Theatre Trip: Company

COMPANY

Gielgud Theatre
Date: 21st January (Monday), 7:30pm
Seats: Stalls, Row U 23-24
(with Jess!)

Notes:

This was an interesting production which I had been looking forward to for a few months. I first heard about it when it was originally supposed to run for about 6 weeks, but 2 weeks into the run after press night it got such rave reviews that they extended it to the end of March. That piqued my interest given it was early in the run, it must have been good. And then I heard that Patti Lupone was in it, and she is such a legend in musical theatre I had to see it at some point.

While we were back home in Australia for Christmas, tickets went on Boxing Day sale, and I snapped up a pair for £15 on TodayTix for just after my birthday. We even got stalls tickets, row U which was fine although we couldn't see the band who sat above the stage, but we didn't miss any of the action! As usual, I took Jess with me (Richard was not interested, and actually he was off sick that day anyway) and we grabbed a quick dinner before heading over. We got to the Gielgud about 7:15 but the line to pick up tickets was so long! We were worrying we'd miss the beginning, but we had time to get tickets and even go to the bathroom. I think they actually started the show late because they were still getting people in.

The first thing I noticed about the show was the staging. There was a big neon sign saying "COMPANY", but more interestingly were the sets. The base set was actually an empty stage and the rooms moved in and out of the stage. They brought on connecting rooms so people could enter and exit and there were heaps of different entrances and doors and places for people to come in and out of in different scenes. All the sets were really bland on purpose, which I feel allowed the characters to really shine.

Just about the only thing I knew about this show going into it was the composer.  Stephen Sondheim's written two musicals I already know and love (Sweeney Todd  and Into the Woods), and he didn't let me down this time either! The music is beautifully interesting and complicated, with lines that duck and weave seamlessly together. It is a bit more modern than the others because it is actually set in the modern day. And this version, with Bobbie as a female instead of a male, really put a brilliant twist on the show. Having listened to the cast recording of the regular version (there will be a recording of this version but it's not out yet), it almost makes more sense with the cast changes given the pressure society puts on women to have kids by a certain age. One of my favourite cast numbers was You Could Drive a Person Crazy, which used to be an Andrews Sisters style number between 3 of Bobby's girlfriends, but is now an upbeat barbershop number between 3 guys which worked so well!

The cast was absolutely fantastic! Standouts for me were Jonathan Bailey, who played Jamie (Amy in previous productions), who is crazy and neurotic and also brilliant (he had the song Getting Married Today, which is just so impressive with the fastest paced lyrics I've heard anywhere and got him a massive round of applause) and Mel Giedroyc, who played Sarah, the neurotic and passive aggressive spouse with a terrible laugh and the best comedic timing. Mel was a particular surprise, because I didn't know she did theatre, I had only seen her in Bake Off and other comedy things. But she was great!

Other than Mel, the only cast member I'd heard of was enough to make me go on her own... Patti Lupone! A Broadway legend in her own right and a legendary performer, I really wanted to have the experience of seeing her perform live and boy was it worth it to hear her belt out Ladies Who Lunch. My favourite of the other cast was Jonathan Bailey, who played Jamie (Amy in the original production), who is crazy and completely neurotic and has the most insane number in the whole show (Getting Married Today) which got a huge round of applause from everyone! I'd see the show again just for that performance if I have the chance. And then there's Bobbie, played by Rosalie Craig. She was sweet and funny and had a wicked sense of humour. Her situation is so conflicted (being surrounded by so many married people who say that she should get married and yet are so dysfunctional in their marriages) and was such a modern interpretation. I think it will ring true for a lot of women, aged 35 or not.

Overall, one of the best shows I've seen, especially given how little I knew about it. I am hoping to try and get to it again before it closes at the end of March!