Original Cast Album: “Company”
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker • 1970 • United States
Starring Stephen Sondheim, Elaine Stritch, Donna McKechnie
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.
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Original Cast Album: “Company”
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker • 1970 • United States
Starring Stephen Sondheim, Elaine Stritch, Donna McKechnieThis 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. ...
Extras
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ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: “COMPANY” Commentary 1
Recorded in 2021, this commentary features composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim.
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ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: “COMPANY” Commentary 2
This commentary, recorded in 2001, features director D. A. Pennebaker; Harold Prince, producer of the original Broadway production; and actor Elaine Stritch.
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Frank Rich, Stephen Sondheim, and Jonathan Tunick on “Company”
A biting satire of modern relationships, the 1970 musical comedy “Company” marked the emergence of Stephen Sondheim as the premier composer-lyricist of his generation, and the beginning of his fruitful collaboration with orchestrator Jonathan Tunick. In the following conversation, Sondheim and Tu...
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Jonathan Tunick on “Company”
In the following conversation, recorded in April 2021, the Tony-, Grammy-, Emmy-, and Academy Award–winning orchestrator and composer Jonathan Tunick talks to Ted Chapin, author of “Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical ‘Follies,’” about the art of orchestrating.
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“Documentary Now!” Conversation
In this conversation recorded in 2020, cast and crew members of the “Documentary Now!” episode “Original Cast Album: Co-Op” discuss the D. A. Pennebaker documentary that inspired them.
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ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: “COMPANY” Additional Commentary Excerpts
In 2000, director D. A. Pennebaker interviewed producer Harold Prince and actor Elaine Stritch for a DVD commentary track for ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: “COMPANY.” The following program includes never-before-heard excerpts from those conversations.
