The acclaimed actor will star as perennial bachelor Bobby in the New York Philharmonic's April 2011 concerts of Sondheim and George Furth's Company.
Lonny Price will direct and produce the concerts, which will be presented April 7-9. Paul Gemignani will conduct the famed orchestra; the concerts will feature the original orchestrations penned by Jonathan Tunick. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
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. Emmy winner Neil Patrick Harris, who made his New York Philharmonic debut as Tobias Ragg in May 2000 in the Orchestra’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, currently appears as Barney Stinson in the hit television series, "How I Met Your Mother." He has starred in three Broadway productions, including the dual roles of The Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald in the Tony Award-winning musical Assassins; in the Pulitzer Prize-winning production of Proof, opposite Anne Heche; and as the emcee in Cabaret at Studio 54. He recently won his first two Emmy Awards for his guest-starring role on "Glee," in addition to serving as host of the 2009 Tony Awards. He also served as host of the 2009 Emmy Awards. His role on "How I Met Your Mother" has garnered him four consecutive Emmy Award nominations and two consecutive Golden Globe nominations.
Single tickets for these performances start at $65, and go on sale for the general public on Dec. 17 at 10 AM. All tickets may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656. Tickets may also be purchased at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office or the Alice Tully Hall Box Office at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 65th Street.
