding this item
Company
is a
sical comedy
with music and lyrics by
Stephen Sondheim
and book by
George Furth
. The original 1970 production was nominated for a record-setting 14
Tony Awards
, winning six.
Company
lacks a linear plot, depicting instead a story occurring in the mind of the central character,
[1]
a
concept musical
composed of short
vignettes
, presented in no particular chronological order, linked by a 35th birthday.
Company
was among the first
book musicals
to deal with contemporary dating, marriage, and divorce. As Sondheim explained, "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".
[2]
[3]
Background
[
edit
]
George Furth wrote 11 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.
[4]
Synopsis
[
edit
]
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.
Act I
[
edit
]
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 Bobby has wished for nothing, claiming that his friends are all that he needs ("Company").
What follows is a series of disconnected vignettes in no apparent chronological order; each features Robert visiting with one of the couples or alone on a date with a girlfriend. In the first vignette, Robert visits Sarah, a
foodie
supposedly now dieting, and her husband Harry, an alcoholic supposedly now
recovered
. Sarah and Harry taunt each other on their vices, escalating toward karate-like fighting and thrashing that may or may not be playful. This prompts the caustic Joanne — the oldest, most cynical, and most-often divorced of Robert's friends — to sarcastically comment to the audience that it is the little things that make a marriage work ("The Little Things You Do Together"). Harry then explains, and the other married men concur, that people are both thankful and regretful about getting married, and that marriage changes both everything and nothing about the way they live ("Sorry – Grateful").
Robert is next with Peter and Susan, on their apartment terrace. Peter is an
Ivy League
graduate, 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 the three 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 dating—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"). After Jenny asks for another joint, but is discouraged by David, David privately tells Robert that Jenny does not actually like marijuana, but partakes in it as a show of her love for him.
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 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 both highbrow and lowbrow. Robert is left stunned.
The scene turns to the day of Amy and Paul's wedding; they have lived together for years, but are just now getting married. Amy has gotten an overwhelming case of
cold feet
, and as the upbeat Paul harmonizes rapturously, a panicking Amy confesses to the audience that she can't go through with it ("
Getting Married Today
"). Robert, the best man, and Paul watch as Amy complains and self-destructs over every petty thing she can possibly think of, and then finally explicitly calls off the wedding. 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 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 ("Marry Me A Little")
Act II
[
edit
]
The birthday party scene is reset, and Robert goes to blow out his candles. This time, he gets them about half out, and the couples have to help him with the rest. The couples share their views on Robert — both complimentary and unflattering – with each other as Robert reflects on being the fifth 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, each man, in turn, does a dance step that is answered by his wife. Robert likewise does a step but he has no partner to answer it.
Robert brings April to his apartment for a nightcap, after a date. She marvels 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 his seduction. Meanwhile, the married women worry about Robert's single status and the unsuitable qualities they find in the women he dates ("Poor Baby"). As Robert and April have sex, we hear Robert and April's thoughts, interspersed with music that expresses and mirrors their increasing excitement ("Tick-Tock"). In some productions, including the original Broadway production, this is accompanied by a solo dance by Kathy.
[5]
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 cannot with playful begging and insistence. As April continues to reluctantly resist his entreaties, and sleepiness retakes him, Bobby loses 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 with fear and regret ("Barcelona").
Robert and Marta visit Peter and Susan, and learn that Peter flew to Mexico to get the divorce, but he phoned Susan and she joined him there for a vacation. Though they are divorced, 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. 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 Robert and he could have such an encounter, but Robert uncomfortably laughs off the conversation as a joke.
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, passing judgment on various types of rich, middle-aged women wasting their lives away with mostly meaningless activities ("The Ladies Who Lunch"). Her harshest criticism is reserved for those, like herself, who "just watch",
[6]
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". Robert's reply, "But who will I take care of?" seems to surprise even him, and strikes Joanne as a profound breakthrough on his part. Robert insists he has 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". Larry and she go home, leaving Robert lost in frustrated contemplation.
The couples' recurrent musical motif begins yet again, as they all again invite Bobby to "drop by anytime...". Rather than the cheery, indulgent tone he had responded with in earlier scenes, Robert suddenly, desperately, shouts "STOP!" 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 living ("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 ("Finale").
