New national tour of "Company" brings modern take on classic tale to Denver Center for the Performing Arts
The national tour of "Company,' visiting the Denver Center for the Performing Arts next month, promises to bring audiences a new take on a classic musical. The show, which plays at the Buell Theatre from May 22 through June 2, has been redesigned to make the story more applicable to modern audiences.
The show, which was first written in the late 1960s, originally followed the story of a man named Bobby. Bobby was a single man who had not been married nor had any children.
Now, this new version of the production follows the story of a woman named Bobbie who has a similar lifestyle.
"The societal pressures for women today, turning 35 especially without children, are very different than an unmarried man," said Britney Coleman, the actress cast as "Bobbie."
Bobbie is a woman who is celebrating her 35th birthday in the production.
"It would be like any other birthday if it weren't for the fact that she is single, doesn't have any kids, isn't in any committed relationship. And yet all of her very close friends are, and they have strong opinions about it," Coleman said.
Coleman said the storyline is one that she can personally connect with, and one which she feels many in the audience will be able to as well.
"I have personally experienced a lot of people saying, 'hmm, it is about time (to get married and have children), isn't it?'" Coleman said.
Matt Rodin, the actor who portrays "Jamie" in the production, said the new take on the gender of characters has modernized the story in a way more people will be able to relate with.
"It is sort of shocking to see how these men treat these women (in the original production). To now have that flipped on its head, it makes it feel like it is happening right now," Rodin told CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas. "It gives us, the audience in 2024, the opportunity to know these people in a way that we might not recognize them if they were playing the same roles in the 1970s. They are contemporized."
Those who loved the original production should still find the current take to be funny, fun and lively, according to Coleman.
"A lot of our script hasn't changed, other than the pronouns," Coleman said.
"What I love about this show is that it poses questions rather than giving us answers of what it means to be in partnership, what it means to be married, what it means to have relationships," Rodin said.
If your would like tickets to see the show while it's in Denver visit DCPA's official website.
CBS News Colorado is a proud partner of the DCPA.
