Editing Stephen Sondheim (section)

==== ''Company'' ====
[[File:Stephen Sondheim, New York.jpg|thumb|upright|Sondheim in New York, 1972]]
After ''Do I Hear a Waltz?'', Sondheim devoted himself solely to writing both music and lyrics for the theater—and in 1970, he began a collaboration with director [[Harold Prince]] resulting in a body of work that is considered one of the high water marks of musical theater history, with critic [[Howard Kissel]] writing that the duo had set "Broadway's highest standards".<ref>{{cite book|title = Harold Prince: A Director's Journey|last = Ilson|first = Carol|year = 1989|publisher = [[Rowman & Littlefield|Limelight Editions]]|page = 239|isbn = 978-0879102968}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/8/1/20748998/hal-prince-dies-at-91-company-cabaret-sondheim-phantom|title = Broadway director Harold Prince left an unparalleled legacy of masterworks|last = Romano|first = Aja|work = [[Vox Media|Vox]]|date = August 1, 2019|access-date = November 28, 2021}}</ref>

The first Sondheim show with Prince as director was 1970's ''[[Company (musical)|Company]]''. A show about a single man and his married friends, ''Company'' (with a book by [[George Furth]]) lacked a straightforward plot, instead centering on themes such as marriage and the difficulty of making an emotional connection with another person. It opened on April 26, 1970, at the [[Alvin Theatre]], running for 705 performances after seven previews, and won [[Tony Awards]] for [[Tony Award for Best Musical|Best Musical]], Best Music, and Best Lyrics.<ref name = Franklin>{{cite news|url = https://www.playbill.com/article/look-back-at-the-original-production-of-company-on-broadway|title = Look Back at the Original Production of Company on Broadway
|last = Franklin|first = Marc J.|date = April 26, 2021|access-date = November 28, 2021|work = [[Playbill]]}}</ref> The original cast included [[Dean Jones (actor)|Dean Jones]], [[Elaine Stritch]], and [[Charles Kimbrough]]. Popular songs include "[[Company (Broadway song)|Company]]", "The Little Things You Do Together", "Sorry-Grateful", "You Could Drive a Person Crazy", "Another Hundred People", "[[Getting Married Today (song)|Getting Married Today]]", "Side by Side", "[[The Ladies Who Lunch (song)|The Ladies Who Lunch]]", and "[[Being Alive]]". [[Walter Kerr]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' praised the production, the performances, and the score, writing, "Sondheim has never written a more sophisticated, more pertinent, or—this is the surprising thing in the circumstances—more melodious score".<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1970/05/03/archives/company-original-and-uncompromising-company-is-uncompromising.html|title= Company: Original and Uncompromising|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date= May 3, 1970|access-date= November 3, 2023|last=Kerr|first=Walter|author-link=Walter Kerr}}</ref>

Documentary filmmaker [[D. A. Pennebaker]] captured the making of the [[original cast recording]] shortly after the show opened on Broadway in his 1970 film ''[[Original Cast Album: Company]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Brody|first=Richard|title=The Unstrung Power of Elaine Stritch in "Original Cast Album: Company"|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-unstrung-power-of-elaine-stritch-in-original-cast-album-company|access-date=August 6, 2020|magazine=The New Yorker|date=July 10, 2020|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Saltz|first=Rachel|date=October 11, 2014|title=Invincible Bunch, 44 Years Later|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/12/movies/invincible-bunch-44-years-later-.html|access-date=August 6, 2020}}</ref> Stritch, Sondheim, and producer [[Thomas Z. Shepard]] are featured prominently. ''Company'' was revived on Broadway in 1995, 2006, and 2020/2021 (the last revival began previews in March 2020, but shut down before resuming in November 2021 due to the ongoing [[COVID-19 pandemic]]; in this revival, the main character was a woman, Bobbie, portrayed by [[Katrina Lenk]]).{{r|Franklin}} The 2006 and 2021 productions won the [[Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical]].