Stephen Sondheim

Company

About this Album

2007 Tony Award Winner: Best Revival of a Musical

"Mr. Doyle and his invaluable music supervisor and orchestrator, Mary-Mitchell Campbell, have shaped Company into a sort of oratorio for the church of the lonely.” —Ben Brantley, New York Times

Nonesuch and PS Classics will release the cast album from the current Broadway production of Company, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth, on February 13, 2007. Originally produced in 1970, the six-time Tony Award-winning Company examines the lives of a group of friends in New York City—five married couples, three single women, and one enigmatic, conflicted bachelor (Robert, played by Raúl Esparza)—as they celebrate his 35th birthday and deal with issues of romance, commitment, and friendship. The record was produced by PS Classics co-founder Tommy Krasker (Sondheim’s The Frogs, Saturday Night, Assassins, and Sweeney Todd, among others).

Company opened to critical praise in November 2006 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. New York magazine’s Jeremy McCarter says, “After Sweeney Todd, I will follow John Doyle anywhere.” He continues, “Inside Bobby’s head, the instruments reinforce how alienated he is from the people around him. His friends play oboes and violins and things, but he doesn’t, which is fitting for an outsider who ‘always looks like he’s keeping score’…But when he gets to unfurl for his big closing number…it’s like being in midtown when a blackout ends.”Rounding out the cast—which is composed of actor/musicians, who also act as the orchestra—are: Barbara Walsh (Joanne/orchestra bells, percussion), Keith Buterbaugh (Harry/trumpet, trombone), Matt Castle (Peter/piano, keyboards, double bass), Robert Cunningham (Paul/trumpet, drums), Angel Desai (Marta/keyboard, violin, alto sax), Kelly Jeanne Grant (Kathy/flute, alto sax), Kristin Huffman (Sarah/flute, alto sax, piccolo), Amy Justman (Susan/piano, keyboards, orchestra bells), Heather Laws(Amy/French horn, trumpet, flute), Leenya Rideout (Jenny/violin, guitar, double bass), Fred Rose (David/cello, alto sax, tenor sax), Bruce Sabath (Larry/clarinet, drums), and Elizabeth Stanley (April/oboe, tuba, alto sax). The new Broadway production of Company is produced by Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, Tom Viertel, Steven Baruch, Ambassador Theatre Group, Tulchin/Bartner Productions, Darren Bagert (co-producers of the award winning revival of Sweeney Todd), and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics for Bounce (2003), Saturday Night (1997), Passion (1994), Assassins (1991), Into the Woods (1987), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sweeney Todd (1979), Pacific Overtures (1976), The Frogs (1974), A Little Night Music (1973), Follies (1971, revised in London 1987), Company (1970), Anyone Can Whistle (1964), and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Forum (1962), as well as lyrics for West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959), Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965), and additional lyrics for Candide (1973). Side by Side by Sondheim (1976), Marry Me a Little (1981), You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow (1983), and Putting It Together (1992) are anthologies of his work as composer and lyricist. Sondheim’s previous Nonesuch recordings include Into the Woods (2002), The Frogs/Evening Primrose (2001), Saturday Night (2000), Bounce (2004), and Sweeney Todd (2006).

George Furth (book) graduated from Northwestern University’s School of Speech and did graduate work at Columbia University. After appearing in dozens of films and countless television shows as an actor, he went on to write (the play or book) for Company, Twigs, The Act, The Supporting Cast, Merrily We Roll Along, Precious Sons, and Getting Away with Murder (with Stephen Sondheim). He is currently in workshop with a new musical revue, The End. Furth has won Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, London’s Olivier and Evening Standard, Chicago’s Jefferson, the Andy, and Drama League Awards. He is a member of the Actors Studio and the Dramatists Guild.