Review - Company Film with Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone

We seem to be seeing quite a bit more of these "cinecasts," i.e. Broadway shows and the like taped and presented in local movie theaters. It started with Rent, of course, and lately we've seen cinecasts of The Importance of Being Earnest, Memphis, and Fela, as well as a number of shows from London, including Frankenstein and The Merry Wives of Windsor. (Yes, technically Fela was taped in London, but it had a Broadway pedigree.)

It seems that producers are catching on to the idea that, far from cannibalizing ticket sales for the live versions of these shows, these cinecasts might actually serve as marketing for future tours (e.g. Memphis) or to maximize revenue for a show that might not tour (e.g. Fela).

Cinecasts can also expand the audience for a strictly limited engagement, as was the case with Stephen Sondheim's Company, a filmed version of a recent concert staging of the show with the New York Philharmonic, starring Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone. I didn't catch the live concert, despite my numerous trips to New York, but I can't say I really went out of my way. Did I really need to see Company again, I asked myself, even with such a stellar cast? I mean, I've seen many productions of the show, and the recent John Doyle Broadway production is available on DVD. 

But I did catch a recent screening of the concert film, and five minutes into the showing, I realized that I could never really get too much of Company. It's really that good. Beyond the magnificent Sondheim score (it may even be his best), there's also George Furth's underrated book. People complain that the book is too fragmented, too cynical. But, from where I sit, those are two of its key assets. Despite the deliberate fragmentation, the show flows and builds elegantly, especially after the deft changes Furth made to the libretto for the 1995 Broadway production.

As for the headliners here, Neil Patrick Harris makes for a warm and wry Bobby, bringing to the role all of the charm that made him such an effective and entertaining host for the Tony Awards this year and two years ago. His singing voice can sometimes be a bit thin, but his intonation is strong and he performed the songs with great emotional fluency. And what more can I say about La LuPone? The woman is a sheer force of nature and vocal powerhouse nonpareil. There's a reason Patti's a living legend, and here she's at her diva-rrific best. Her rendition of "The Ladies Who Lunch" was gripping theater, and the surrounding scenes dripped with her trademark sharpness and staccato delivery. In short: fab-u-lous.

Sharing space above the marquee were some Broadway dilettantes, folks who might not elsewise have found their way onto a New York stage: Stephen Colbert ("The Colbert Report"), John Cryer ("Two and a Half Men"), and Christina Hendricks ("Mad Men"). Each had his or her own charms, especially a delightful Hendricks as the flighty flight attendant April, but what really made this concert worth watching, beyond the aforementioned Harris and LuPone, was the exceedingly strong supporting cast of stage veterans: Martha Plimpton, Craig Bierko, Jim Walton, Katie Finneran, Jill Paice, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Aaron Lazar, Anika Noni Rose, & Chryssie Whitehead. Tony winner Finneran was a hoot as the neurotic bride Amy, and Whitehead was a knockout as Kathy, dancing up a storm in the number "Tick Tock," which Michael Bennett originally created for Donna McKechnie.

The concert was directed by Lonny Price, who seems to be making a career out of directing these concert presentations (see Candide and Camelot), and that's really not such a bad thing. He always seems to bring his own individual touches to these concerts, although his Candide really lost steam toward the end. His Company seemed more slowly paced than Doyle's, but with considerably more warmth and humanity. Despite the show's length, I found that I was almost always engaged, except during Anika Noni Rose's "Another Hundred People," which just kind of sat there, and "You Could Drive a Person Crazy," which featured weak vocals and some rather limp staging by Josh Rhodes.

So, I'm all for more of these cinecasts, but the people involved need to find a way to market them more effectively, at least in the Boston area. There was a grand total of 18 people in the theater at the showing I attended. What's more, the theaters themselves need to do a better job of actually presenting these events. Each time I've attended a cinecast, the theater staff has been clueless. They're usually not even aware of the events. 

I saw Company at the Showcase Cinemas in Woburn, MA, and the movie-theater staff got nothing right. The show started 20 minutes late. Somehow the computer that was supposed to start the show didn't kick in, and nobody was paying any attention to the computer, so we had to seek out someone in charge to look into it. Then, once the film started, the house lights didn't go down, and we had to hunt someone down again. Then, at the end of the show, the lights didn't come back on, and we had to fumble our way to the doors.

When I addressed my displeasure to the manager on duty, he couldn't have been less interested or concerned, and made a half-hearted offer of some free movie passes. I don't really go to the movies, so I declined. But I've heard numerous examples of similar experiences that people have had with these cinecasts across the country. I recently read somewhere that these cinecasts could represent a bit of a boon for a struggling movie-theater industry.

Only if they take them more seriously.

Comments

[Geoff]

I thoroughly enjoyed the "Company" cinecast, far more than I expected I would. The reviews of the original concert indicated it was well acted but weakly sung. I certainly didn't find that to be the case. True, Colbert and Cryer are not much as singers and "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" was uncertain, but most of the production was vocally sound and enjoyable.

Coming on the heels of the Doyle production, I was delighted this production did more to return the piece to its musical comedy roots (complete with dancing and the delicious restoration of "Tick-Tock"). This "Company" was genuinely funny and the humor provided a telling contrast to Bobby's very real confusion about the values of marriage. I found the Doyle production to be emotionally dry and the actors-with-instruments approach unnecessary and distracting. Exception, of course, was Esparza who was definitive as Bobby and gave the most hair raising reading of "Being Alive" I can remember. Nevertheless Harris was a very sympathetic and engaging Bobby. I enjoyed his presence very much.

