Last night I was talking with a friend who just got back from London, where he saw the Company production. I said to him that I thought it would make sense to do Company with a gay Robert who is feeling pressure from his friends to marry. I think the couples can be both straight and gay. Obviously, Paul and Amy need to be men, and so do Joanne and Larry. Then minimal revision is needed. There isn't yet huge pressure on gay men, but there is some.
One of the things that strikes me as ridiculous about the current London Company, based on the recording and what I've heard and read about it, is when Bobbi says to Jamie that if they get married, everyone will leave them alone. I guess so — because everyone will think they're crazy. That was not the point of the line originally. But if a gay male Robert says it to a guy named Jamie, it makes sense.
I'm not saying it necessarily should be done that way. Only that if someone wants to update it, that seems likely to make more sense than what is now being done in London. Again, maybe I shouldn't post about it because I haven't seen it, but a lot of it sounds ridiculous on the cast recording. And I do mean ridiculous. |
