Original Cast Album: “Company” [In-Person Only]
$13 General Admission
$10 Student/Child/Senior
$7 Member
⚠️ Public safety notice ⚠️
NWFF patrons will be required to double-mask while in the building. Disposable masks are available at the door for those who need them. To be admitted, patrons ages 5+ will also be required to present EITHER proof of COVID-19 vaccination OR a negative result from a COVID-19 test administered within the last 48 hours by an official testing facility. Boosters are strongly recommended, though not required for entry.
NWFF is adapting to evolving recommendations to protect the public from COVID-19. Read more about their policies regarding cleaning, masks, and capacity limitations here.
About
In memory of Stephen Sondheim (3/22/1930–11/26/2021), an immeasurably beloved and powerful creative influence in musical theater, we’re showing one of the best-known behind-the-scenes perspectives of Sondheim at work: D. A. Pennebaker’s documentary on the OBC of Sondheim’s musical Company as they recorded the album version of their musical.
The film, with its grainy, sweaty, unvarnished perspective on the labor that goes into a great musical production, is a wonderful tribute to the profound fortitude and professionalism of the artists and technicians involved. The scale of an arts endeavor like a musical is difficult to convey, but to pack oneself into these smoky booths, hot with the concentration and physical effort of artists at work – even if only as a viewer – comes close.
This film, along with many other productions of Stephen Sondheim’s work,* is free to view on YouTube, but we encourage you to experience it at its intended scale, in a company of friends and future friends.
* Paul recommends: Into the Woods, Passion, Sweeney Todd in concert with George Hearn and Patti Lupone.
About the film:
This legendary, long-unavailable documentary from Direct Cinema pioneer D. A. Pennebaker captures the behind-the-scenes drama that went into the making of a classic Broadway recording. When Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking concept musical Company opened on Broadway in 1970, it was an immediate triumph. Shortly thereafter, the actors, musicians, and Sondheim assembled to record the original cast album in a grueling, nearly nineteen-hour session that tested the talents of all involved—including Elaine Stritch, who pushed herself to the limit to record what would become her iconic version of “The Ladies Who Lunch.” With raw immediacy, Pennebaker and his crew document the explosive energy and creative intensity that go into capturing the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of live performance.
(D. A. Pennebaker, US, 1970, 53 min, in English)
Description courtesy of Criterion.