For me, the real star of this presentation was the score. An artful balancing act between traditional musical comedy and incisive social commentary, it seems as vibrant and fresh as when it was new. And what a joy to hear the masterful original Jonathan Tunick orchestrations again. When Sondheim won the Tony Award for Best Music in a Musical he lamented there had never been a Tony Award given to an orchestrator and he graciously credited Tunick with writing the best orchestrations ever heard in a Broadway musical for "Company." That was way back in 1971 and you know what? I think he may still be right.

[Nolan]

I've never comment but I've been reading for at least four years.

I saw Company at the North Hills Mall's Rave Theatre in Hurst, TX, and, yes, the movie-theater staff got nothing right.
The show started at least 20 minutes late, but the house lights went down, the screen went open and we just sat there. We had to go find someone, too. Finally someone came in and started to talk, but by then the in-house music was playing and you couldn't hear him. Something about how the "computer" from NY that was to show it was running late, or something. so we had to seek out someone in charge to look into it. Then, after intermission, the houselights came up and wouldn't go down until after Side-by-Side. And yes, at the end of the show, the lights didn't come back on, and we stumbled out.

What's weird? There was a second showing at the same time. Why? We had only 20 in our theatre, I doubt there was a full house on the ground floor theatre. What was cool was that there was a big mix of people there, old and young, not just what I would assume is theatre kids.

As for the show, I've never seen it despite having the original cast album since '95 and know it by heart. So it was nice to finally see the scenes that go with the music. I had no idea Another Hundred People was broken up around scenes, and I loved finally being able to see the full seen of Amy and Paul's Wedding.

I liked Martha Plimpton a lot, I was delighted with how well she acted and sang. Opposite Stephen Colbert, they really both came off as a loving married couple who were just happy with the way things are despite all evidence to the contrary.

I really liked the staging. I thought the use of the movable couches was genius. I really liked how they transformed into balconies, park benches and lounge chairs for a nightclub. It's that kinda creativity and inspiration that I enjoy seeing in the theatre.

The one thing about this show that I did not like was NPH. I agree that there were times that his voice came off as a little thin, but I had a very, very hard time transcending past it's NPH and seeing a fully formed Bobby. Probably because of what happened in the second act. When Craig Bierko asks him if he's ever had a "ho-mo-sexual" relationship, the whole audience laughed because, hey, it's NPH and we all know he's gay and has a fiance and two adorable children and is just, well, everywhere. It was distracting, and it was a fine example of what I thought was the problem: he was still somewhat NPH on stage and not fully Bobby.

I love, love that they're doing Cinecasts. For folks like me who simply can't get up to NY every year for a theatre week, I was very, very happy with this trend. But I will say one thing: $18 dollars for a ticket? Perhaps it was the fact that it was in a movie theatre with a movie screening and with terrible screwups about the showing, but $18 is a budget breaker.

[ccaggiano]

It's funny, but I never really consciously pay attention to orchestrations. I guess, sort of like direction, the beat orchestrations don't call attention to themselves. I know other people are much more focused on this than I, and I'm sure this film was far superior in that respect to the Doyle production. But them's economics for ya. full, lush orchestras are becoming far less common, and that's one place where these concert presentations can fill the bill.

[ccaggiano]

Nolan: Great to hear from a longtime reader. Isn't it funny how similar our experiences were. And you represent one of the main reasons that these cinecasts are valuable: not all of us live in or near NYC.

Thanks for reading, and for your input.

[Robert]

I plan to buy this when it inevitably comes out on DVD, but probably won't make it to a theater to see it. I've seen the taped version from 2007 (the John Doyle one), and I consider it to be the "definitive" production of the show, because just about everything was as perfect as it could be. Normally I don't like Doyle's instrument-actor-thing, but in Company it served to underscore the isolation and self-reliance that the show is ultimately about.

That said, I love me some LuPone, NPH, Finneran, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Martha Plimpton, Jill Pace, Aaron Lazar, and Anika Noni Rose, so I definitely want to see this. The Tony broadcast seemed really -- really-- bad to me, but I assume it's not representative of the whole production. Plus, Tick Tock is usually cut because dancers like McKechnie are rare...

[Richard Reams]

Here in the hinterlands of San Antonio, the Bijou Theater was half full, to my surprise and delight--over 100 folks, I'm sure. (I wonder how subsequent screenings fared, with word of mouth, or did we exhaust the prospective Alamo City audience with the inaugural showing?) I, too, reveled in Furth's book. Like a Sondheim score, the Furth book reveals delights each time I encounter it. Seeing the Doyle production in NYC was a thrill, and the metaphors of the musical staging and the central column served to ilustrate Bobby's inner life. That said, I also enjoyed Price's staging and the performances lauded above. My one significant frustration was with the sound quality in the theater. The quality of the projection wasn't great either, but you want to hear a Sondheim score with great sound!

[[email protected]]

I just loved this production. Do you know if a CD is going to be recorded?

[ccaggiano]

Haven't heard anything yet. Watch my Twitter feed. (@ccaggiano) If I hear anything, I'll tweet.

[henryg]

EXACT same experience here in Biloxi (for the record, does not rhyme with "Roxy"), Mississippi, re 20 minutes late starting, needing to get staff, them being clueless, etc.

Otherwise, VERY happy with the show. Hoping for more of these cinecasts given that local opportunities for musical theatre are so very limited. Nearest major market is New Orleans and their theater scene is still struggling to recover post-Katrina.

[Kevin]

Oh no! I can't find it illegally! What do I do????

[Nick]

I guess it was just me and the small group that I went with that felt like, well, to quote Merrily We Roll Along, "Ahaha, you liked it?!"