Huge congrats to Playhouse in the Park’s three Tony nods for “Company” – Best Musical Revival, second nomination in a row for John Doyle for Best Direction of a Musical and (JUST GIVE HIM THE AWARD!) Raul Esparza as Bobby baby, the uber-ambivalent bachelor hero.
Now if only Broadway audiences could have caught on.
What I missed – one more nomination for Mary-Mitchell Campbell’s stunning orchestrations, which added so much texture to John Doyle’s vision.
On the eve of the nominations, Playhouse was the site of a swell-egant soiree honoring “Company” creator Stephen Sondheim.
Local director-about-town Ed Cohen noted that “It felt like an out-of-body experience” to be walking up the stairs to the plaza and seeing Sondheim at the top, greeting people individually, a duty he graciously performed for about 45 minutes. Cohen co-directed “Assassins” a few years back with wife Dee Anne Bryll. They’re “Parade” is wrpaping a run this weekend at Footlighters. Among Cohen’s gigs next season are a guest stint at Northern Kentucky University and opening the Madisonville Community Arts Center.
Pam Myers, Tony-nominated for the original production, sang four numbers and reminsced with Sondheim. Her medly included “Little Green Apples” – her audition number, then Sondheim: she sang the entire trio of “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” did the show-stopper “Another Hundred People” – which Myers debuted and which was almost cut from the show (which was running 30 minutes too long) – and ended with “Move On” from “Sunday in the Park with George.”
Jackie Demaline
