Company, Part Two

[ericadawn16]

So, when my mom and I watched the performance from Company at the Tonys last Sunday, she noticed that all the couples were heterosexual which we agreed was disappointing.

My Mom: They could have made a definite statement there.

I also noticed that they were all very white. Now, the actual musical has a little more color, emphasis on little...two people?

However, we also have women in headbands and bouncy, Bump-Its Miss Yvonne hair and there's no mention of email, computers or cellphones which begs the question...

When does Company take place?

Does anyone know?

Comments

[lionessvalenti.livejournal.com]

The original production of Company opened in 1970, and I believe that all subsequent productions do take place in that same general time period. And considering it's about upper class Manhattanites in the late 60's/early 70's, yeah, it's going to be mainly about heterosexual white people.

[tlen2.livejournal.com]

I don't know when it takes place but the premiere was 1970, so I'd say it's this year or previous. So no wonder you don't have a same-sex-couple although I think a modern version could have made some adaptions.

[aquaseamage.livejournal.com]

There have been several productions of Company. It first opened on Broadway on April 26, 1970 so it may be set in the very late 1960s or the early 1970s. The headbands go with that, too.

There is an article about the history of the show on Wiki.

[lieueitak.livejournal.com]

Maybe we're talking about a different performance, but from the Tony performance I've seen online, Anika Noni Rose, who is not white, participated in that performance. (Not that that makes it okay, just saying they weren't all white) Also, while it would be interesting to see a modern adaptation featuring something other than straight white people, I don't think the intention of this production was to do something new or updated; it was all about the nostalgia.

[infinitejoys.livejournal.com]

The writers wrote it as a "present day" show, which for them meant 1970. There have been updated stagings, but most productions tend to settle for the vaguely 70s feel.

Something you have to keep in mind is that if the production staff wanted to make significant alterations to the show (like changing a character's gender), they would have to get permission from the licensing company; otherwise their performance rights could be revoked.

About ten or so years ago, there was a production that changed Marta into Marty. But the director had to go to Sondheim directly for approval, and Sondheim only allowed it because he was familiar with the director's work and because it was a minor production, and he doesn't plan to do it again. I wonder what he would think about changing one of the other couples, though (if Sondheim is trying to avoid making explicit references to Bobby potentially being gay, it would probably have to be Jenny, since in "Someone is Waiting" Bobby mentions Susan, Amy, and Sarah).

(got my dates wrong; edited to fix the date of the "Marty" production from five to ten years ago)

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

Marty sounds very interesting since he doesn't seem to take a romantic interest in her and I got the feeling as though she was written so it was played by a white girl before...I could be wrong, it's just the way she seemed to be written and the line about Bobby not having friends who weren't like him...which I guess is another reason why they were all white.