And then came the final Saturday matinee of
Company. Yes, this production has had it's admirers and detractors, and I understand the kudos and criticisms, and I'd have to count myself in among the admirers.
Raul Esparza was simply awesome! A truly amazing, one-of-a-kind performance. His acting was truly phenomenal, and his singing was beautiful when called for and raw when called for - and he sounded a lot better than he did on The Tonys and even the OCR of this revival. The sweetness in his voice during "Someone is Waiting" was particularly affecting.
The device/conceit/gimmick of the actors playing instruments bothered me slightly early on, but it grew on me. And since the ensemble for this show is sizable - at least in comparison to last season's
Sweeney Todd - there were more players, thus more instruments to fill out the orchestral sound. I particularly enjoyed the piano and bass work of Matt Castle - who has had a career of composer, conductor and musician before this acting turn.
The show did start almost 20 minutes late due to the TV cameras being set up. Lonny Price, who happened to be the director for the TV version of this John Doyle production, came out before the show, and introduced the cameras and camera-men, as well as reminding people to turn off your cell-phones and beepers - "You don't want to be reminded when you watch the DVD that you forgot to turn off your cell phone."
But once the lights went down... WOW! And the audience was with the actors on stage from moment one. There was a great energy in the house. Truly one of my top theatrical experiences.
