Recently Jennifer Simard (Mean Girls, Hello, Dolly!, Disaster, Sister Act), who is currently playing Sarah in the hit Broadway revival of Company, joined iHeartRadio Broadway's SJ Arnegger to chat about being a part of this glorious ensemble cast and what it was like going on for Patti LuPone. Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s landmark American musical, Company, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Marianne Elliott, features Tony and Grammy Award winner Katrina Lenk as Bobbie and two-time Tony Award and two-time Grammy Award winner Patti LuPone as Joanne.
Joining Lenk and LuPone are some of New York’s most beloved and accomplished actors including Matt Doyle as Jamie, three-time Tony Award nominee Christopher Fitzgerald as David, two-time Tony Award nominee Christopher Sieber as Harry, Tony Award nominee Jennifer Simard as Sarah, Terence Archie as Larry, Grammy Award winner Etai Benson as Paul, Bobby Conte as P.J., Nikki Renée Daniels as Jenny, Claybourne Elder as Andy, Greg Hildreth as Peter, Manu Narayan as Theo, and Rashidra Scott as Susan. The complete cast of Company also includes Kathryn Allison, Britney Coleman, Jacob Dickey, Javier Ignacio, Anisha Nagarajan, Nicholas Rodriguez, Heath Saunders, Tally Sessions, and Matt Wall.
Company, the musical comedy masterpiece about the search for love and cocktails in the Big Apple is turned on its head in Elliott’s revelatory staging, in which musical theatre’s most iconic bachelor becomes a bachelorette. At Bobbie’s (Lenk) 35th birthday party, all her friends are wondering why isn’t she married? Why can’t she find the right man? And, why can’t she settle down and have a family? This whip smart musical comedy, given a game-changing makeover for a modern-day Manhattan, features some of Sondheim’s best loved songs, including “Company,” “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “Side by Side,” and the iconic “Being Alive.” Sondheim and Elliott have collaborated to update this masterpiece, bringing Bobbie’s array of friends and lovers unswervingly into the 21st century: Paul (Etai Benson) is waiting patiently for his fiancée Jamie (nee “Amy,” played by Matt Doyle) to get over his increasingly frantic wedding day jitters. Sarah (Jennifer Simard) struggles with her body image while her husband Harry (Christopher Sieber) struggles with sobriety – their marital tensions bubbling just under the surface. Joanne (Patti LuPone) is taking a third try at marriage with Larry (Terence Archie), the object of his wife’s affections … and savage barbs. Peter (Greg Hildreth) and Susan (Rashidra Scott) seem to have the perfect marriage, until perfection proves impossible. Sophisticated David (Christopher Fitzgerald) and his square wife Jenny (Nikki Renée Daniels) can’t wrap their heads around Bobbie’s perpetually single status and aren’t shy about expressing their concern. All while Bobbie juggles three men: Andy (nee “April,” played by Claybourne Elder), the sexy flight attendant, Theo (nee “Kathy,” played by Manu Narayan), the small-town boy trying to find his way in the city, and P.J. (nee “Marta,” played by Bobby Conte), the native New Yorker who’s head-over-heels for his hometown.
The creative team for Company includes Liam Steel (choreography), Joel Fram (musical supervisor), Bunny Christie (set and costume design), Neil Austin (lighting design), Ian Dickinson (sound design), David Cullen (orchestrations), Sam Davis (dance arrangements), Chris Fisher (illusions), Campbell Young Associates (hair, wig, and makeup design), and Cindy Tolan (casting). Tickets can be purchased at www.companymusical.com, www.telecharge.com, by calling (800) 447-7400, or at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre box office.
Photo credit: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade