Sondheim's "Company' in HD-live

Could Stephen Sondheim possibly have conceived of Company, in 1970, for large screens with intimate close-ups? That's not too preposterous a proposition for a highly creative composer. Sondheim already had composed a TV musical, Evening Primrose, in 1966.

In any event, Company's most recent incarnation, in high-definition video on big movie screens, is the best presentation of the many I've seen through the years. The orchestra (the New York Philharmonic) and singers are exemplary, but most of the added impact comes because we're shown the faces of the central players, and the essence of this play lurks inside the leading character's head.

Company started as a series of short, intimate scenes, written by Sondheim's friend George Furth, intended to be a one-woman play starring Kim Stanley. Sondheim, Furth and Harold Prince developed the piece into a musical about a series of couples, each of whom confided in an outsider. Then the creators thought, "What if the outsider is the same outsider with all the couples?"

When Company reached the stage, the plot revolved around that outsider: Robert, a single man unable to commit to a steady relationship. Robert was surrounded by the five married couples who are his best friends, and by three of his girlfriends. This was the first so-called "concept" show, and it led to similar approaches in A Chorus Line and other musicals.

Hold the plot

Company pioneered the idea of forgoing a narrative plot in favor of vignettes, in no particular chronological order, linked to a surprise party for Bobby's 35th birthday. Disconnected scenes, each featuring one of the couples with Robert, shift back and forth in time and place. The original production showed balconies with views of surrounding apartment buildings, and the performers moved among individual apartments on different levels of the stage.

Because the current HD production is a recording of live performances (this past April) in which the New York Philharmonic filled most of the stage, sets were reduced to nothing more than chairs and a bed, and scene changes were accomplished mainly with lighting. This approach accomplishes what might have been Sondheim's original— and correct— idea: The action takes place in Bobby's mind.

Even Bobby's birthday party itself may be imaginary. As the newly staged finale suggests, Bobby doesn't show up for the planned event. His thoughts swirl around the marriages he has observed, filling him with fear and confusion. The best way of capturing his feelings is through close-up shots of his face.

Critic's complaint

When Company opened, the New York Times critic Clive Barnes justly complained that the characters were "trivial, shallow, worthless and horrid." Another flaw was Bobby's lack of substance. The script never tells us what he does for a living, nor his interests (he never talks about sports or music or art or politics), nor how he became friends with each of the couples.

Other cast members sing about concerts they enjoy together, and Joanne sings about attending "a Pinter play, perhaps a piece of Mahler's"; but Bobby doesn't. What has he attended? What does he think and do? He is an empty vessel. (Sondheim, Furth and Prince chose to allow each viewer to project his own feelings into the role of the unattached man.)

All the other characters talk about Robert's charm, intelligence and good looks, and previous interpreters in the role tried to project that. Harris, by contrast, allows himself to be seen by us (if not by his friends) as fragile and empty. You might have a hard time observing that from a seat in a legit theater, but we can see it clearly on a 20-foot-wide screen.

You'll be pleasantly surprised how much physical movement took place on the front portion of the Philharmonic's stage. Lonny Price did a superb job of directing the interaction among the characters. Again, the ability to see a raised eyebrow or a wink helps immensely.

An insecure Bobby

Most of the casting is extraordinary. Neil Patrick Harris makes an endearing Bobby. Although Raul Esparza, in the 2007 Broadway revival, had the richer voice, he didn't approach the introspection and insecurity that Harris projects here.

The TV comedian Stephen Colbert does an impressive job of acting, dancing and karate; the acerbic Patti LuPone complains lustily about "the ladies who lunch"; and the veteran song-and-dance man Jim Walton portrays her sympathetic aging husband.

Katie Finneran is the most distraught bride-to-be I've ever seen as she sings, "I'm Not Getting Married Today," and Chryssie Whitehead adds graceful dancing to the role of the girl who rejects Bobby so she can move back to New England and get married.

Other standouts include Craig Bierko as Peter, Jon Cryer as David and Anika Noni Rose as Marta (who sings "Another Hundred People"). Paul Gemignani conducted a 35-piece orchestra, which used the original orchestrations from the first Broadway production.

Sondheim and his collaborators did conceive of Company as an examination of the feelings of a single man at midlife, as they themselves were. And they intended the play to be non-linear and non-literal. The record shows that they thought about ways to use TV to present their work. Although they couldn't foretell high-def on huge screens, this sort of presentation is essentially what they imagined.