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| COMPANY Community Production | |
| Posted by: MarkP 08:09 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| I'm Musical Directing a community/regional production of "Company" in late February and we're starting rehearsals soon with a dream cast and strong orchestra. For those of you that have done the show, any insight, advice, warnings etc. that you'd care to share? I'm really excited for the first rehearsal Thanks in advance, Mark |
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| re: COMPANY Community Production | |
| Last Edit: libbymaebrown 04:46 pm EST 12/20/17 | |
| Posted by: libbymaebrown 04:46 pm EST 12/20/17 | |
| In reply to: COMPANY Community Production - MarkP 08:09 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| Not that you asked, but here's "Getting Married Today" from our production; we did it as staged concert version, which is why the orchestra/set are the way they are. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=24&v=Ij_7e2eQsC8 |
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| re: COMPANY Community Production | |
| Posted by: libbymaebrown 01:24 pm EST 12/20/17 | |
| In reply to: COMPANY Community Production - MarkP 08:09 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| I was just in a production of COMPANY (playing Peter); I had forgotten that some of the book scenes are quite long and will need a good director to keep them clipping along, otherwise a few of them stop the proceedings cold. We cut the dialogue at the beginning (the phone messages) and started right with the ladies' ethereal "Bobby"s thereby giving Bobby the first real line, which somehow felt right to me. We also cut some the lines at the end of that first scene going into Harry/Sarah's scene. The party scene(s) seem right out of a Bunuel movie, with each occurring almost identically but with little changes. I almost wish we'd cut those down too, because it's a whole lot of lines where nobody is really saying anything, or simply saying the same thing over and over again slightly differently. We reinstated the Peter/Bobby scene with Peter coming onto Bobby, which more or less worked; Peter and Susan get sort of short shrift compared to the other couples, so this helped fill in some gaps in their story. Glad to hear you have a good orchestra! As many have noted in the past, the strings/brass/flute/triangle parts in "Another Hundred People" give me goosebumps every time! Enjoy! That opening number is a thrill to sing. And each time we got to "Side...by side...by side...by side by side by side by side by side by side by side etc." adding one more couple to the trench choreography each time was just about the most glorious feeling I've ever had on stage! |
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| re: COMPANY Community Production | |
| Posted by: garyd 09:37 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: COMPANY Community Production - MarkP 08:09 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| Trust the script and respect the intricacy of the music. Don't get hung up that it is set in the 70's. The story is about the difficulty and innate desire to connect. | |
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| re: COMPANY Community Production | |
| Posted by: SRMHAYES 04:04 am EST 12/19/17 | |
| In reply to: re: COMPANY Community Production - garyd 09:37 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| Don't try to update anything. It is set in 1970. Leave it there. It was a VERY specific moment in the social history of this country. Respect that. (By the way, I was 11 at the time!) | |
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| re: COMPANY Community Production | |
| Posted by: garyd 12:17 pm EST 12/19/17 | |
| In reply to: re: COMPANY Community Production - SRMHAYES 04:04 am EST 12/19/17 | |
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| Well,yes, that is what I said. Maybe you were not responding to me. | |
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| re: COMPANY Community Production | |
| Posted by: knud17 09:15 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: COMPANY Community Production - MarkP 08:09 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| Agree with the post below. I directed it last year. Almost everybody coming into rehearsals new the recordings. The opening number was still a killer to learn. I think it's actually easier to sing everything that comes to your ear on the recording than it is to just hit one person's part. Aaron |
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| Keep it set in the 70s. Don't update it. Or I will hunt you down. (NM) | |
| Posted by: Seth Christenfeld (tabula-rasa@verizon.net) 08:26 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: COMPANY Community Production - MarkP 08:09 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| Seth, only half-kidding | |
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| re: Keep it set in the 70s. Don't update it. Or I will hunt you down. (NM) | |
| Posted by: SRMHAYES 04:06 am EST 12/19/17 | |
| In reply to: Keep it set in the 70s. Don't update it. Or I will hunt you down. (NM) - Seth Christenfeld 08:26 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| Bravo! If necessary, I'll help. ;-) | |
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| re: COMPANY Community Production | |
| Posted by: Charlie_Baker 08:22 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
| In reply to: COMPANY Community Production - MarkP 08:09 pm EST 12/18/17 | |
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| The group numbers are challenging, even for a gifted ensemble who might be familiar with the score. Working and drilling for precision is key. They've got to be crisp musically and lyrically. It's a rewarding show to do, all the best with it to you and the cast and creative team. | |
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