The Great Performances broadcast is part of the 2013 PBS Arts Fall Festival.
The production co-stars Emmy winner Neil Patrick Harris as perennial bachelor Bobby and Tony and Olivier winner Patti LuPone as the cynical, boozy Joanne.
Directed by Lonny Price with choreography by Josh Rhodes, the cast also features Martha Plimpton (as Sarah), Tony winner Anika Noni Rose (as Marta), Jim Walton (as Larry), Jon Cryer (as David), Craig Bierko (as Peter), two-time Tony winner Katie Finneran (as Amy), Christina Hendricks (as April), Aaron Lazar (as Paul), Jill Paice (as Susan), Jennifer Laura Thompson (as Jenny) and Chryssie Whitehead (as Kathy).
Alexa Green, Fred Inkley, Rob Lorey and Jessica Vosk comprise The Vocal Minority, and ensemble members include Callie Carter, Ariana DeBose, Sean Ewing, Ashley Fitzgerald, Lorin Latarro and Lee Wilkins.
Paul Gemignani conducts the famed orchestra; the concert features the original orchestrations penned by Jonathan Tunick. Set in New York, Company, according to press notes, follows "five married, once-married, and soon-to-be-married couples and their mutual friend, Robert (Mr. Harris), a bachelor who has been unable to connect in a long-term relationship. The relationships are presented in a series of vignettes, primarily through Robert's eyes." The show's songs include "Company," "Side by Side by Side," "The Ladies Who Lunch," "Another Hundred People" and "Being Alive."
The original production of Company opened on Broadway at the Alvin (now the Neil Simon) Theatre on April 26, 1970. The musical garnered 14 Tony Award nominations (the record until The Producers in 2001), winning six, including Best Musical.
The recent Broadway revival, which starred the Tony-nominated Raul Esparza as the confused bachelor, ended its run at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre July 1, 2007. Company played 34 previews and 247 performances. The revival began previews Oct. 29, 2006, and opened on Nov. 29 at the Barrymore on W. 47th Street. It began at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in spring 2006, and commercial producers of Broadway's 2005-06 Sweeney Todd swooped in. This Company won the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards for Best Revival of a Musical.
A DVD of the concert was also released.
