Gideon24 Stephen Sondheim's iconic Broadway musical Company was beautifully revived in 2011 with a star-studded cast, some updating of material, and accompanied by the New York Philharmonic with longtime Sondheim musical director Paul Gemignani at the baton.This musical originally premiered on Broadway in 1970 and won the Tony for Best Musical, as did Sondheim for Best Score. Company is the story of Robert, a 35 year old bachelor whose best friends are five married couples who constantly worry about him and are in constant pursuit of the perfect woman for him. Harry and Sarah are approaching middle age and bring Robert in the middle of their battles with sobriety and dieting. Robert thinks Susan and Peter are the perfect couple until they announce their plan to divorce. Jenny and David smoke pot with Robert and Jenny pretends to enjoy it more than she really did. Paul and Amy have been living together for years and have finally decided to marry, which has Amy freaking out. Larry and Joanne are an older couple so comfortable in their lives they really don't see how unhappy they are with each other.Dean Jones originated the role of Robert in 1970 and Elaine Stritch became an instant Broadway legend with her performance as Joanne. The musical was revived in 2007 with Raul Esparza playing Robert and had the "novelty" of having all the actors playing musical instruments throughout the show, which I personally found very distracting.That's why I prefer this version...back to the source material, keeping the 70's sensibility alive but making the show still New Millennium- friendly. A song that was cut from the original production called "Marry Me a Little" has been restored, as well as a VERY funny scene where Peter (Craig Bierko) comes on to Robert after he informs him of the divorce. Needless to say, with Nail Patrick Harris playing Robert, this scene produces huge laughs.The role of Robert and Neil Patrick Harris seems to be the perfect marriage of character and actor. Harris proved to be more than up to the vocally demanding role, with "Marry Me a Little" being a standout performance. After watching Harris playing womanizer Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother all those years, it was great to see him play a flawed, but genuinely nice guy.Broadway legend Patti LuPone, as always, puts her personal stamp on the role of Joanne and literally stops the show with her rendition of "The Ladies Who Lunch". It's clearly a matter of personal taste, but I have always felt that Elaine Stritch owns that song and LuPone's performance did nothing to change my mind, but the audience on this DVD loved it.Mention should also be made of Stephen Colbert, who was surprisingly effective as Harry, perfectly complimented by Martha Plimpton as Sarah. Colbert and Plimpton were a well-oiled machine and I have never enjoyed Harry and Sarah's scene so much. Loved Julie Finerman as Amy as well. She also stopped the show with "Getting Marred Today" and Christina Hendricks brings a depth to the role of April, a dim-witted stewardess Robert is dating, that I have never seen in previous Aprils.Sondheim's flawless score includes "Little Things", "Sorry-Grateful", "You Could Drive a Person Crazy", "Another Hundred People', and the classic "Being Alive." As I've mentioned before here Sondheim is probably Broadway's best composer and is definitely Broadway's best lyricist because Sondheim doesn't write music the way people sing, he writes it the way they talk.For Sondheim and musical theater purists, this is a must-see.

Arthur Sloan Absolutely a great performance of what must be one of Stephen Sondheim's favorite creations. From Neil Patrick Harris's wonderfully natural depiction of Bobby, to Patti LuPone's perfect rendering of "The Ladies who Lunch", this has to be one of the best productions of "Company" extant. Mr. Sondheim's long-time musical director, Paul Gemignani conducts the New York Philharmonic orchestra with his usual brilliance. This superb musical from more than 43 years ago stands as one of the best in musical theater history. I only hope that future audiences will be privileged to see "Company" performed as well as it was performed here on this night at Avery Fisher Hall. To Lonny Price and this marvelous cast - Thank you.

TheLittleSongbird To me, Sweeney Todd will always be Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece. However, Company still shows a master at work, full of his challenging but truly inventive music(both in orchestral and vocal) and intelligently clever lyrics. While still demanding for the performers, in a way it is a little more accessible than Sweeney Todd. The story is also great in Company, it is always very entertaining, with truthful yet sometimes cynical observations on relationships, but it's also an emotional journey, with complex, deeply flawed and fully fleshed characters. This 2011 performance is a wonderful performance in every way. It looks good and stays true to Sondheim's idea of concept musical, and while some of the staging is somewhat minimalist it is very compelling as well and does a great job at making the characters and their relationships interesting and relateable. Sondheim's score is as you'd expect from him a powerhouse, it is very difficult to pick out a favourite song as they're all so good though The Ladies Who Lunch and Another Hundred People are definite contenders. The orchestra play magnificently throughout, and the conducting keeps things together without anything noticeable going awry. It was difficult to fault the performances either. Neil Patrick Harris' Bobby is sensitive and very charismatic, his rendition of Being Alive is emotionally heart-breaking. Patti LuPone comes very close to stealing the show with The Ladies Who Lunch bringing the house down, while her voice isn't the most beautiful it is still thrillingly volcanic and her acting is right on the money. Anika Noni Rose characterises beautifully and her Another Hundred People is exhilarating. The haunting simplicity of Christina Hendricks' Barcelona comes through too, Martha Plimpton has a beautiful voice and is an even better dancer, Kate Finneran is very funny in Getting Married Today and Chryssie Whitehead does Tick Tock so nimbly and so well that you are tempted to join her. All in all, a wonderful performance that succeeds hugely in every department. 10/10 Bethany Cox

fubared1 Unfortunately this musical stills suffers from the fact that the 'book' by George Furth (and little has been changed) is still quite weak. Considering both Sondheim and Furth are gay, the men's parts are incredibly weak, and the situations are clichéd. The performances likewise are the best by the women with the men pretty much taking up space in the background. As to Harris, well, his acting is decent enough, but his voice is rather thin for the material...and he hits a few 'clinkers'. Where is Dean Jones when you need him? Sondheim writes difficult stuff for the average Broadway singer, and 99% of the classical singers can't act, so at best the result is unsatisfactory...like the film version of 'Sweeney Todd'. By the way I did play David myself a long time ago, and I disliked the show then (the book mainly). I've done many musicals, and this is the one I remember with the least affection. I've often thought it might be interesting to do a modern interpretation with all gay couples...and not so incredibly 'white'. The leading character is obviously a model for a '70's gay man.