REVIEW: ‘Great Performances’ brings world of theater to remote audiences

Providing a window onto a world that had been shut, the anthology (television’s longest) brought award-winning plays, concerts and musicals to people who didn’t have access.

For folks living in parts of the country where performances aren’t available even in good times, the series has been a godsend.

This Friday, you’ll see why.

In “Keeping Company with Sondheim,” you’ll discover why composer Stephen Sondheim has been such a key architect to reinventing Broadway. When he introduced “Company” in 1970, it was unlike anything theatergoers had seen. It wasn’t really a “book” musical, it was a series of vignettes pulled together to show how a man turning 35 processed the advice of his friends. They couldn’t understand why he wasn’t married. They didn’t know what he was afraid of. And yet, their example was ample proof.

The show featured a high-tech set (it had an elevator!) and those impossible lyrics that required speed and precision. “Company” swept the Tonys, gave Elaine Stritch new relevance and set the stage for other game-changers like “A Little Night Music,” “Follies,” “Into the Woods” and “Sunday in the Park with George.”

Through interviews with Sondheim experts (and colleagues), “Keeping Company” shows how he finished the hat – and how Marianne Elliott gave “Company” new life this year with a revival that switched things up. Bobbie, in the edition now on Broadway, is a woman, trying to sidestep the mine fields of marriage. Other characters have changed, too (Amy is now Jamie, but he still gets to sing that tongue-twisting “Not Getting Married Today”) and the set has a different vibe, a different sentiment.

Originally staged in London, the new “Company” was about to open in New York when the coronavirus pandemic hit. That put the brakes on that show and every other one on Broadway. Producers worried that they wouldn’t get the cast back (Tony winners Patti Lu Pone and Katrina Lenk star) or have the ability to reopen. But, as the documentary shows, “Company” made it back and, yes, Sondheim showed up for one of the previews.

Just days later, he died.

Today, the show is nominated for nine Tony Awards including Best Revival. The

PBS special chronicles that road back and also digs into the Sondheim swoon. Veterans from the first edition of “Company” talk about the show’s development and their affection for its creator.

Sondheim, too, weighs in and, yes, there’s an ample sample of the revival’s numbers.

For theater lovers who dream of seeing this “Company,” it’s a great primer and a super look behind the curtain.

But that’s what most “Great Performances” offerings are –invitations to a world you didn’t know you’d love. Once you get hooked, you’ll want to see more.

Already this month, the series has shown full productions of “Anything Goes” and “Merry Wives.” The “Company” documentary will add one more color to the palette.

 “Great Performances” airs Fridays on PBS. “Keeping Company with Sondheim” airs May 27.