1970: Company at the Alvin Theatre

"Company" is a contemporary living room musical comedy set in Manhattan. Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics to one of his most popular, and often produced shows. Most of the action takes place at the 35th birthday party given for a bachelor named Bobby. The primary guests are five couples who just happen to be married, for better or for worse. The show offers, in no particular order, a series of short stories about each separate couple in the context of their own relationships and their friendships with Bobby. Each relationship is presented musically and explores themes of love and romance, responsibility and commitment, and loyalty and betrayal. Bobby becomes introspective as he explores those same themes in his own romantic relationships. Seeing the institution of marriage as illustrated by his friends' less than perfect relationships, Bobby ultimately concedes that, despite its apparent challenges, a permanent relationship is what he truly wants: someone to share life with and someone to experience being alive with.

"Company" first played Broadway in 1970 at the Alvin Theatre and lasted for nearly two years. Sondheim won two Tonys, one for Best Original Score, and another for his lyrics. The inventive story garnered George Furth the Tony for Best Book of a Musical. Hal Prince won for Best Director, and the overall production was voted Best Musical.

Key members of the original cast included Barbara Barrie, Beth Howland, Dean Jones (as Bobby) and Elaine Stritch (right), and Donna McKechnie. Stritch's rendition of "The Ladies Who Lunch" was a textbook tour de force, propelling her to Broadway legend status.

In 1993, several memorable numbers from "Company" were performed during a two night celebration of the works of Stephen Sondheim at Carnegie Hall. An unlikely standout performance that evening was delivered by one of Barbra Streisand's most memorable film co-stars. Madeline Kahn's rendition of "Getting Married Today" stole the show.

Not counting the special Carnegie Hall performances, "Company" has been revived twice on Broadway. In the 1995 revival, Boyd Gaines played Bobby. Debra Monk portrayed Joanne and had the inestimable task of belting out Elaine Stritch's signature number, "The Ladies Who Lunch. The night we were there,, Monk's rendition was a show stopper.

The most recent revival of "Company" was in 2007. Raśl Esparza was cast in the role of Bobby. Under the direction of John Doyle, this production was quite innovative. The cast members accompanied each other while playing their own musical instruments, a staging device Doyle also used in the 2005 revival of Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd" with Patti LuPone.

The 2007 revival of "Company" was recently shown on PBS stations around the country and a DVD of the show has since been released.

I'll drink to that . . .

Barbra first embraced the music from "Company" by recording two of the show's best known numbers on "The Broadway Album." She performed "The Ladies Who Lunch" together with another Sondheim classic, "Pretty Women" (from "Sweeney Todd").

The show's anthem, "Being Alive" became Barbra's own tour de force. Her rendition was so dynamic and compelling that she included it in several of her subsequent live performances. Each time she sang "Being Alive" during her "Timeless" concerts (right), whether in Vegas, LA, New York or down-under in Australia, fans jumped to their feet in thunderous ovation.

"The test of a great song, in my opinion, is not whether it went to number one, but did it touch people's lives and did it stand the test of time" - Barbra Streisand on Sondheim's "Being Alive"
 

Elaine Stritch at Liberty

In a quick game of Six Degrees. there are three additional Barbra connections to "Company" that might be of interest. First, Raśl Esparza  was on the bill with Barbra at the Barack Obama fundraiser in Hollywood earlier this year. Esparza starred in the 2007 revival of "Company."

Second, the 1995 Broadway revival of "Company" was performed on the Criterion Stage at the Roundabout Theatre. This was the same stage where Barbra participated in the benefit reading of "The Normal Heart" two years earlier, in 1993.

And finally, there's Elaine Stritch and her original rendition of "The Ladies Who Lunch." Her version of this Sondheim classic has achieved iconic status within the realm of American musical theatre. Not only is Stritch's "The Ladies Who Lunch" considered a legendary Broadway performance, but it is also her theatrical signature.

So it was no surprise that the promotion for her 2003 one-woman show, "Elaine Stritch at Liberty" compared her to none other than Barbra Streisand.