A Classic Sondheim Musical Gets a Thrilling Twist
Bobby, the urbane bachelor and possible beating heart of Company, usually comes in shades of gray. Dean Jones in a heavy tweed with a black turtleneck sweater. Raúl Esparza in an Armani suit that bags effortlessly around the elbows. Adrian Lester in a fitted jacket with wide lapels. Neil Patrick Harris in dark brushed suede over a pale-blue button-down.
Rosalie Craig wears scarlet. In Marianne Elliott’s new production of the 1970 Stephen Sondheim musical, Bobby (now Bobbie) is a woman, and her outfit radiates intention. Her hair is red. Her dress, her heels, her lipstick, her accessories: all red. On the stage of the Gielgud Theatre in London, she glows, cast into even more vibrant light by the heady neon tubes surrounding the set. It’s a wardrobe choice that takes Bobby, the elusive human chain mail’s vignettes together, and pulls her, Bobbie, toward center stage.
