The winner of five Tony Awards, including best revival of a musical, the latest production of Company arrives at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre on July 30. Britney Coleman stars as Bobbie, a 35-year-old single woman navigating the challenges of being single past society's expectations.
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| Britney Coleman as Bobbie (center) and the North American tour of 'Company.' MATTHEW MURPHY FOR MURPHYMADE |
Company was only the second musical composed by Stephen Sondheim, who would go on to win eight Tonys, eight Grammys, an Oscar, and a Pulitzer Prize. Sondheim could not have known that this revival, first written in 1970, would be the last he would witness before his death in 2021.
Director Marianne Elliott recalled to Morfeli Reporter an interview she and Sondheim did for a newspaper about the revival, just days before his passing. "He was so generous and on it, and so jolly and alive," Elliott remembered. "One of the things he said I’m sure I will remember to my dying day.
He said to the interviewer that the show was the most entertaining show he’d ever seen. I said, ‘What do you mean? Do you mean the most entertaining musical you’ve ever written?’ He said, ‘No, the most entertaining musical I’ve ever seen.’
I said, ‘Do you mean of your work?’ And he said, ‘No, Marianne, the most entertaining musical I’ve ever seen.’ It’s a huge compliment and it also shows his generosity.”
lliott’s highly praised West End production of Company was initially set to open on Broadway on Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday, March 22, 2020. However, the pandemic halted the performance after only nine preview shows. When it eventually opened in December 2021, it received widespread acclaim.
Britney Coleman, who understudied Bobbie on Broadway, recalls a memorable moment: “The first time he came to rehearsal to see a run-through, that was a big, huge deal. That was thrilling. I remember him at the end of the run-through thanking us, and we were like, ‘Why are you thanking us? We’re the ones thanking you!’ And he said how grateful he was to all of us for giving the show due diligence and making it fresh and accessible to audiences today. He was really proud of it.”
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| The North American tour of ‘Company.’ MATTHEW MURPHY FOR MURPHYMADE |
This revival of Company stands out not just for Marianne Elliott’s expert direction, but also for its notable gender switch from Bobby to Bobbie. Instead of a swinging sixties bachelor, Bobbie is a 35-year-old single woman facing the pressure of her biological clock. A key addition to this production is the revival of the long-lost dance number “Tick Tock,” which underscores the theme of time running out.
Britney Coleman, who plays Bobbie, remarks on the meta nature of the role: “In terms of the gender swap, I am thirty-five, there’s a biological factor, especially nowadays when contraception and women’s rights are widely discussed. If you’re at this age and you don’t have kids already, you need to start thinking about freezing your eggs.
Marianne has even added faint baby cries in some scenes to keep this on a subconscious level. It’s a different experience compared to guys who aren’t often faced with similar questions.”
Around a decade ago, Elliott and her producing partner Chris Harper were searching for a show with a female protagonist. Upon hearing Bernadette Peters perform “Being Alive,” Harper wondered about transforming Bobby into Bobbie. Elliott immediately saw the benefits of this change, noting that Bobby's original character as a commitment-phobic bachelor with multiple girlfriends felt outdated.
Switching Bobby to Bobbie modernizes the story by highlighting contemporary issues women face at 35, such as the urgency of settling down. Elliott also updated some of the couples in Bobbie’s circle: a breadwinner is now a woman, and a bride with cold feet has become a groom contemplating a last-minute change of heart.
Despite initial skepticism from Stephen Sondheim, Marianne Elliott was determined to prove the merits of gender-swapping Bobby to Bobbie. She convinced Sondheim to watch a workshop video with a young audience and women present. After viewing, Sondheim was convinced and gave the go-ahead to develop the production further.
The musical adjustment from Bobby’s tenor to Bobbie’s soprano might seem minor, but Coleman notes that the timbre differences between male and female voices make the change more complex. For instance, the opening number’s high A sits significantly higher for a woman than for a tenor, requiring considerable vocal adaptation.
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| Britney Coleman as Bobbie in the North American tour of ‘Company.’ MATTHEW MURPHY FOR MURPHYMADE |
Elliott, a leading figure in English theater known for her work on War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Angels in America, had limited experience with musicals and had never seen Company before this revival.
Her journey with Company taught her that music can convey psychological depth similar to spoken dialogue. Sondheim’s insights helped her understand the psychological reasoning behind musical choices, such as why a character might hold a note longer or change pitch.
Britney Coleman, who grew up in a musical family and studied musical theater at the University of Michigan, began her career in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. She then understudied in Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close and worked in Tootsie. At the Pantages, she is known for her role as Barbara in the Beetlejuice tour.
While understudying Bobbie on Broadway, Coleman had the opportunity to work with Patti LuPone and rehearse with Marianne Elliott. A standout moment for her was meeting Stephen Sondheim. After a post-pandemic preview, Sondheim joined the cast at the lobby bar as they wrapped up the night.
“We knew where he was sitting on the aisle,” Coleman remembers about the performance two weeks before his passing. “It was truly special. They lit him up and the audience gave him an extended applause.”
