Original Cast Album: Company

This one is for musical comedy fans only, but if you are, this somewhat mythic documentary will remind you why you love them so much.

Watching Sondheim at work, correcting the pronunciation of Bobby, Bubby (booby) Bobby Bob is worth the price of admission.

I've waited years to watch this and finally Netflix made it possible.

A month later, I watched the PBS screening of the John Doyle revival of Company. Since it won a Tony, I expected a decent show though I knew Doyle had staged it with his three-time gimmick, the performers playing their own instruments. (When I heard he was directing "Peter Grimes" at the Met, my first thought was how on earth the opera singers were going to manage to play their own instruments.

Not that I didn't care for the new Company, but I couldn't believe anyone on the planet earth would want to be friends with anyone of those people. They were unlikable, unsympathetic and wore incredibly ugly costumes. No dancing, of course, since you can't play an instrument and dance but there was the marching band doing What Would We Do Without You, which sort of worked. You Could Drive a Person Crazy was sort of cute, with them stopping to blow saxophones rather than do the Do-do-dododo part.

Amy had none of the whimsy that makes "I'm Not Getting Married Today" work. In fact, this Amy looked old and hard.

Joanne, however, had not a whit of the charm Elaine Stritch brought to the part. She seemed to mistake off key for acerbic and walking around playing the triangle just didn't work for me.

Maybe it's hard to be picky about a cast when they all have to play an instrument. What a stupid way to cast a musical comedy. Doyle seems to forget it's a musical.

So rent the Making Of because it truly captures the musical. And listen to the commentary. It's priceless. Once you know what Dean Jones was going through, his "Being Alive" is heart wrenching.

The first time I watched Company is when I happen to come across a youtube video of Neil Patrick Harrison version of it and ever since I was obsessed.

Pretty much standard fare documentary about Sondheim and crew as they try to create the cast album for the original run of Company. You could see Sondheim's perfectionism, and the cast juggling recording - which seems to be an altogether different experience compared to stage. The film climaxes with Elaine Stritch having a hard time perfecting the famous 'The Ladies who Brunch' song under Sondheim critical direction.

Its very standard, and you do realize why it as a TV Show pilot but if your a fan of the show, its a must see experience to see how each of the original actors do it.

It's impressive to watch a gaggle of Broadway's best, at almost the exact moment the clock moved from the 1960s into the '70s, take their places in a featureless recording studio to make history. The original cast, the orchestra players, the sound engineers, composer Stephen Sondheim, and session producer Thomas Shepard demonstrate more than great talent and love for what they're doing. They give a master class in how to listen, how to give and take direction, how to hit the creators' target. Near the end, when Ms. Stritch belts out a solo for the ages at 3 a.m., the producer criticizes her delivery, and I wanted to smack him! But I'm not a theater person, unlike the phenomenal troupers who kept soaking up instructions and doing more, more, more takes till everyone was happy. They did it right.

If you own any original cast recording of a Broadway musical, I recommend this behind-the-scenes look at how one OCR was made.

"Company" is an extraordinary piece of theatre that was ahead of its time. The story themes presented in this seventies Broadway musical, still resonate and feel fresh in our contemporary world. "Original Cast Album: Company" affords us a rare peek into the stakes, tears and process that goes into creating a cast album - which will long outlive the theatrical run and the life of the creators and talent. A soundtrack is how many - most - people will become exposed to a work. This documentary is gripping and compelling, sure to entertain the most fickle of audiences (read: non theater fans). It is a damn shame this series was not expanded to include subsequent productions. I am baffled why no producer has yet to attempt a similar feet, or pick up where this pilot ended.

I memorized this soundtrack and could sing along with every song before I ever saw the play. In the many years since, I try to see this production whenever it appears...such a fun Sondheim musical. Nobobdy will ever compare to Elaine Strich's vocals on the album as a jaded, oft married, oft divorced friend of Bobby's. She is wonderful. Another great number is "Barcelona", when Bobby beds numerous airline stewardesses... very clever. Listen and enjoy!