Company

[bostonman]

13 minutes ago, sam.fitzpatrick said:

I'm pulling for Jennifer Simard to get the Featured Actress - Musical win.  I'm heard her in a couple of other venues and always enjoyed her performances.  

I worked with Jen some years back, in the Boston company of Nunsense in its last few years - she played Sister Amnesia. So funny, always. And a great lady also. I'm so thrilled to see where she has gone over time. 

[skynyc]

Actually, Lenk's vocals have improved drastically since when I first saw this in December. The first time I saw her do Being Alive I was underwhelmed. The big 11:00 number and it was "meh". I've been back a couple times with different out of town visitors and she really has gotten to where she nails it. Still within the character she's created for Bobbi, but with much more control and oomph. 

I would certainly have nominated her over Mare Winningham or Carmen Cusack, both of whom I enjoyed, but Lenk is in almost every minute of Company. 

 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

On 5/13/2022 at 10:40 PM, bostonman said:

I worked with Jen some years back, in the Boston company of Nunsense in its last few years - she played Sister Amnesia. So funny, always. And a great lady also. I'm so thrilled to see where she has gone over time. 

She was a worthy replacement for the incredible Lisa Howard in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

I saw that show more times on Broadway and tour than I care to admit.  Simard was always a highlight.

[handiacefailure]

On 5/14/2022 at 11:58 AM, skynyc said:

Actually, Lenk's vocals have improved drastically since when I first saw this in December. The first time I saw her do Being Alive I was underwhelmed. The big 11:00 number and it was "meh". I've been back a couple times with different out of town visitors and she really has gotten to where she nails it. Still within the character she's created for Bobbi, but with much more control and oomph. 

I would certainly have nominated her over Mare Winningham or Carmen Cusack, both of whom I enjoyed, but Lenk is in almost every minute of Company. 

 

I thought she was pretty good in the part.   I like Rosalie Craig better in the London production but thought Lenk was worth of a nomination.

Especially seeing the others that received nominations.   With the exception of Sutton Foster, I think she was better than any of the other nominees  

[+ sf westcoaster]

Saw Company last night and was blow away by the imagination and creativity that went into this revival. However, I do feel there are a few problematic areas,  such as the Barcelona number - only my reaction! Link is adequate but I do believe she has been miscasted

[scrtlovr]

Sorry, wish I could share everyone's  enthusiasm. I very much enjoyed the production and I thought the cast was good. Wasn't sure about Katrina Lenk at first (liked her so much in Band's visit) but she gained on me. My big issue with the show is that its theme feels so dated, that in my opinion all the attempts at making it contemporary made it worse. I think our value system has changed so much in the last 20 some years that to watch a show built on - should I or shouldn't I be in a couple - at age 35 should have been left in the 70's when that kind of angst made perfect sense. Just an opinion.

[bostonman]

7 minutes ago, scrtlovr said:

Sorry, wish I could share everyone's  enthusiasm. I very much enjoyed the production and I thought the cast was good. Wasn't sure about Katrina Lenk at first (liked her so much in Band's visit) but she gained on me. My big issue with the show is that its theme feels so dated, that in my opinion all the attempts at making it contemporary made it worse. I think our value system has changed so much in the last 20 some years that to watch a show built on - should I or shouldn't I be in a couple - at age 35 should have been left in the 70's when that kind of angst made perfect sense. Just an opinion.

I, too, prefer my Company to be set in 1970. I think that overarching idea that every show produced has to be "relevant" to our time is rather silly. There's no reason at all that we can't enjoy Company as written, in the time it's set. That said, I think there still are very relevant themes that DO remain for us to look at, so I still don't buy the need to update the piece so much. 

I understand the "biological clock" idea that runs in this production, but that in itself is also a very different story than is in the text. There is never any sense that the original Bobby wants to be a father. I don't think he ever uses the word "family" or thinks about future generations. He's very much a "me generation" bachelor who can't even figure out if or why he needs an emotional connection to a woman beyond the fun of casual relationships. (Or that yeah, he'll settle down eventually like everyone else, "for company" as he suggests - but that time is always in the future, not something he has to commit to yet, no matter what everyone else is saying to him.) So in this version, the text being essentially the same, Bobbie has no way to outwardly express any interest in having kids/family, even though this is the supposed "clock is ticking" reason she feels the pressure to marry, It's a little like a regietheatre opera production where we're being asked to make a lot of leaps that just aren't there. 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

On 5/27/2022 at 12:14 PM, scrtlovr said:

Sorry, wish I could share everyone's  enthusiasm. I very much enjoyed the production and I thought the cast was good. Wasn't sure about Katrina Lenk at first (liked her so much in Band's visit) but she gained on me. My big issue with the show is that its theme feels so dated, that in my opinion all the attempts at making it contemporary made it worse. I think our value system has changed so much in the last 20 some years that to watch a show built on - should I or shouldn't I be in a couple - at age 35 should have been left in the 70's when that kind of angst made perfect sense. Just an opinion.

I saw Company last weekend at the suggestion of some friends.  It was a last minute decision and I knew nothing about the play going into it.  I saw it sitting by myself, single, in my late 30s.  It was very relatable to me. I can tell you that the angst of being single in mid or late 30s is very much real today.

I thought it was great and would see it again with the current set design, direction, and cast.  Its message (or lack of message?) felt very pertinent to me at this stage in my life.  I have a greater appreciation for all Company in my life now, whether that be married friends, sex partners, or someday a life partner, or not.

Plus, it was very entertaining

Edited June 13, 2022 by Vegas_nw1982

[scrtlovr]

Fair enough.

[skynyc]

Closing date at end of July announced this morning. Even with 5 Tonys, there are still lots of empty seats, and a large company is expensive in the summer. As of July 1, masks are no longer required, just recommended. Will be interesting to see if this makes a difference. I know two people who said they won't go to theater if they have to be masked...and several who say they won't go to theater if folks aren't masked. 

At any rate, the Jacobs is a popular theater and won't be empty for long. 

 

[handiacefailure]

6 hours ago, skynyc said:

Closing date at end of July announced this morning. Even with 5 Tonys, there are still lots of empty seats, and a large company is expensive in the summer. As of July 1, masks are no longer required, just recommended. Will be interesting to see if this makes a difference. I know two people who said they won't go to theater if they have to be masked...and several who say they won't go to theater if folks aren't masked. 

At any rate, the Jacobs is a popular theater and won't be empty for long. 

 

I think the theater can still require masks though if they want.   My city hasn't been requiring masks for a long time, but when I saw Berndette peters last month, she was requiring proof of vax plus masks even though the venue wasn't.

I have tickets to see it Friday (love that is' a 7 pm show instead of 8 friday) and there were only a few seats open when I bought the tickets two weeks ago

[EZEtoGRU]

I saw Company on Saturday and really enjoyed it.  It's the first version of the musical I have ever seen so I have no other version or actors to compare it too.  I felt Lenk and LuPone were both excellent.  The staging was creative and unusual.  Unusually boisterous crowd.  Huge applause and cheers after almost every number.  It seems fans are rushing to see it before it closes.  I don't blame them!  Definitely a winner.