Thursday, June 16, 2011

Phone Rings, Door Chimes, In Comes...

..."Company", starring Neil Patrick Harris and an all-star cast, filmed at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC.  I was excited when I saw this event listed as a FathomEvent, and didn't even wait to tell anyone about it before buying my ticket to the movie theater.  I had never seen the actual show before, but I'm familiar with a few of the songs in the show.

  • Y'all know that I love Stephen Colbert, right?  I love him even more now.  His piece with Martha Plimpton was hilarious and he sang, and he danced, and he made me laugh.   Sigh.
  • I've decided that Sondheim thinks vocalists have an endless supply of air.  Wow, when are they supposed to breathe during all of those lyrics? Anika Noni Rose, as Marta, had quite a mouthful of words to sing, and she did that, as I expected she would, with much skill, in "Another Hundred People".
  • When Robert sings the name "JoAnne" in "Someone's Waiting", it sounds like he's going to sing "Joanna" from "Sweeney Todd".  I kept expecting him to go there, but he didn't.  I'm thinking that's on purpose, knowing Sondheim's trickiness.
  • Oh, Ms. Lupone, your rendition of "The Ladies Who Lunch" was quite well-deserving of the heaps of applause thrown upon you.
  • I loved the reaction in the audience when Robert, played by NPH, is asked if he's ever had a homosexual experience. :)
  • I also loved NPH's face as he observed everyone else on stage.  He clearly enjoyed every moment of the show.  I'm pretty sure that Colbert and Plimpton almost made him laugh more than he was supposed to.  NPH did a great job in his leading role, as he let the ensemble do their thing, and then took his place at center when needed.  And he got to do magic!  And kick up his heels!  I heart him, can you tell?  ;)
  • Katie Finneran was hilarious as Amy in "Getting Married Today", especially when she wanted the wedding music to stop and broke the conductor's baton.
  • Jon Cryer kind of freaked me out when he showed what a controlling man he is at the end of his scene with Robert and Jenny.
  • Yay, Christina Hendricks!  I enjoyed how incredibly odd she was in her role as flight attendant April.
  • I had tears in my eyes during "Being Alive", not only because NPH had a tear in his eye, too, but also because the lyrics to that song really hit me personally.
There needs to be a DVD and CD of this performance.  NEEDS.  I loved it.

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