Editing Company (musical) (section)

===Original Broadway production===
''Company'' opened in Boston in out-of-town tryouts, receiving mixed reviews.<ref>Citron, Stephen. [https://books.google.com/books?id=AWaZ1LAFAZEC&dq=Company+%22George+Furth%22+%22Sondheim%22&pg=PA160 "Prince and Company"] ''Sondheim and Lloyd-Webber: The New Musical'', Oxford University Press US, 2001, {{ISBN|0-19-509601-0}}, p. 172.</ref>

Directed by [[Hal Prince]], the musical opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at the [[Neil Simon Theatre|Alvin Theatre]] on April 26, 1970, and closed on January 1, 1972, after 705 performances and 12 previews.<ref name=original>[http://www.playbill.com/production/company-alvin-theatre-vault-0000000885 "''Company'' Cast and Replacements, Pro Info"] Playbill (vault), accessed January 1, 2020</ref><ref>{{IBDB show|2719|Company}}</ref> The opening cast included [[Dean Jones (actor)|Dean Jones]], who replaced [[Anthony Perkins]] early in the rehearsals, [[Donna McKechnie]], [[Susan Browning]], [[George Coe]], [[Pamela Myers]], [[Barbara Barrie]], [[Charles Kimbrough]], [[Merle Louise]], [[Beth Howland]], and [[Elaine Stritch]].<ref>Kelly, Kevin. ''One Singular Sensation: The Michael Bennett Story'', Doubleday, 1990, {{ISBN|0-8217-3310-9}}, page 68.</ref> Musical staging was by [[Michael Bennett (theater)|Michael Bennett]], assisted by [[Bob Avian]]. The set design by [[Boris Aronson]] consisted of two working elevators and various vertical platforms that emphasized the musical's theme of isolation.<ref name=original/>

Displeased with the show and struggling with personal issues, Jones left the show on May 28, 1970, and was replaced by understudy [[Larry Kert]], who had created the role of Tony in ''[[West Side Story (musical)|West Side Story]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=News From ME – Mark Evanier's blog|url=https://www.newsfromme.com/2005/09/24/a-kert-reply/|access-date=August 6, 2020|website=www.newsfromme.com}}</ref>

In his September 2, 2015, obituary for Jones in ''[[The New York Times]]'', Mike Flaherty reported that "he quit the production, citing stress and depression related to the recent collapse of his own marriage." Flaherty quotes Jones' 1982 autobiography, ''Under Running Laughter'', in which he wrote of ''Company'': "It was a clever, bright show on the surface, but its underlying message declared that marriage was, at best, a vapid compromise, insoluble and finally destructive."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Flaherty|first=Mike|date=September 2, 2015|title=Dean Jones, Affable Star in ''Love Bug'' and a Disney Fixture, Dies at 84|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/03/movies/dean-jones-star-of-disneys-the-love-bug-dies-at-84.html|access-date=August 6, 2020}}</ref>

Kert earned rave reviews for his performance, and the [[Tony Award]]s committee decided that he was eligible to compete for Best Actor in a Musical, an honor usually reserved for the actor who originates a role.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/07/obituaries/larry-kert-60-a-romantic-lead-in-the-original-west-side-story.html "Obituary. Larry Kert"] ''The New York Times'', June 7, 1991</ref>

Original replacement cast members included John Cunningham, the original Peter, as Bobby, and [[Vivian Blaine]] and [[Jane Russell]], as Joanne.<ref name="original" /><ref name=":1">{{IBDB title|3077#Replacements|Company}}</ref>

==== ''Original Cast Album: Company'' ====
{{Main|Original Cast Album: Company}}
Award-winning documentary filmmaker [[D. A. Pennebaker]] captured the [[making-of]] the [[Cast recording|original cast recording]] shortly after the show opened on Broadway. His 1970 film ''[[Original Cast Album: Company]]'' earned early accolades, as well as a cult following, for its unvarnished look at a grueling recording session.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Brody|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Brody|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}}</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.

====First national tour====
The first national tour opened on May 20, 1971, at the [[Ahmanson Theatre]] in Los Angeles, California, with [[George Chakiris]] as Bobby, and closed on May 20, 1972, at the [[National Theatre (Washington, D.C.)|National Theatre]] in Washington, D.C.<ref>[http://www.sondheimguide.com/company.html#1971tour "1971 National Touring Production"], sondheimguide.com, accessed January 11, 2016.</ref>