Company – Musical – Review – Paramount Theatre – Shows I've Seen

@showsiveseen @CompanyBway #Sondheim #musical at the Paramount Theatre from @Seattle Theatre Group & @broadwaycom. Insights that #single aging #millennials can appreciate. Great scenic design. Gender twist starring @britneycoleman. Surprisingly enjoyed it. Closes on 7/28. #millennial #NYC #newYork #theatre #showsiveseen #company Review: showsiveseen.com/9162 Director: Marianne Elliott Conductor: @altermancharlie Stage Mangers: @Jay ♬ You Could Drive a Person Crazy – Richard Fleeshman & Matthew Seadon-Young & George Blagden

Ticket Giveaway: I’m giving away a free ticket to this production. Click here to read more details! (Update 7/28/24: Congrats to Katt!)

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Company Sondheim musical at the Paramount Theatre from Seattle Theatre Group & Seattle Broadway. Insights that single aging millennials can appreciate. Great scenic design. Gender twist starring Britney Coleman. #NYC #newYork

Recommendation
See it if either you enjoy 1) Sondheim music 2) shows that are more dialogue/vignettes than story 3) or musicals that are more like a play than a traditional musical. Bonus points if you’re currently an aging millennial.

My Synopsis (No Spoilers): A hip New York woman faces the existential crisis of turning 35 while still single. She experiences this disaster in a series of vignettes as a third wheel with her coupled friends.

Synopsis from the Licensor or Theatre Company: PHONE RINGS, DOOR CHIMES, IN COMES COMPANY. Winner of 5 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, COMPANY “strikes like a lightning bolt. It’s brilliantly conceived and funny as hell.” (Variety). Helmed by three-time Tony Award-winning director Marianne Elliott (War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Angels in America) this revelatory new production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s groundbreaking musical comedy, at once boldly sophisticated, deeply insightful, and downright hilarious. It’s Bobbie’s 35th birthday party, and all her friends keep asking, Why isn’t she married? Why can’t she find the right man and isn’t it time to settle down and start a family? As Bobbie searches for answers, she discovers why being single, being married, and being alive in the 21st-century could drive a person crazy. COMPANY features Sondheim’s award-winning songs “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “Side by Side by Side” and the iconic “Being Alive.” Let’s all drink to that!

Attended Performance Date: Opening Night 7/23/24 – Buy your tickets now since the show closes on 7/28/24.

Type: Musical, but it felt more like a play with singing, dancing, and music.

World Premiere: No

Several or Few Scenes: Several

Several or Few Settings/Locations: Several

Static (Stationary) Set? No

Prior Exposure/Knowledge Required: You should be in your 30s or past your 30s. I saw Companyin my 20s and I definitely did not appreciate the script as much as I do now with more life experience. It’s kind of like watching Sex and the City in your 20s vs your 30s … without as much humor.

Defined Plot/Storyline: No, it a series of dialogue-filled vignettes and musings similar to Songs for a New World, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, and even Schoolhouse Rock!

Live Band/Orchestra: Yes

Equity Actors: All

Total Number of Actors: 15

Perceived Pace of the Show: Slow to medium speed

Was there an intermission? Yes

Length (Including Any Intermission): 2.75 hours

Was This the First Time I Attended a Production of this Show? No, I previously saw this at the Music Box Theatre in Houston about 10 years ago in my 20s.

Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now? Maybe. With the many gender reversals in this production, I’m so curious to compare the relationship dynamics with the original gender intent reversed back.

