Every day is opening night.

“COMPANY,” WORLD PREMIERE DOCUMENTARY FOLLOWING THE ACCLAIMED REVIVAL’S PATH TO BROADWAY, TO PREMIERE ON FRIDAY, MAY 27 ON PBS’ “GREAT PERFORMANCES”

Press Contact for Company on Broadway:
Rick Miramontez / Aaron Meier / Briana Sanchez
rick@omdkc.com / aaron@omdkc.com / briana@omdkc.com
212 695 7400

Press Contact for WNET:
Elizabeth Boone
booneb@wnet.org
212 560 8831

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, PLEASE

PBS’ “GREAT PERFORMANCES”
PRESENTS AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK
INSIDE THE ACCLAIMED BROADWAY REVIVAL OF
“COMPANY”
IN A NEW DOCUMENTARY PREMIERING FRIDAY, MAY 27

FEATURING NEW INTERVIEWS WITH THE LATE LEGENDARY COMPOSER
STEPHEN SONDHEIM,
TONY AWARD®-WINNING DIRECTOR
MARIANNE ELLIOTT,
AND STARS
KATRINA LENK & PATTI LUPONE

New York, NY (January 18, 2022) – “Great Performances” presents a new documentary exploring the legacy of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s musical Company, part of the series’ fifth “Broadway’s Best” lineup. Filmed over two years, the broadcast takes an inside look at Tony Award®-winning director Marianne Elliott’s creative process of bringing the reimagined gender-swapped production to Broadway during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a cast including Tony and Grammy® winner Katrina Lenk and two-time Tony and two-time Grammy winner Patti LuPone.

Featuring rehearsal and performance footage, plus new interviews with Elliott, Lenk, LuPone, Sondheim, and members of the original 1970 cast, “Great Performances: Keeping Company with Sondheim” (w.t.), a #PBSForTheArts program, premieres Friday, May 27 at 9 PM ET on PBS (check local listings), www.pbs.org/broadwayonpbs  and the PBS Video app.

Additional press materials are available at pbs.org/pressroom or thirteen.org/pressroom

After a critically acclaimed 2018 London run, Company was headed to Broadway when its originally planned March 2020 opening was suspended due to the pandemic. On December 9, 2021, the show finally opened on Broadway – two weeks after Sondheim’s unexpected passing on November 26. “Great Performances: Keeping Company with Sondheim” (w.t.) tells the story of the show’s 1970 Broadway debut in a city on the verge of bankruptcy to its reimagination 50 years later as both Broadway and New York City emerge from one of the greatest crises they have ever faced. As audiences return to the unique shared experience of live theater, Company – with its famously ambiguous exploration of love, connection, and marriage in New York City –  endures as a seminal work to explore Sondheim’s groundbreaking musical theater legacy as well as the social and cultural upheavals that paralleled its reopening.

#PBSForTheArts is a multiplatform campaign that celebrates the arts in America. For more than 50 years, PBS has been the media destination for the arts, presenting dance, theater, opera, visual arts and concerts to Americans in every corner of the country. Previous Great Performances programs include “Romeo & Juliet” from the National Theatre, “The Arts Interrupted,” “Coppelia,” “From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration 2022,” and “Reopening: The Broadway Revival” premiering tonight at 9 PM ET on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/broadwayonpbs and the PBS Video app. The collection of #PBSForTheArts programs is available at pbs.org/arts and the PBS Video app. Curated conversation and digital shorts are also available on PBS social media platforms using #PBSForTheArts.

Throughout its nearly 50-year history on PBS, “Great Performances” has provided an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming. Showcasing a diverse range of artists from around the world, the series has earned 67 Emmy Awards® and six Peabody Awards®. The “Great Performance” website hosts exclusive videos, interviews, photos, full episodes, and more. The series is produced by The WNET Group.

“Great Performances” is available for streaming concurrent with broadcast on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. PBS station members can view many series, documentaries and specials via PBS Passport. For more information about PBS Passport, visit the PBS Passport FAQ website.

A co-production of Sabel Productions, Lone Star Productions and The WNET Group, “Great Performances: Keeping Company with Sondheim” (w.t.) is directed by Andrew Douglas and produced by David Sabel. Associate producer is Brook Crowley, with Martin Rosenbaum and Adam Low as executive producers. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer.

Series funding for “Great Performances: Keeping Company with Sondheim” (w.t.) was provided by The Joseph & Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Jody and John Arnhold, The Starr Foundation, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, the Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation, the Seton Melvin Charitable Trust, the Estate of Worthington Mayo-Smith, the Jack Lawrence Charitable Remainder Trust Worchell Lawrence and Ellen and James S. Marcus.

ABOUT COMPANY

The visionary new production of Sondheim and George Furth’s landmark American musical, Company, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Marianne Elliott comes stars Tony and Grammy Award® winner Katrina Lenk as Bobbie and two-time Tony Award and two-time Grammy Award winner Patti LuPone as Joanne is now playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 West 45th Street).

Joining Lenk and LuPone are some of New York’s most beloved and accomplished actors including Matt Doyle as Jamie, three-time Tony Award nominee Christopher Fitzgerald as David,  two-time Tony Award nominee Christopher Sieber as Harry, Tony Award nominee Jennifer Simard as Sarah, Terence Archie as Larry, Grammy Award winner Etai Benson as Paul, Bobby Conte as P.J., Nikki Renée Daniels as Jenny, Claybourne Elder as Andy, Greg Hildreth as Peter, Manu Narayan as Theo, and Rashidra Scott as Susan.

