Original Cast Album: Company

Saturday, September 17, 2022

ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY – D.A. Pennebaker, 1970, 53 min

This holy grail for both documentary and theater aficionados offers a tantalizingly rare glimpse behind the Broadway curtain. In 1970, right after the triumphant premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking concept musical Company, the renowned composer and lyricist, his director Harold Prince, the show’s stars, and a large pit orchestra all went into a Manhattan recording studio as part of a time-honored Broadway tradition: the making of the original cast album. What ensued was a marathon session in which, with the pressures of posterity and the coolly exacting Sondheim’s perfectionism hanging over them, all involved pushed themselves to the limit—including theater legend Elaine Stritch, who fought anxiety and exhaustion to record her iconic rendition of “The Ladies Who Lunch.” With thrilling immediacy, legendary filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker offers an up-close view of the larger-than-life personalities, frayed-nerve energy, and explosive creative intensity that go into capturing the magic of live performance.

Screening with Documentary Now season 52 episode 3: “Original Cast Album: Co-Op” – 24 min

Follows producers Benedict Juniper (Taran Killam), Simon Sawyer (John Mulaney) and Howard Pine (James Urbaniak) overseeing the recording for the cast album of the musical Co-Op. The star-studded cast of Co-op includes Kenny (Alex Brightman), Larry (Richard Kind), Patty (Paula Pell) and Dee Dee (Renee Elise Goldsberry).

Screening as part of the series Documentary Now…And Forever!

  • Running Time 77 minutes
  • Format DCP
  • Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.