Principal casts
[
edit
]
Character
Broadway
(1970)
United States National Tour
(1971)
West End
(1972)
First Broadway Revival
(1995)
First West End Revival
(1996)
Kennedy Center
(2002)
Second Broadway Revival
(2006)
New York Philharmonic Concert
(2011)
Second West End Revival
(2018)
Third Broadway Revival
(2021)
Robert
Dean Jones
George Chakiris
Larry Kert
Boyd Gaines
Adrian Lester
John Barrowman
Raúl Esparza
Neil Patrick Harris
Rosalie Craig
(renamed to Bobbie)
Katrina Lenk
(renamed to Bobbie)
Larry Kert
Sarah
Barbara Barrie
Marti Stevens
Kate Burton
Rebecca Front
Keira Naughton
Kristin Huffman
Martha Plimpton
Mel Giedroyc
Jennifer Simard
Harry
Charles Kimbrough
Charles Braswell
Kenneth Kimmins
Robert Westenberg
Clive Rowe
David Pittu
Keith Buterbaugh
Stephen Colbert
Gavin Spokes
Christopher Sieber
Susan
Merle Louise
Milly Ericson
Joy Franz
Patricia Ben Peterson
Clare Burt
Christy Baron
Amy Justman
Jill Paice
Daisy Maywood
Rashidra Scott
Peter
John Cunningham
Gary Krawford
J. T. Cromwell
Jonathan Dokuchitz
Gareth Snook
Dan Cooney
Matt Castle
Craig Bierko
Ashley Campbell
Greg Hildreth
Jenny
Teri Ralston
Diana Canova
Liza Sadovy
Emily Skinner
Leenya Rideout
Jennifer Laura Thompson
Jennifer Saayeng
Nikki Renée Daniels
David
George Coe
Lee Goodman
John Hillner
Teddy Kempner
Marc Vietor
Fred Rose
Jon Cryer
Richard Henders
Christopher Fitzgerald
Amy
Beth Howland
Veanne Cox
Sophie Thompson
Alice Ripley
Heather Laws
Katie Finneran
Jonathan Bailey
(renamed to Jamie)
Matt Doyle
(renamed to Jamie)
Paul
Steve Elmore
Del Hinkley
Steve Elmore
Danny Burstein
Michael Simkins
Matt Bogart
Robert Cunningham
Aaron Lazar
Alex Gaumond
Etai Benson
Joanne
Elaine Stritch
Debra Monk
Sheila Gish
Lynn Redgrave
Barbara Walsh
Patti LuPone
Larry
Charles Braswell
Robert Goss
Timothy Landfield
Paul Bentley
Walter Charles
Bruce Sabath
Jim Walton
Ben Lewis
Terence Archie
April
Susan Browning
Bobbi Jordan
Carol Richards
Jane Krakowski
Hannah James
Kim Director
Elizabeth Stanley
Christina Hendricks
Richard Fleeshman
(renamed to Andy)
Claybourne Elder
(renamed to Andy)
Marta
Pamela Myers
LaChanze
Anna Francolini
Marcy Harriel
Angel Desai
Anika Noni Rose
George Blagden
(renamed to PJ)
Bobby Conte Thornton
(renamed to PJ)
Kathy
Donna McKechnie
Charlotte d'Amboise
Kiran Hocking
Elizabeth Zins
Kelly Jeanne Grant
Chryssie Whitehead
Matthew Seadon-Young
(renamed to Theo)
Manu Narayan
[note 1]
(renamed to Theo)
Song list
[
edit
]
Act I
"
Company
" — Robert and Company
"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,
[note 2]
and Company
"Marry Me a Little"
[note 3]
— Robert
Act II
"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)
[note 4]
– Larry, Peter, Paul, David, Harry
"Tick-Tock"
[note 5]
[7]
— Kathy (Instrumental)
"Barcelona" — Robert and April
"
The Ladies Who Lunch
" — Joanne
"
Being Alive
"
[note 6]
[8]
— Robert and Couples
"Finale Ultimo (Company)" — Robert and Company
Original Broadway production
[
edit
]
Company
opened in Boston in out-of-town tryouts, receiving mixed reviews, ranging from the
Boston Evening Globe's
"Brilliant", to
Variety
's
observations
:
"The songs are for the most part undistinguished" and "As it stands now it's for ladies' matinees, homos and misogynists".
[9]
Directed by
Hal Prince
, the musical opened on
Broadway
at the
Alvin Theatre
on April 26, 1970, and closed on January 1, 1972, after 705 performances and seven previews.