The complete cast of Company also includes Kathryn Allison, Britney Coleman, Jacob Dickey, Javier Ignacio, Jeff Kready, Anisha Nagarajan, Nicholas Rodriguez, Heath Saunders, Tally Sessions, and Matt Wall.

Company, the musical comedy masterpiece about the search for love and cocktails in the Big Apple is turned on its head in Elliott’s revelatory staging, in which musical theatre’s most iconic bachelor becomes a bachelorette. At Bobbie’s (Lenk) 35th birthday party, all her friends are wondering why isn’t she married? Why can’t she find the right man?  And, why can’t she settle down and have a family?  This whip smart musical comedy, given a game-changing makeover for a modern-day Manhattan, features some of Sondheim’s best loved songs, including “Company,” “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “Side by Side,” and the iconic “Being Alive.”

Sondheim and Elliott have collaborated to update this masterpiece, bringing Bobbie’s array of friends and lovers unswervingly into the 21st century: Paul (Etai Benson) is waiting patiently for his fiancée Jamie (nee “Amy,” played by Matt Doyle) to get over his increasingly frantic wedding day jitters. Sarah (Jennifer Simard) struggles with her body image while her husband Harry (Christopher Sieber) struggles with sobriety – their marital tensions bubbling just under the surface. Joanne (Patti LuPone) is taking a third try at marriage with Larry (Terence Archie), the object of his wife’s affections … and savage barbs. Peter (Greg Hildreth) and Susan (Rashidra Scott) seem to have the perfect marriage, until perfection proves impossible. Sophisticated Jenny (Nikki Renée Daniels) and her square husband David (Christopher Fitzgerald) can’t wrap their heads around Bobbie’s perpetually single status and aren’t shy about expressing their concern. All while Bobbie juggles three men: Andy (nee “April,” played by Claybourne Elder), the sexy flight attendant, Theo (nee “Kathy,” played by Manu Narayan), the small-town boy trying to find his way in the city, and P.J. (nee “Marta,” played by Bobby Conte), the native New Yorker who’s head-over-heels for his hometown.

The creative team for Company includes Liam Steel (choreography), Joel Fram (musical supervisor), Bunny Christie (set and costume design), Neil Austin (lighting design), Ian Dickinson (sound design), David Cullen (orchestrations), Sam Davis (dance arrangements), Chris Fisher (illusions), Campbell Young Associates (hair, wig, and makeup design), and Cindy Tolan (casting).

Tickets can be purchased at www.companymusical.com, www.telecharge.com, by calling (800) 447-7400, or at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre box office.

Company is produced on Broadway by Elliott & Harper Productions, The Shubert Organization, Catherine Schreiber, Nederlander Presentations, Inc., Crossroads Live, Annapurna Productions, Hunter Arnold, No Guarantees, Jon B. Platt, Michael Watt, John Gore Organization, Tim Levy, Grove•Reg, Hornos•Moellenberg, Being Alive Productions/ Ben Lowy, LD Entertainment/MWM Live, Daryl Roth/Tom Tuff, Salmira Productions/Caiola Productions, Adler•Federman•Levine, Aged in Wood/Lee•Sachs, Beard•Merrie•Robbins, Berinstein•Lane /42nd. club, Boyett•Miller/Drew Hodges, Finn•DeVito/Independent Presenters Network, Armstrong•Ross/Gilad•Rogowsky, Boardman•Koenigsberg/Zell•Seriff, Concord Theatricals•Sanders Productions/ Abrams•May, DeRoy•Brunish/Jenen•Rubin, Fakston Productions/ Sabi•Lerner•Ketner, Maggio•Abrams/Hopkins•Tackel and Jujamcyn Theaters.

ABOUT THE WNET GROUP

The WNET Group creates inspiring media content and meaningful experiences for diverse audiences nationwide. It is the community-supported home of New York’s THIRTEEN – America’s flagship PBS station – WLIW21, THIRTEEN PBSKids, WLIW World and Create; NJ PBS, New Jersey’s statewide public television network; Long Island’s only NPR station WLIW-FM; ALL ARTS, the arts and culture media provider; and newsroom NJ Spotlight News. Through these channels and streaming platforms, The WNET Group brings arts, culture, education, news, documentary, entertainment and DIY programming to more than five million viewers each month. The WNET Group’s award-winning productions include signature PBS series “Nature,” “Great Performances,” “American Masters,” “PBS NewsHour Weekend,” and “Amanpour and Company,” and trusted local news programs “MetroFocus” and “NJ Spotlight News” with Briana Vannozzi. Inspiring curiosity and nurturing dreams, The WNET Group’s award-winning Kids’ Media and Education team produces the PBS KIDS series “Cyberchase,” interactive Mission US history games, and resources for families, teachers and caregivers. A leading nonprofit public media producer for nearly 60 years, The WNET Group presents and distributes content that fosters lifelong learning, including multiplatform initiatives addressing poverty, jobs, economic opportunity, social justice, understanding and the environment. Through Passport, station members can stream new and archival programming anytime, anywhere. The WNET Group represents the best in public media. Join us.

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