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A Reason for Revival: a look at Marianne Elliott’s revival of Company

In the contemporary musical theatre world, revivals are becoming more and more popular. With the marquis looking like a blast from the past, I’m forced to think about the purpose of these revivals. What’s the point of looking backward when looking for inspiration for the future? I think that these revivals fall into a few categories: “Huh…that show made money…let’s do it again!” “That play closed too quickly…let’s do it again!” Either way, the result is an artistically empty show that does nothing for the musical theatre canon. There are some exceptions of course: I’ve written twice already about how Michael Arden has blown my socks off with some of his revivals. But I’m not here to talk about a cis white man this time. LET’S TALK ABOUT A WOMAN.

Marianne Elliott is a boss. She has several world shattering productions under her belt. She directed War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the National Theater which then transferred to the West End and on to Broadway. Together the productions earned a cumulative 14 Olivier nominations and 12 Tony nominations. Elliott also solidified her name as a creator of powerful revivals with her production of Angels in America which started at the National Theater and transferred to broadway earning a record-breaking 11 Tony Award nominations. However, her work at the National is not why I’m beyond gagged. Elliott is also the Artistic Director of her own theatre company: Elliott & Harper Productions. It is with this company that Elliot created the masterpiece with which I will always associate her. Elliot & Harper Productions is responsible for the groundbreaking revival of Sondheim and Furth’s Company that has its eyes on Broadway from the West End. Company, considered to be Sondheim’s first distinctively mature work, made a big splash on Broadway in 1970. It won six Tony Awards and brought such heartbreaking tunes like “Being Alive” and “Ladies Who Lunch” to the musical theatre canon. Iconic songs like these are what initially attracted Elliot’s attention. She had wanted to direct the show for years before finally creating the opportunity for herself. “I was looking for good parts for women,” says Elliott.  “Not romantic ingénues, but roles for older women, because there are so many stories out there that I don’t think are being portrayed onstage.” If you can’t find a role…why not just make one! It was this frustration that led to one of the most shocking casting choices of contemporary revivals. Elliott’s Company was going to star a female Bobby…or should I say Bobbie. Not gonna lie, I was gagged when I first heard about it. Bobby is such an iconic character from such an iconic musical. He had been portrayed by such superstars as Raul Esparza, Dean Jones, and Neil Patrick Harris. What was going to happen to the rich baritone that has become inseparable from songs like “Marry Me a Little?” I was overcome with questions about lines and lyrics that wouldn’t make sense. As a friend of mine and contemporary once said “Genderbending isn’t a concept!”

Goodness gracious. I was blown away. It was truly an adaptation of a classic. I couldn’t imagine a world in which the main character was ever played by a man! Elliott enlisted the help of creator Stephen Sondheim to change the lyrics to contemporize them and help them fit this new world in which the show is led by a woman, and it was spectacularly seamless. Not only did the new production work…in my opinion it worked even better! In this series, I will dissect different parts of the Company revival to try to highlight the many ways in which the revival was monumentally successful.

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