Just days before his death in Nov. 2021, Stephen Sondheim told the New York Times, “What keeps theater alive is the chance, always, to do it differently, with not only fresh casts, but fresh viewpoints. It's not just a matter of changing pronouns, but attitudes."
The famed composer was speaking about the revival of one of his best-known musicals, Company, which changes the gender of its lead male character, 35-year-old Bobby, to a woman, Bobbie. The five-time Tony winner, Best Revival of a Musical among them, is making its way to Des Moines just ahead of Valentine's Day.
The premise? It’s the day of Bobbie’s 35th birthday party, and her friends — all couples — wonder why she hasn't yet settled down. As Bobbie observes them through a series of vignettes offering snapshots of visits, drinks and dinners she attends, plus dates she goes on herself, Bobbie learns more about what it means to love and be loved.
“It is super hilarious,” promises actor James Earl Jones II. “The voices are beautiful. The actors are awesome. The music is glorious.”
Earl Jones plays one of Bobbie’s married friends, Harry, who is the creative director of an ad firm. He and his successful wife, Sarah, are the first couple Bobbie visits, and their scene establishes right away the musical’s playful and charming comedy, which in their case includes a bout of bickering that escalates into a full-blown jiu jitsu match.
“I would say Kathryn and I are the most physical couple in the show,” Earl Jones said, referring to his scene partner Kathryn Allison, who plays Sarah. “It’s next level.”
Each vignette takes place in a box-like space within the Tony-winning set designed by Bunny Christie. The mini-stages, which Earl Jones says were made even smaller to fit different venues on the tour, are reminiscent of cramped New York City apartments while also paying homage to the musical’s original format — a series of one-act plays written by George Furth.
Earl Jones has visited Civic Center many times before, most recently as part of the ensemble of Come From Away, which made a stop in Des Moines last year.
“Going from a musical that speaks to various areas, like visceral emotions — happiness, sadness, kindness — and you switch to this show, which also speaks to the emotions, but in a very different way, it does invoke thought," he said. "It wants people to think about their relationships — with themselves, with their friends, with their significant others — and how those relationships work. It is definitely like a conversation piece but in a completely different way.”
He says he loves how the revival is able to tell the same story in a new way simply by offering new character perspectives. The characters of Amy and Paul are now Jamie and Paul, a gay couple about to be married, and swapping the gender of the lead means Bobby, once a seemingly faintly aloof man with a paradoxical fear of intimacy and loneliness, is faced with new societal pressures as Bobbie, like bearing children and taking on more “wifely” duties.
“I love that we can tell this story from all these different perspectives, representing so many different gender identities and just have a great time as ourselves,” Earl Jones said. “Like, yes, we are actors in the show, but we also represent so many different perspectives. I love that the show is called Company and that is what we are. We are a company of so many different types.”
Most importantly, he added, he loves that the story Company now tells features so many people of color, both on the stage and working behind-the-scenes.
“I kind of love the fact that we have this opening scene with three vibrant, successful Black people," he said. "It's kind of awesome. And as far as I'm concerned, it's a great way to kick off Black History Month by just having a Black couple with a Black lead.”
Having played his same character in both the traditional version of the show and the revival, Earl Jones has seen the different reactions the new characters bring about.
“I think that sometimes theater can be very, like, ‘We came, we had a great time and we left,’ but I also think that there's something amazing about art that invokes conversation and thought and makes you want to talk about it. I think Company is an excellent conversation piece.”
Company will be at the Des Moines Civic Center from Feb. 6 - 11.
