Originally produced and directed on Broadway by Harold Prince
Directed by Jamie Lupien
Company follows five married, once-married, or soon-to-be-married couples - and their mutual friend, Bobby. Bobby seems to have everything: good looks, charm, and a great sense of humor. Yet he remains a bachelor. The joy and pain of relationships is presented in a series of vignettes, as Bobby realizes that no relationship is perfect.
Approximate running time: 2:20, including intermission.
Director's Notes
I have always loved the music of Company, so when I was asked to direct this piece it didn't take me long to accept. As I read the script, I discovered an even deeper love for the piece. Bobby's life closely resembled my life a year ago (although I am not yet 35...phew!) which allowed the journey to create magic with this wonderful score and libretto, to be exciting and rewarding.
I can totally relate to Bobby. I myself have journeyed as a single woman who was surrounded with mostly married friends from college until recently. I have been that constant single friend who got the constant questions and set ups. Who doesn't love the question...why aren't you married? What's the right answer...No one has asked? I'm too focused on my career? I don't have time for a boyfriend? People always ask these questions but what do they get out of it? I guess we want our friends to be happy and having someone to share your life is the ultimate happiness. Bobby's friends are convinced that Bobby will not be complete and happy until he is married...so his journey begins.
Company is a show that can be interpreted in so many ways. The ending has been performed in various ways: After Bobby relives all of these moments in his life with his married friends: 1.) He decides to stay alone 2.) We don't really know what he decides, but he's somehow happy, or 3.) In a recent revival he commits suicide. To me, Company is definitely a journey for Bobby to make a decision and to figure out what makes him happy and what happiness is for each person. I see it as personal positive growth (that defining moment we've all experienced), where his friends come alive in his mind and inspire him to be happy as he can be. So I hope you, as audience members, are entertained, inspired, and feel the joy that Bobby's journey takes on.
My journey as a director has been amazing. I was blessed with an amazing cast. I have never seen so much talent in one cast! I am so lucky; I have the most incredible people in my life. Not too many directors get to have their Best Friend as a Music Director, their Mom as producer, their Dad as the set designer and builder, their "Sister" as the choreorgrapher, and their amazing boyfriend as an assistant director - as well as having numerous friends in the cast. I am the lucky lady, who has experienced my own personal positive growth through the birth of Company.
