Television Makes Decent Company
Television Makes Decent CompanyDid you happen to tune in last evening to PBS' "Great Performances" program featuring John Doyle's recent Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Company?
This was the very production that earned last year's Tony for Best Revival of a Musical shortly before closing. I have to say that I enjoyed reliving the experience I had last year -- additionally, I was a bit surprised in re-reading my three-star SOB Review from almost exactly one year ago to see that I still completely agree with my initial assessment.
Watching the televised performance was an opportunity to see the show from all angles, including the back of the stage. While Doyle's production is good, it isn't quite great. It's rather uneven, and that's exemplified in the disparity between the unqualified thrill offered by Raúl Esparza's smoldering Bobby and the overly flat performance by Barbara Walsh as Joanne.
One plucky delight whom I had not previously mentioned is Angel Desai as Marta. Seeing her shine once again has me hoping this spitfire will be treading Broadway's boards sometime soon.
If you caught the performance on television, please let me know what you thought.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:
Getting Rid Of Unwanted Company (June 12, 2007)
Ratings Down, Box Office Up (June 12, 2007)
TONYS: SPRING HAS SPRUNG WHILE COAST REALIZES UTOPIA (June 11, 2007)
The Tonys: If I Could Vote (June 6, 2007)
In The Company Of Underperforming Shows (March 27, 2007)
Company (The SOB Review) (March 2, 2007)
Is It Just Me, Or...(Part II) (February 21, 2007)
Did Critics Find Doyle's Latest Revival In Good Company? (November 30, 2006)
Another Company Opens For Business Tonight On Broadway (November 29, 2006)
Apple Tree In Good Company Among SOB Readers (November 6, 2006)
Labels: Barbara Walsh, Broadway, Company, George Furth, Great Performances, John Doyle, Musical, PBS, Raul Esparza, Revival, Stephen Sondheim, Television
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Thursday, February 21, 2008
2 Comments:
My husband and I saw it and loved it. Somehow, we missed it on Broadway. I especially agree that Angel Desai was a bombshell.
Angel was one of my faves from the cast.
Did they bleep out some of the "swear" words? (Just wondering if it was a PBS thing or local network thing).
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