As those of you who hang out in our VERY NICE community chat may know, I was at the closing night of COMPANY on Saturday.
I first saw the show the month it opened, and was planning to write something for the sub immediately afterwards as I did for Follies @ The National, but unlike that experience which left me with lots of thoughts about what did and didn't work, I found it unusually difficult to put my experience of Company into words.
Basically, I think it's probably the best live theatre I've ever seen. The production was a triumph in every possible sense. I saw it six times.
I was incredibly skeptical of the production to the point that I'd actively declined offers from friends to book in advance despite living in London. I've never quite understood the hype for Patti LuPone—especially after seeing her as Mrs Lovett which I think is pretty poor casting. I was concerned that the gender-switching concept was going to be gimmicky; I was miffed about the fact that a TV presenter from the Great British Bake-Off was cast; and, most of all, I was very selfishly worried that a show which I resonate with more deeply than I'd like would somehow feel more distant from my own experience through the prism of a female lead.
Fortunately, I was utterly and unambiguously wrong about all of those concerns, and I couldn't be happier. Here're some assorted and not-at-all-organised points:
- Patti was just phenomenal. The cast album (which I like) doesn't do justice to where she ended up with the role vocally, and her Ladies Who Lunch evolved over the run into something far grittier, messier, and more desperate than it began. On the last night in particular, she and the orchestra held that final RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE for what felt like a minute and it was outlandish. The whole house was on their feet for one of three standing ovations during the show.
- Mel from Bake Off. Who knew? She was great. Her and Gavin Spokes (who was fucking excellent; his Sorry-Grateful was just beautiful to witness) had such excellent chemistry.
- It was great to see the show evolve as it went on; choices became bolder, characters better defined, and it was clear that they were having a lot of fun with the comedy in particular. It's a shame the cast album wasn't done after the run to capture that energy, but what are you gonna d
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He had to re-hearse.
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