The forthcoming, gender-bending revival of Stephen Sondheim’s game-changing musical Company, set to star Tony winner Katrina Lenk (The Band’s Visit), has announced additional casting. The production directed by Marianne Elliott comes to Broadway via London and will also feature Patti LuPone in the role of Joanne which she played in the West End.
Joining Lenk and LuPone in this eagerly anticipated revival are Matt Doyle (A Clockwork Orange) as Jamie, Jennifer Simard (Disaster!) as Sarah, Christopher Sieber (The Prom) as Harry, Christopher Fitzgerald (Waitress) as David, Etai Benson (The Band’s Visit) as Paul, Nikki Renée Daniels (Porgy & Bess) as Jenny, and Greg Hildreth (Frozen) as Peter. Also in the cast will be Kyle Dean Massey (Next to Normal) as Theo, Terrence Archie (Kiss Me, Kate) as Larry, Claybourne Elder (Torch Song) as Andy and Bobby Conte Thornton (A Bronx Tale) as PJ.
Liam Steel will choreograph the production which begin previews at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on March 2, 2020 and officially opens on March 22. The Broadway opening of Company will also coincide with Stephen Sondheim’s 90th Birthday. The creative team will also include Joel Fram (musical supervision), Bunny Christie (set and costume design), Neil Austin (lighting design), Ian Dickinson (sound design), and David Cullen (orchestrations).
Company first arrived on Broadway in 1970 with a book by George Furth and a score by Stephen Sondheim. Under the direction of Harold Prince, the musical was heralded as a breathtaking evolution in the musical theatre form, a musical that defied the conventions of linear plot and explored a theme: marriage (and the fear of commitment that comes with it). Among the now time-honored songs that were introduced in the production include “Another Hundred People,” “Getting Married Today,” “Being Alive,” “The Ladies Who Lunch”, and the title song. The story follows the character of Bobby, a bachelor who navigates the many marriages of his good friends, wondering at his own inability to commit. In this production, “Bobby” has become “Bobbie”, altered to provide a female perspective of the same scenario.
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals, The Disney Song Encyclopedia, and The Encyclopedia of Television Theme Songs. His forthcoming book, Sitcommentary: The Television Comedies That Changed America, will hit the shelves in October, 2019. He maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.