Archive

Identifier: COMPANY1995

Inclusive Dates: 1994 - 1995

Extent:

Roundabout Theatre Company staged Stephen Sondheim's and George Furth's Company at the Criterion Center Stage Right, with previews beginning August 30, opening night October 5, and closing night December 3, 1995. The production was nominated for a Tony for best revival and best featured actress (Veanne Cox) as well as a Drama Desk nomination for Cox.

The production was slotted for a commercial transfer to the Brooks Atkinson Theater through the Nederlander organization but after mixed critical success that move was cancelled. Producer John N. Hart (Kardana Productions) stepped in as sole producer, with plans to stage the production at the Atkinson still on track. Boyd Gaines had developed a throat virus near the end of the run, forcing him on vocal rest. Hart believed that the virus jeopardized his ability to sustain a continued run so he looked to a replacement, favoring Michael Rupert in the role of Bobby. Ultimately differences between director Scott Ellis, Stephen Sondheim and Hart about leading man forced Hart to bow out and the production did not transfer commercially.   

Directed by Scott Ellis with musical staging by Rob Marshall and musical direction by David Loud; with set designed by Tony Walton, costumes designed by William Ivey Long, lighting designed by Peter Kaczorowski, sound designed by Tony Meola, orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, projections designed by Wendall K. Harrington, hair and wigs designed by Paul Huntley and musical coordination by Seymour Red Press. 

Boyd Gaines played the part of Robert, Kate Burton played the part of Sarah, Robert Westenberg played the part of Harry, Patricia Ben Peterson played the part of Susan, Jonathan Dokuchitz played the part of Peter, Diana Canova played the part of Jenny, John Hillner played the part of David, Veanne Cox played the part of Amy, Danny Burstein played the part of Paul, Debra Monk played the part of Joanne, Timothy Landfield played the part of Larry, La Chanze played the part of Marta, Charlotte d'Amboise played the part of Kathy, and Jane Krakowski played the part of April. Standbys: for Robert, Peter, Paul and James: James Clow; for Peter, Paul: Bob Kirsh; for Harry, David, Larry: Andy Umberger; for Susan, Jenny, Marta, April: Colleen Fitzpatrick; for Amy, Kathy, April: Nancy Hess.

Orchestra conductor, James Moore; associate conductor/keyboard, David Evans; woodwinds, Les Scott, Dennis Anderson, John Winder; trumpet, Stu Satalof; trombone, Bruce Bonvissuto; bass, Robert Renino; percussion, Bruce Doctor. 

Musical numbers:

Act 1:
Overture -- Company -- The Little Things You Do Together -- Sorry-Grateful -- You Could Drive a Person Crazy -- Have I Got a Girl For You -- Someone is Waiting -- Another Hundred People -- Getting Married Today -- Marry Me a Little

Act II:
Entr'Acte -- Side by Side by Side/What Would We Do Without You -- Poor Baby -- Tick Tock -- Barcelona -- The Ladies Who Lunch -- Being Alive -- Finale

As with many of Sondheim's projects, Company evolved as a collaboration among a group of friends. First playwright George Furth approached Stephen Sondheim with a collection of short plays that he had written and wanted to present as a unit. Sondheim broughtt the plays to Harold Prince and asked for his opinion of the idea. Prince read the plays and suggested that Sondheim and Furth select from the group the plays that dealt with the subject of marriage. They decided to do a musical about how difficult marriage is in the moden world of New York City. But there were too many aspects to this subject for the play to have only one story. Since the play was to focus on subject rather than character they had to structure the play so that this central theme held together. The play would deal with a group of friends, consisting of several married coup;es and a few singles. Each married relationship and each single in search of a partner would be exposed to the audience through short scenes and songs. The pivotal device connecting each story to the next would be the single man, Robert, who is everyone's friend but a person unable to make any type of serious commitment of his own. [Company Study Guide, Roundabout Theatre Company]

Company opened on Broadway in 1970 and earned record-breaking award nominations, pulling in six Tony awards. Roundabout's 1995 production was the first Broadway revival, with subsequent national and international productions throughout the years. 

Production Files span two Hollinger boxes containing 20 folders, a Playbill, one marketing flyer, and photos depicting a queue for ticket sales. Opening night photos were removed from the production box and rehoused with photo collection.

Digital holdings include the following folders:

Education (PDF of Upstage study guide)
Management (scans of ticket queue photograph)
Media (B-Roll and cast album CD)
Opening Night (select TIF photos,including prints from contact sheets and the contact sheets in black and white)
Playbill (jpeg scans of select pages from the Playbill)
Press (Archive-scanned selects)
Production Photographs (select color and black and white jpgs and TIF files)
Show Art (mock ups and poster art)

There is a related collection of marketing materials containing mock ups, ad placements and other promotions.  

Contracts and other confidential documents have been moved to the Contracts cabinets with restricted access.  

 

Access Restrictions: Open and available for research by appointment only.

Preferred Citation: Company 1995, Roundabout Theatre Company Archives