Company | Raul Esparza

Company | Raul Esparza | Rich multi-layered performances win out

DVDs:

Company

	Company Raul Esparza IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT, 2008 average customer review:based on 27 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

"Winner of the 2007 Tony Award! Sweeping all the major theater awards for Best Revival of a Musical, a beloved era-defining classic is stunningly reinvented in this powerful Broadway production, featuring an explosive starring performance by Raul Esparza. Set in modern upper-crust Manhattan, Company is a funny, sophisticated exploration of love and commitment as seen through the eyes of a charming perpetual bachelor questioning his single state and his enthusiastically married, slightly envious friends. With a wise and witty Stephen Sondheim score including ""Another Hundred People,"" ""Side by Side by Side,"" ""The Ladies Who Lunch"" and ""Being Alive,"" Company offers musical comedy at its finest."

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COMPANY

The genius of Sondheim perfectly executed by the most extra-ordinary cast.
Raul Esparza is dynamite in this leading role. Superbly staged and directed. A must have for lovers of Musical Theatre.

Rich multi-layered performances win out

The expressions on Raul Esparza's face detail the rumblings beneath the surface that Stephen Sondheim finds fascinating.

This 2006 Tony-winning revival received a mixed response from audiences and critics alike. But then, COMPANY is a show that is always divisive. For starters, the show has no "plot" in a conventional sense. That bothers some viewers. It also uses songs to express attitudes rather than advance the story (again, what story?) But those subtle lingering looks, the unexpected responses, the sighs, the pauses...they communicate so much about these characters, and that is beautifully captured in this video.

No, it is not the COMPANY that was seen on Broadway in 1970. Given the advances it presaged, I expect that to see an archival reconstruction of the original might now look horribly dated. Jonathan Doyle has given the show a fresh perspective by having the company of actors double as musicians. It's a stunt he tried before with SWEENEY TODD to much acclaim. Unfortunately, coming after SWEENEY critics tended to be very blaze about the whole thing. Yeah, What else can you do?

But the concept actually works better with Company and is far less distracting. You do not miss the full orchestra as much here as with the more operatic SWEENEY. It makes the story more intimate and personal. The concept has a few drawbacks. Several times numbers end by segueing back into dialogue, frustrating an audience that wants to applaud but keeping the rhythm steady.

The rock steady performance of Raul Esparza anchors the entire show. It's performance that earned him high praise - and a Tony nomination - and years from now people will talk about. But unlike Dean Jones in the original they'll be able to do more than talk about it: they can see it thanks to this DVD.

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A "Company" to keep

Of all the versions of "Company", this one is the best all-around. The production concept is brilliant, the cast is excellent and Raul Esparza is the best Bobby of them all. So we don't have Elaine Stritch, but get the DVD of the recording session of the original 1970 prouction and you'll have it all. A keeper!

Almost works!

I have never seen this show performed live, but I wore out the original cast recording on vinyl and CD. I missed the full orchestrations, but having the cast play instruments was fun and worked well most of the time. I also thought Raul Esparza gave a very intriguing performance. My guess is it was a bit darker than Dean Jones or Larry Kert. Being Alive did not work for me - too screamy, as was Ladies Who Lunch. All in all, I prefer the performance of Company in my head, with Dean Jones and Elaine Stritch. I do think some of the dialogue is a bit stilted, but those songs - it doesn't get much better.

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Nothing Like Live Theatre