Company

Company (1970), a musical play by George Furth (book), Stephen Sondheim (music, lyrics). [Alvin Theatre, 706 perf.; Tony Award.] An essentially plotless concept musical, it centered on the young bachelor Robert (Dean Jones) and his married friends who, in their efforts to help him, reveal both the flaws and the joys in their marriages. In the end, Robert is not certain that either bachelorhood or marriage is an answer, but he cries out, “Somebody crowd me with love” and assist him to survive “Being Alive.” Notable songs: Another Hundred People; The Ladies Who Lunch; The Little Things You Do Together; Side by Side by Side; Someone Is Waiting. A brilliantly innovative musical, capped by Sondheim's witty, observant lyrics and producer‐director Hal Prince's fluid staging, as well as Michael Bennett's excellent dances and Elaine Stritch's show‐stopping delivery of “The Ladies Who Lunch,” it was characterized by Clive Barnes of the Times as “a very New York show,” filled with the sort of “masochistic fun” that especially delighted its generation of New Yorkers. A Roundabout Theatre revival in 1995 met with mixed notices.