[10]
[11]
The opening cast included
Dean Jones
, who had replaced
Anthony Perkins
early in the rehearsal period when Perkins departed to direct a play,
[12]
Donna McKechnie
,
Susan Browning
,
George Coe
,
Pamela Myers
,
Barbara Barrie
,
Charles Kimbrough
,
Merle Louise
,
Beth Howland
, and
Elaine Stritch
. Musical staging was by
Michael Bennett
, assisted by
Bob Avian
. The set design by
Boris Aronson
[10]
consisted of two working elevators and various vertical platforms that emphasized the musical's theme of isolation.
Dean Jones left the show on May 28, 1970. He was replaced by his understudy,
Larry Kert
, who had created the role of Tony in
West Side Story
.
[13]
According to Prince, Jones' departure was planned. In 2001, he recalled the circumstances. Jones was wrestling with a troubled marriage—which Prince did not know at the time—and New York City, in Prince's words, “spooked him.” He went to Jones and said, “You can't stand being in New York City, facing a show that may keep you here for a year.” Jones replied, “Oh, you are so right.” Prince asked that if he promised to replace Jones very quickly, he would give him the opening night “that we deserve and that you are capable of giving.” Prince warned Kert, and a few weeks later, “We kept our promise. Dean Jones went home.”
[14]
Mark Evanier
[15]
is among those who have also reported this version of events.
In his September 2, 2015 obituary for Jones in
The New York Times
, Mike Flaherty reported that “he quit the production, citing stress and depression related to the recent collapse of his own marriage.” Flaherty quotes Jones' 1982 autobiography,
Under running laughter
, in which he wrote of
Company
: “It was a clever, bright show on the surface, but its underlying message declared that marriage was, at best, a vapid compromise, insoluble and finally destructive.”
[16]
Kert earned rave reviews for his performance, and the
Tony Awards
committee decided that he was eligible to compete for Best Actor in a Musical, an honor usually reserved for the actor who originates a role.
[17]
Stephen Sondheim
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Stephen Sondheim
Sondheim
c.
1976
Born
Stephen Joshua Sondheim
March 22, 1930
New York City, U.S.
Died
November 26, 2021 (aged 91)
Roxbury, Connecticut
, U.S.
Alma mater
Williams College
Occupation
Composer
lyricist
Years active
1952–2021
Spouse(s)
Jeffrey Romley
​
(
m.
2017)
​
Awards
Full list
Musical career
Genres
Musical theater
Stephen Joshua Sondheim
(
/
ˈ
s
ɒ
n
d
h
aɪ
m
/
SOND
-hyme
; March 22, 1930 – November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Among the most important figures in 20th-century
musical theater
, Sondheim was praised for having "reinvented the American musical" with shows that tackled "unexpected themes that range far beyond the [genre's] traditional subjects" with "music and lyrics of unprecedented complexity and sophistication". His shows addressed "darker, more harrowing elements of the human experience" with songs often tinged with "ambivalence" about various aspects of life.
Sondheim started his theatre career by writing the lyrics for
West Side Story
(1957) and
Gypsy
(1959) before becoming a composer and lyricist. Sondheim's best-known works include
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
(1962),
Company
(1970),
Follies
(1971),
A Little Night Music
(1973),
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
(1979),
Merrily We Roll Along
(1981),
Sunday in the Park with George
(1984), and
Into the Woods
(1987).
Sondheim's accolades include eight
Tony Awards
(including a Lifetime Achievement Tony in 2008),
[1]
an
Academy Award
, eight
Grammy Awards
, a
Pulitzer Prize
, a
Laurence Olivier Award
, and a 2015
Presidential Medal of Freedom
. He has a theater named for him both on
Broadway
and in
the West End of London
. Sondheim wrote film music, contributing "Goodbye for Now" for
Warren Beatty
's
Reds
(1981). He wrote five songs for 1990's
Dick Tracy
, including "
Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)
", sung in the film by
Madonna
, which won the
Academy Award for Best Original Song
. Film adaptations of Sondheim's work include
West Side Story
(1961),
Gypsy
(1962),
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
(1966),
A Little Night Music
(1977),
Gypsy
(1993),
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
(2007),
Into the Woods
(2014),
West Side Story
(2021), and
Merrily We Roll Along
(TBD).