Coercing Bobby "off of his rump" the Company way (today's MARQUEE)
Coercing Bobby "off of his rump" the Company way (today's MARQUEE)
Sondheim protagonist's friends use vivid metaphors to badger the bachelor
Shalom, Broadway lovers!
In today’s FREE edition of MARQUEE: The Broadway Maven’s Weekly Blast: a video essay about the imagery in Company; a Congratulations to Mateo Chavez Lewis on a career milestone; a homework video about Fiddler on the Roof; and a Last Blast about The Sound of Music.
Today, Premium subscribers also get a Broadway Blast about Into the Woods; a Piano Talk about Falsettos; and a survey about Broadway foods.
VIDEO ESSAY: What's with all the seemingly random metaphors in Company? From the Seagram's building to a damaged cocoon to "choosing a hat," Bobby's friends make scattered, sometimes obscure references to a lot of seemingly disconnected images. I've prepared a video essay that uses 25 examples to argue that the metaphors in Company are actually a sly way Bobby's friends encourage him to pursue a mature relationship.
What metaphors have you noticed in Company that might apply to Bobby? Explain your answers in the comments.
MARQUEE readers with easy access to Manhattan should check out this Sondheim parody show now in previews off-Broadway. Click the announcement to buy tickets!
CONGRATULATIONS: This week the Broadway Maven's Mateo Chavez Lewis marked a major achievement in his career as a theatermaker. He was accepted in the composer program in the BMI Lehman Engel workshop. For over 60 years, BMI has been synonymous with excellence in musical theatre writing and has globally been regarded as the top tier of musical theatre writing training. It's what The New York Times called it "the Harvard of musical theatre writing."
Mateo was selected as one of eight composers out of a pool of over 900 applicants to join the workshop, following in the footsteps of alumni Ed Kleban (A Chorus Line), Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast), Maury Yeston (Nine) and Robert Lopez (Frozen), to name a few. This workshop is where Tom Kitt & Brian Yorkey met and began writing Next to Normal. It's also where Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty met, spawning a collaboration that gave the world Ragtime and Anastasia, among many others.
Starting next year (September 2025) Mateo will be in NYC full-time, attending classes once a week and honing his craft as a musical theatre composer alongside the world's greatest.
Here's Mateo: "This is probably the single biggest event to happen in my career so far and will open many, many doors for me to hone my writing skills even further and reach more people with my stories! I am so, so excited to begin the journey."
Fiddler on the Roof explores universal themes of tradition, change, and identity through the lens of a Jewish community in early 20th-century Russia. In this FREE second meeting of a two-part series meeting Monday, September 16 at Noon and 7 pm ET, we’ll continue to look at the ways the musical poignantly portrays the struggle between preserving cultural heritage and adapting to modern influences, making it relatable across cultures and generations. Attendance at last week’s session is not required to appreciate the aspects of the show we’ll be discussing. Music educator Mateo Chavez Lewis will be on hand at his piano for a music theory segment about one of the songs in the show.
GET THE WORM (ANNOUNCEMENT): Don't get locked out! The Broadway Maven's FREE classes (usually Mondays at Noon) have begun to fill up, and there are only 100 spots per session (Noon and 7 pm). If you wish to participate in any FREE class, please register early and especially show up early. Paid classes continue to have plenty of room in them. (The next paid course will be on the music of Hamilton, Sundays in November.)
HOMEWORK: To prepare for Monday's FREE Fiddler on the Roof class, watch this 5-minute video about the strengths of the show. Why do you think Fiddler has struck a chord with so many people? Put your answers in the comments below the video.
Note: Links to register for ALL classes are always available at TheBroadwayMaven.com.
• Monday, September 16 Noon and 7 pm ET Fiddler on the Roof part B (FREE)
• Tuesday, September 17 Noon ET Sondheim Academy (registration closed)
• Monday, September 23 Noon and 7 pm ET Ragtime and Parade (FREE)
• Tuesday, September 24 Noon ET Sondheim Academy (registration closed)
• Monday, September 30 Noon and 7 pm ET Barbra Streisand’s musicals (FREE)
• Sunday, November 3, 10, and 17 Noon ET “The Music of Hamilton” with Mateo Chavez Lewis (registration opens October 1)
NOTE: As always, ALL-ACCESS Passholders do not have to sign up or pay for anything. Just show up!
LAST BLAST: In The Sound of Music, many of the metaphors Maria chooses to help the children learn the solfège syllables mnemonically resemble important plot points in the narrative. She likes to So ("sew, a needle pulling thread") clothes for the children, who are clearly as innocent as a Do ("doe, a deer, a female deer") and she enthusiastically takes them outside for a Re ("ray, a drop of golden sun"). Given Maria's journey of self-exploration, Mi ("me, a name I call myself") is apt, and ultimately the family must flee Fa ("far, a long, long way to run."). Maria's ability to incorporate themes into her lesson is a testament to her intuition and pedagogical nimbleness.
Broadway Maven David Benkof helps students further their appreciation of musical theater through his classes, his YouTube channel, and MARQUEE: the Broadway Maven’s Weekly Blast. Contact him at DavidBenkof@gmail.com.