DARK COMPANY

“OH WHAT A NIGHT:” HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOBBY: SOME REFLECTIONS ON STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S “COMPANY”

I saw the original productions of “Company” in 1970 and found the revival to be darker than I ever would have imagined. I remember a much sunnier and lighter “Company,” in which, from my admittedly vague recall, despite a degree of cynicism that went with this exploration of marriage, generally offered a more humorous and lighter sense of wit. I found this production of “Company” to feel a bit sinister or even menacing. And my listening to both cast albums seems to me to bear this out.

What first came to mind was my memory of Elaine Stritch’s marvelous humor and wit in singing “The Ladies Who Lunch,” instead of what struck me as a desperate and angry rendition of this song by Barbara Walsh. I also thought back to Amy’s song “Getting Married Today,” which seemed hilarious in the original productions in its portrayal of a bride’s more “normal” jitters on her wedding day, whereas here this comes across as experience of deep fear about her future, a much darker and unsettling interpretation, as if she saw herself as falling into an abyss.

This version of “Company” seemed to me somewhat akin to a Dickensian journey, perhaps somewhat reminiscent of A Christmas Carol, as it is presented by means of a series of rather “nightmarish” vignettes, in which, like Scrooge witnessing the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, Bobby’s friends are the guides who show him the many aspects of marriage, but often the darker side: the endless sophisticated bickering, downing drink after drink, a great deal of one-upmanship, and break ups (though a great deal of conflicting feelings about the good things on marriage are also present).

Bobby is the essence of conflict. One the one hand, he seems to be very intrigued by marriage and to be almost studying the experiences of his friends; but he also seems scared and confused, behind his cool and aloof façade, about what he wants from life and from relationships.

The entire cast is dressed in effectively in black. The very minimalist set seems to permit greater focus on the couples and their trials and tribulations. The color black also seemed pervaded the stage, punctuated only by what look like Lucite cubes and some props.

I was struck how the opening (and title) song gave me the sense of (and perhaps this had something to do with watching everyone coming in dressed in black) watching a funereal procession. Even the repetition of Bobby’s name seemed to me to be sung with a somewhat eerie, spooky quality—as if a statement on the part of the couples, and the others who cross Bobby’s path on this journey, that they are about to show him the dark side of life.

Bobby seems very much the observer, who is looking to learn about the mysteries of life and of relationships. And the assortment of friends and their situations would seem to make anyone run from the idea of making a lifetime commitment.

However, though his friends certainly show Bobby many pitfalls and some of the uglier sides of married life, Bobby is also shown the flip side, the more positive side, of marriage, especially in the song “Sorry-Grateful.” And while his friends clearly show Bobby the darker sides of married life, they are also the same people who genuinely worry about him being alone, and cheer him on as he begins to open up to the possibility that he really does want to have a commitment relationship, evoked so well in the song “Poor Baby,” and at the end, just before Bobby sings “Being Alive.”

I would imagine that Bobby’s was in touch with feelings of loneliness, isolation and the futility of his many short term relationships, which contributed to his awakening feelings of wanting, perhaps even longing for, a little, for someone with whom he can share his life. It felt like Bobby begins to see the emptiness and perhaps even meaninglessness of his dating relationships, a few of which are played out in the show. For example, why play into mutual seduction as in his relationship with April, presumable for sex and perhaps a sense of, an illusion of, not being alone; but Bobby’s exclamation of ‘Oh, God,” when he has encouraged April to stay, tells us (and Bobby) that this is not the relationship that he is looking for. All of this would seem to lead, ultimately, to his gradual transformation.

“Company” also struck me as evoking a sense of the anonymity of life---except for April, the airline stewardess. I don’t believe one learns anything about the daily lives and occupations of the people here. We seem to know their inner emotions, as best as they can express them, but nothing more. No other musical comes quickly to mind with this phenomenon, which enhances the sense of loneliness and lack of connection.

The song “Another Hundred People” really underscored the difficulties of genuinely connecting with other people, and the emptiness of relationships in the big city. The greenish light along the back wall seemed very effective as a backdrop. This color evoked the kind of coloring and lighting of the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, rather cabaret style, with its message of the acute loneliness that so often pervade one’s life.

The scene that immediately follows depicts Amy going though a panic attack of great magnitude on the richer scale of panic attacks, with the amazing song “Getting Married Today”. Her falling to the floor as she expresses her sense of impending doom if she goes through with her wedding, seems to go to the core of her genuine, almost primal, fear, which appears way beyond the “normal jitters” that many brides experience on their wedding day. Though she does eventually get in touch with her excitement about getting married, most of this vignette involves the fear.

The end of the first act was a thrilling to me, with Bobby singing “Marry Me A Little,” which appears to be the beginnings of his awakening to the possibility of married life. “Marry Me a Little” comes right after Bobby’s witnessing of Amy’s nearly falling apart, but also her working through of her fears, and then becoming in touch with her excitement about marrying a wonderful man. And just before this was “Another Hundred People,” with its anguishing message of loneliness and emptiness of life.

When Amy still appears to have decided not to go through with her wedding, Bobby suddenly, and with perhaps a sense of a desperate impulsiveness (though it sounds as though, on some level, he really means it) asks Amy to marry him—and says something to the effect that “this way they (I assume he is referring to his friends) will leave both of us alone”. This leads very well into Bobby’s first act closing, “Marry Me A Little,” sharing, even if tentatively, a developing comfort with the idea of making a commitment.

Except for moments like this one, Bobby doesn’t seem to connect on a deep emotional level with his friends or with his girlfriends. He is almost always aloof and projects a sense of inability or unwillingness to generally connect with his life. However, true emotion breaks through several other times, especially in the magnificent songs “Someone Is Waiting,” “Marry Me A Little,” and of course, “Being Alive.” Each of these songs would seem to reflect stages of Bobby’s journey to opening up to the true meaning of marriage: company, and all that this implies.

“Company” was an extraordinary landmark musical in its time. The sense of moving in and out of time and space, the non-traditional, non-linear, non-narrative approach was quite new, and paved the way for “Follies” the following year and many other shows, including “A Chorus Line.” “Company” is presented as a series of very powerful vignettes, each with its own character and autonomy to a large extent, though Bobby moves in and out of these vignettes, which seem related because of his presence.

At times it seems difficult to pin point when and where events are taking place in time. For example, we learn at the beginning that the main event is Bobby’s “surprise” 35th birthday party, but the events seem to take place in a series of unconnected experiences, without a specific feeling of place and of time.

“Company” has a surreal quality about it. And the ending opens up a major question, which is when, or whether, this birthday party ever took place at all. Bobby’s friends all ask: What has happened to Bobby? Where has he been these past hours?—He apparently never arrived at this 35th birthday party. So they decide that he is not going to come, and go home. One doesn’t really know what took place on the day of his birthday, where he was, and when and where all the events of this show took place.

The next thing one sees is Bobby in the darkness, with a big smile on his face. He pretends to be blowing out invisible candles and the lights fade out as the show ends, with the sense of narrative unresolved. But this is part of the beauty and the mystery of “Company.”