Mainstream Appeal: Low to medium

Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned Above

Unexpected Surprise: I must confess that I was initially not as excited as usual to see Company. Out of Broadway Seattle’s entire 2023-2024 season lineup, this show was my least anticipated, especially because I don’t like Sondheim music/musicals. Blasphemy, I know. Also, as I previously mentioned, I already saw Company before and I hated it. I might have even left early at intermission back then! But the first production I attended was a lower budget (non-professional?) show. So, I figured I should give the musical a second chance in this high budget professional national touring production. I was subsequently surprised to appreciate/enjoy it more, especially as the show progressed. I hypothesize this is due to a combination of higher production value and more life experience.
Gender Twist: The original Company script featured Bobby, a man, as the main character. This production reimagined the main character as Bobbie, a woman. They also changed other cast members’ genders like Bobbie’s heterosexual romantic interests. Often when gender reimagining a musical, the “new” characters are unable to adequately sing the original vocal range. They usually either sing an octave too high or too low. Fortunately, vocal range was not a problem in this production. I suspect they transposed a couple songs to accommodate the gender reversal. Side note, with all the gender reimagining, could they not have switched one of the heterosexual couples to lesbians?
Scenic Design: This production relied heavily on a nice minimalist shadow box and neon light motif with simple clean lines.
- Shadow Boxes The shadow boxes reminded me of the scenic design in Village Theatre’s Cinderella. This also allowed partitioning the stage into multiple apartment rooms.
- Letters and Numbers: The “Company” neon Hollywood-Sign-like giant letters featured in PJ’s (played by Matthew Christian) “Another Hundred People” song about New York uniquely rearranged to spell “NYC.” Also, the age “35” was featured several places like party balloons and large foreboding bouncy characters. The “35” street addresses were a nice touch, demonstrating attention to detail.
Significant Statements and Insights: There were several universal-like observations about singledom and/or your 30s scattered throughout the show like “Marry me and then everyone will finally leave us alone” or something like “Phones and divorce are similar. They make you feel both connected and disconnected.”
Gay Couple: My friend Justin and I agree that the “Getting Married Today” scene/song was amazing. The door, cupboard, and cake entrances were funny surprises. The flamboyantly jittery Jaime (played by Kenneth Quinney Francoeur) reminded me of Nathan Lane in The Birdcage.
Introduction to Love Interests: “You Could Drive a Person Crazy” was a light cute barbershop-style song sung by Bobbie’s three love interests Andy, PJ, and Theo (played by Jacob Dickey, Matthew Christian, and David Socolar respectively).
Flight Attendant: Speaking of Andy, he was a delightfully airheaded hot male flight attendant. Why are hot dumb people so desirable? He was likable even before he gratuitously stripped down to his sexy skivvies.
Relationship Montage: I absolutely love the red dress body doubles in the hypothetical montage where Bobbie accepts the mediocrity of living a conventional coupled life with children. There was so much overlapping action! It was the visual equivalent of a song with rounds.
Marijuana: I usually don’t enjoy observing actors portray getting high or drunk on-stage or on-screen. It’s a patronizing gratuitous way to extract low brow laughs from the audience. That being said, it was amusing to watch “the square” David (played by Christopher DeAngelis) getting high.
Flashes: This production generously shined alluring flash-like effects throughout the show. This was usually during camera phone flashes. It was much better than generating the flashs from props.

Rant(s)

Phone Overuse: Speaking of phones, this production overused phone props way too much as a crutch to enhance modern relatability. Excessive phone use in the theatre on-stage (and in the audience) is one of my theatre pet peeves. It reminds me of my rants from Village Theatre’s Sense and Sensibility play.

Other Musing(s) and Observation(s)

Voicemail Prompt: Who leaves a voicemail prompt about their birthday these days? It’s pretty antiquated and a bit narcissistic. It probably made sense in the 1970s Company production and I admit that it’s probably difficult to translate this practice from 1970 to 2024. Maybe Bobbie should have posted that birthday message on social media instead of creating a voicemail prompt.
Alcohol: I suspect another relic from the 1970s was the number of times the script glorified alcohol, which doesn’t translate well for today’s 30-40 somethings. Don’t get me wrong. My friends and I binged drank too many times in our 20s, but we grew up and realized our bodies can’t handle alcohol as well in our 30s. Sobriety is sometimes even considered trendy these days, what with “California sober.” Maybe I’m a Pollyanna, but the script’s obsession with alcohol doesn’t match today’s elder millennials’ consumption.
First Act Finale: Like most other Sondheim musicals, I thought the end of the first act was the end of the entire show.
Moral of the Story: What was the ultimate message at the end of the show? Be single or be coupled? Personally, I thought Bobbie seemed a bit needy. Gurl, “a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” She needs to find fulfillment in herself independent of her romantic relationships. She’s a strong independant woman who don’t need no man! If anything, she was in desperate need of Sex and the City single friends. No wonder she feels inadequate when she’s surrounded by couples. I’m so curious how different I would have interpreted this needy dynamic if Bobbie (woman) was portrayed as the original Bobby (man).

Theatre Company: National tour brought by Seattle Theatre Group and Broadway Across America

Venue: Paramount Theatre

Venue Physical Address: 911 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101

Price Range: $40 to 125 plus the insane Ticketmaster fees. Buy your ticket at the box office to avoid most of the Ticketmaster fees. Down with the Ticketmaster Live Nation monopoly!

Ticket Affordability Options: Seattle Theatre Group might partner with an organization you’re affiliated with for discount tickets. For example, I believe UW employees/students are eligible for an organization discount.

Dates: July 23 to 28, 2024

Seating: Assigned Seating

Parking: Paid street parking and paid garage parking. The best parking garage is under the convention center w/ the entrance on Pike around the Pike and Terry intersection. Last I checked, this is one of the cheapest, least busy, and closest garages. Alternatively, you can probably find street parking as you move closer to the West Precinct (810 Virginia St, Seattle, WA 98101). Do NOT park where the Paramount subscribers park. Last I checked, they usually park in the garage attached to the Cheesecake Factory. It’ll take you at least 30 minutes to exit that garage after the show.

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