For those of you who know me best, you are aware of my passion for Broadway shows. I think I've been to New York City 5 or 6 times now and have seen 15 Broadway shows (6 plays and 9 musicals). As much as I love movies, there really is nothing like sitting in a theater near Times Square and seeing some of the greatest actors in the world performing some of the greatest plays and musicals of all time.
Though all of the shows I've seen are memorable for one reason or another, one of my favorite musicals I saw was "Company", starring Raul Esparza as Bobby. My brother, sister and I took in this show a couple Christmas's ago and it has stuck with me ever since. While it has since ended it's run on the Great White Way, PBS recorded this show as part of its "Great Performances" series, and aired this past Wednesday. Keep an eye out in your local TV listings to see when it airs again (b/c you know it will) and make sure you see it at least once.
"Company" is not your average musical. Though the songs are by Sondheim, they don't quite flow seamlessly in and out of the story - instead, they are little vignettes which show Bobby's interactions with his various girlfriends and five couples, who he calls the "good and crazy people, my married friends".
Bobby is a 35 year old bachelor who over the course of the show discovers his real feelings about commitment, marriage and the difference between being alone and being alive. The songs are catchy, the cast is amazing (all play instruments throughout the show, as there is no pit orchestra) and the story really grabs you and makes you think about personal growth and the company you keep.
Though seeing "Company" on TV is not quite as awesome as seeing it live, the recorded production was still intensely powerful. With the ability to have close-ups of the actors and various angles throughout the show, you really get to know the characters and see the minute details you can't see from the back row in a theater - intimate body language between the characters, such as a subtle lift of the eyelid or a panic widening of the eyes.
Sometimes some of the camera movements are a little cheesy (as in the finale "Being Alive" - if you watch the PBS version, there are some over the top close ups of shoes and some crazy pushes into and out from Raul Esparza near the end of the song), but on a whole, I was very impressed.
Another Broadway show coming to TV very, very soon (like, this monday night [February 25, 2008] at 8 PM on ABC) , is A Raisin in the Sun, starring much of the recent Broadway cast including Sean Combs, Audra McDonald and Phylicia Rashad. I read the play in school and am looking forward to seeing this made-for-TV version of the play. Instead of actually filming the stage play, they turned it into a teleplay so there are real locations and sets instead of just being on a stage.
What a great month for theater on television!!
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