Original Cast Album: Company
Original Cast Album: Company | |
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Directed by | D. A. Pennebaker |
Starring | Elaine Stritch Dean Jones Stephen Sondheim Thomas Z. Shepard |
Music by | Stephen Sondheim |
Release date |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Original Cast Album: Company is a 1970 documentary film by D. A. Pennebaker, observing the marathon recording session to create the original cast album for the Stephen Sondheim musical Company.
Background
Pennebaker initially intended the project as a pilot for a television series dedicated to the
Release
As Company continued its successful run on Broadway, the film was screened at the
Synopsis
Filled with behind the scenes footage of the marathon recording process at the Columbia Records studio at East 30th Street and Third Avenue on the first Sunday in May, the film captures both the musical direction and insight of composer Sondheim. Several of Company songs appear in the film, including "Another Hundred People", "Getting Married Today", and "Being Alive"—all recorded with a live orchestra, done in multiple takes, over the course of a lengthy studio session.
Eventually, several hours past midnight, only "The Ladies Who Lunch" remains to be recorded. Elaine Stritch, Sondheim, and the orchestra are all clearly suffering the effects of the prolonged recording session. Stritch struggles repeatedly to record a satisfactory version of the song, even going so far as to slightly drop the key for a few takes. Her voice continues to degrade as her energy ebbs away. There is increasing tension between the struggling Stritch, producer Thomas Z. Shepard, and Sondheim.
Shortly before dawn, the decision is made to wrap. A final orchestral take is recorded, with a plan to have Stritch return to the studio to record her vocal separately.[3] The film cuts to a revitalized Stritch, in full hair and makeup (in preparation for a Wednesday matinee performance of the show), triumphantly singing "The Ladies Who Lunch".
Cast and songs
- Dean Jones – Robert: "Being Alive", "Barcelona"
- Elaine Stritch – Joanne: "Little Things You Do Together", "Ladies Who Lunch"
- Barbara Barrie – Sarah
- George Coe – David
- John Cunningham – Peter
- Teri Ralston – Jenny
- Charles Kimbrough – Harry
- Donna McKechnie – Kathy: "You Could Drive a Person Crazy"
- Charles Braswell – Larry
- Susan Browning – April: "You Could Drive a Person Crazy", "Barcelona"
- Steve Elmore – Paul
- Beth Howland – Amy: "Getting Married Today"
- Pamela Myers – Marta: "You Could Drive a Person Crazy", "Another Hundred People"
- Merle Louise – Susan
- with
- Stephen Sondheim – songwriter
- Thomas Z. Shepard – record producer
- Harold Hastings – musical director
- George Furth – playwright
- Harold Prince – director
Influence and legacy
The film earned a brief rave in The New York Times when slated for a theatrical screening at the IFC Center in October 2014.[4]
The film serves as the basis for the parody
Home media
First released on
The Criterion Collection released a special DVD and Blu-ray edition of the documentary on August 17, 2021.[16] A restored 4K transfer of the film, the release features newly-produced and archival special features including a new commentary with Sondheim,[17] along with the parody Original Cast Album: Co-Op.
References
- ^ a b "Tiny Hall Already Half Full of Guests, Blows Losers' Patience At N.Y. Fest". Variety. September 23, 1970. p. 4.
- ^ Original Cast Album: Company film by D.A. Pennebaker LaserDisc liner notes, Retrieved on January 29, 2011.
- ^ "Review: 'Company' (1970)" Archived January 29, 2013, at archive.today musicorld.com, July 19, 2004.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ^ Documentary Now's Emmy-Nominated Co-op Original Cast Album Out Now|Playbill
- ^ Nero, Dom (February 28, 2019). "The Sondheim-Spoofing Episode of Documentary Now! Turns Parody Into an Art Form". Esquire.
- ^ McHenry, Jackson (February 27, 2019). "How Documentary Now Made the Sondheim-Alike Musical Co-op for Its Company Episode". Vulture.
- ^ Hale, Mike (February 25, 2019). "John Mulaney and Seth Meyers Fondly Send Up Sondheim. He's Amused". The New York Times.
- ^ Heckman, Don (28 July 1992). "Sondheim's 'Company' Comes Calling--22 Years Later : Film: Today's release of the 1970 'Original Cast Album' captures on laser disc and video the performers' struggles". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Flahaven, Sean Patrick (Spring 2001). "Reviews: Pennebaker's "Company" Film Now on DVD". Sondheim Review. 7 (4): 32.
- ^ Daly, Steve (March 2, 2001). "'Company' woman". Entertainment Weekly. No. 585. p. 61.
- ^ "Original Cast Album: Company Documentary to Stream in June on Criterion Channel". www.theatermania.com. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ^ Romano, Aja (2020-06-12). "Recording the Company cast album was infamously hellish. This cult favorite doc captured it all". Vox. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ^ Brody, Richard (July 10, 2020). "The Unstrung Power of Elaine Stritch in "Original Cast Album: Company"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ^ "Original Cast Album: "Company"". The Criterion Channel. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ^ "Original Cast Album: "Company"". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
- ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (May 17, 2021). "Criterion's Original Cast Album: Company Documentary Release Includes New Feature Length Sondheim Commentary". Playbill. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
Further reading
- Berg, Gregory (2022). "Original Cast Album: Company (The Criterion Collection)". The Listener's Gallery. Journal of Singing. 78 (5): 668–669.
- Buchman, Andrew (2022). "Original Cast Album: Company, D. A. Pennebaker (Dir.) (1970)". Studies in Musical Theatre. 16 (1): 79–83. S2CID 250466936.
- Tyree, J. M. (2021). "You Could Drive a Person Crazy, Take 10: Original Cast Album: Company by D. A. Pennebaker". Reviews. Film International. 19 (4): 118–123. S2CID 250037420.