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The forged of the brand new Broadway revival of “Company” was in the midst of a two-show Friday on Thanksgiving weekend after they heard the information that the musical’s legendary composer, Stephen Sondheim, had died at the age of 91.
Hearken to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast beneath:
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As a result of the “Firm” ensemble had labored with and gotten to know Sondheim — he had been on the manufacturing’s first preview just some days earlier than — the present’s Tony-winning director, Marianne Elliott (“Battle Horse,” “Angels in America”), needed to verify she was the one to inform them the information. “I had bought the knowledge that morning … and I stated, ‘Is it okay if I inform the forged, in order that they don’t hear it on social media?’” Elliott recalled on the brand new episode of Stagecraft, Selection‘s theater podcast.
It was organized, Elliott stated, that she would inform the “Firm” forged whereas director John Doyle would inform the forged of one other present Sondheim revival, “Assassins,” earlier than the information went huge. “Firm” forged member Matt Doyle appeared alongside Elliott on Stagecraft to talk about his personal reminiscences of the day.
“Our curtain went down they usually stated, ‘We’d like you all to remain on stage,’” he defined. “And Marianne and Chris [Harper, Elliott’s producing partner] got here out and really kindly instructed us earlier than we went as much as our dressing rooms and noticed the information break. And several other forged members, like myself, simply collapsed to their knees. It was crushing.”
Sondheim’s dying got here after an already lengthy and troublesome highway for “Firm,” which had performed 9 previews in March 2020 earlier than the pandemic darkened all of Broadway. “We’d been via a lot with this present and this journey, and [Sondheim’s death] was a blow that I don’t suppose quite a lot of us anticipated,” Doyle stated. “Steve appeared invincible.”
Additionally on the brand new episode of Stagecraft, Elliott unpacked the pondering behind her gender-flipped revival. After the concept was first instructed to her by Harper, she started to know that making the present’s commitment-averse protagonist Bobby into a lady would give the story modern relevance. “I do know so many ladies who’re of their mid-30s who’re beginning to hear the ticking of the clock,” Elliott stated. “Quite a lot of girls of their mid-30s are hitting disaster factors pondering, ‘I must calm down. Who’s it with? Ought to l calm down? Ought to I’ve kids?’”
Doyle, in the meantime, performs a homosexual man named Jamie (known as Amy within the unique) who sings the well-known tune “Getting Married At the moment” earlier than his impending, same-sex nuptials. “One thing that’s occurred since marriage has been legalized within the States for homosexual {couples} is the actually huge query of: Nicely, simply because we are able to, ought to we?” he stated. “How does this work for us? How does this outline us? How will we fall into this heteronormalcy that has now been given to us — this excellent proper that we fought for? Does this really apply to us? These anxieties getting tied into ‘Getting Married At the moment’ is a complete new layer that I used to be actually excited to discover.”
Doyle additionally mentioned the technical problem of nailing the famously troublesome, rapid-fire patter of the tune, recounting a narrative concerning the time his father requested him if he’d thought a lot about his huge showstopper throughout lockdown. “I used to be like, ‘I’ve had an anxiousness nightmare for the previous two years of this pandemic!’” Doyle stated with amusing. “He was like, ‘Whoa, okay, I’m sorry I requested.’”
To listen to the complete dialog, pay attention on the hyperlink above or obtain and subscribe to “Stagecraft” on podcast platforms together with Apple Podcasts, Spotify and the Broadway Podcast Network. New episodes of “Stagecraft” are launched each different week.
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