Stephen Sondheim's 1970 musical Company didn't take place in an office nor was it about the struggles of a theater company. The "company" Sondheim was referring to was the kind we keep—a romantic partner and relationships. One of the first musicals to deal openly with the quirks of dating, marriage and divorce, Company didn't have a traditional plot. Instead, the musical featured a series of vignettes that one unmarried character—Robert—experiences.
The musical opened at the Shubert in Boston on March 24, 1970, before premiering at the Alvin on Broadway in April. The original production closed January 2, 1972 and was revived five times with two North American tours. The big songs included Side by Side, Little Things You Do Together and Ladies Who Lunch.
Company's original production marked the first collaboration between director Harold Prince and Sondheim. The musical was nominated for a record-setting 14 Tonys, winning six. It was celebrated at a time when Broadway began to hit the skids. Many families unable to afford the city's private schools left New York for the suburbs and smaller public-school classrooms, and color TV sets had become more affordable, so more people were opting to stay home and watch movies and sports.
To illustrate Broadway's sagging fortunes, in 1950 and '51, 94 productions opened. In 1969 and '70, the curtain went up on only 59, with 15 of them revivals. To make matters worse, there were just 36 theaters left, and the theater district had begun to grow seedier and more dangerous with the onset of drug dealing, runaways and prostitution.
Fortunately for us and for the theater world in general, documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker was brought in to film the recording of Company's original cast album at Columbia's 30th Street Studio. Penney was there to film the recording for a TV series conceived to showcase the making of cast albums.
Like Penney's Audition at RCA in 1964, this film gives us terrific access to the decisions made in the control booth. We see the album producer Thomas Z. Shephard, musical director Harold Hastings, director Harold Prince and Sondheim as well as the singers and the orchestra.
We also see actress Elaine Stritch in action, who was worn down in the early hours of a Sunday morning. Best of all, you are watching actors and actresses of the highest order in 1970. In this regard, the film is a precious time capsule from 53 years ago.
The takeaway for me is how hard these artists worked to deliver a powerful performance so that someone in Peoria would listen to it and want to fly to New York to see the show. The takes with Elaine Stritch on Ladies Who Lunch will bring tears to your eyes as she seems to give the song everything she's got on take No. 3.
But by take No. 8, the producer and Sondheim still aren't happy with her talk-sing approach. Stritch soldiers on, even though her notes start to go flat at around 4 a.m. By take No. 9 or 10, she's clearly done. [Photo above of Elaine Stritch, courtesy of D.A. Pennebaker/Criterion]
Ultimately, the orchestra recorded an instrumental track, with Stritch returning to tape her vocal flawlessly two days later. Her vocal track was added to the orchestral track. A standing ovation for Penney, who always knew where to find the drama and didn't let his camera chicken out.
A special thanks to director Raymond De Felitta, who discovered Penney's superb documentary up online. Here's Original Cast Album: Company (1970)...
