Company: Did Sondheim create a concept musical about Existentialism?
Been listening to the content of Company recently, and really... well just read.
“The Notion: A man with no emotional commitments reassesses his life on his thirty-fifth birthday by reviewing his relationships with his married acquaintances and his girlfriends. That is the entire plot”- Finishing the Hat, 2010 book written by Stephen Sondheim
Existentialism- Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence.- Wikipedia (lol.)
Calling back on my A level days I want to do a little focused post on Stephen Sondheim and how he revolutionised and perfected the concept musical. In this post I want to talk about the theme of existentialism in Company. I thought I’d start with Company. I want to talk about Assassins at some point as that is my favourite Sondheim musical.
The Concept
The concept musical is a term used to describe a play or musical in which there isn’t a traditional linear plot, but rather a series of vignettes or scenes that revolve around a central theme. Instead of following a classic beginning-middle-end structure, concept musicals explore ideas and emotions through loosely connected moments. Some well-known examples include Cabaret, A Chorus Line, and Hair (Oh look at that, I found a way to mention Cabaret again). The term ‘concept musical’ wouldn’t of been used then, but it is how we describe this specific genre today.
To understand Company, we need to start with a brief history of the musical itself, and of Stephen Sondheim. Musical theatre nerds will already know that Sondheim is one of the most influential and groundbreaking composers of the 20th century. His impact can be felt in the work of contemporary composers like Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), and Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years) all of whom have cited Sondheim as a major influence, with some even benefiting from his direct mentorship.
Sondheim’s own mentor was none other than Oscar Hammerstein II. Under Hammerstein’s guidance, Sondheim developed a deep understanding of storytelling through song. He first made his Broadway debut as the lyricist for West Side Story (1957), but he aspired to write both music and lyrics. That goal came to fruition with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in 1962.
Company began not as a musical, but as a collection of 11 one-act plays written by George Furth. Director Harold Prince saw potential in turning the pieces into a cohesive musical, and he brought the idea to Sondheim. Together, with Sondheim composing music and lyrics and Furth adapting his plays into a book, they shaped what would become Company. Rather than following a single plot, the musical revolves around Bobby (Robert) a 35-year-old bachelor in New York, who serves as a kind of emotional and narrative anchor. The story unfolds through his interactions with various married friends, ex-girlfriends, and his own conflicted feelings about love and commitment.
The original 1970 Broadway production was a landmark moment in American musical theatre. It received a record-breaking 14 Tony Award nominations and won six, including Best Musical. Its success helped redefine what a Broadway musical could be structurally, emotionally, and thematically.
Existentialism in Company’s supporting characters
The theme I want to explore in Company is existentialism. The existential concerns present in the musical reflect the ideas of philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre, Kierkegaard, and Camus (in my opinion). Concepts such as radical freedom, the anguish of choice, that we define ourselves through action, not any fixed identity. These ideas are embodied most clearly by the character of Bobby, but they also shape the musical’s structure and relationships. Sondheim and Furth created a work that appears on the surface to be about marriage, but goes far deeper, offering meditations on freedom, authenticity, and the anxieties of modern life. Through its fragmented structure, ambivalent protagonist, and sharp lyricism, Company mirrors existentialist philosophy.
To begin, I want to look at some individual supporting characters and highlight how marriage is presented through an existentialist lens.
‘The Little Things You Do Together’ highlights how love and marriage can function as distractions from emptiness. From an absurdist angle, we see couples who are miserable together, yet remain bound to one another. Is it because they must? Or is marriage simply easier than confronting freedom, as suggested by Joanne, who jokes, “It’s not so hard to be married. I’ve done it three or four times.” The song undermines romanticised views of marriage, focusing not on passion or grand gestures but on the mundane routines, petty grievances, and compromises that both sustain and strain relationships. The humour masks the discomfort of recognising that these “little things” can erode love as much as support it, in this case, the married couple are bickering over karate classes and who turns the light off every night. This early number sets the tone for the show’s exploration of messy, imperfect relationships. Bobby doesn’t sing in this piece, but he listens and absorbs these perspectives, shaping his conflicted understanding of what marriage might offer. From an audience perspective it's important to understand that Bobby is the epicentre of all couples which is perpetuated by the opening number ‘Company’.
As well as ‘Company’, it is shown in ‘Side by Side by Side’ as well, notice how Sondheim has three ‘sides’ when traditionally you would just say “side by side” but Bobby is the extra side in all of these marriages.
JOANNE: It’s the little things you share together, swear together, wear together
Joanne’s nihilism deepens this perspective of marriage in ‘The Ladies Who Lunch’. As well as being a jaw dropping song, which is then followed by ‘Being Alive’ proving that Company really does have some bangers. The song shows Joanne using cynicism as armour, stripping away illusions and mocking the women who “play wife.” Her hard-edged wit, sexual frankness, and emotional detachment break the mould of the submissive or supportive spouse. Instead, she embodies bitterness, power, and insight that few female characters were allowed at the time, and I would argue none of the other female characters in Company have. Her worldview reflects a kind of Nietzschean nihilism: she sees through the social façade of marriage and ritual, exposing their emptiness while resenting the need to participate in them. Her song lays bare the hollowness beneath the surface of privilege and propriety. Joanne bitterly calls out women of the period, calling out their (and to an extent her own) attempts to mask dissatisfaction with distractions.
JOANNE: Here’s to the girls who just watch, aren’t they the best? When they get depressed, it’s a bottle of Scotch, plus a little jest.
Amy’s fear of marriage is presented through the brilliant ‘Getting Married Today’, where her panic attack mirrors Kierkegaard’s “fear and trembling”. As one of the first existentialist philosophers, Kierkegaard wrote about the dread that accompanies major life choices, the same dread Amy experiences as she faces marriage. Sondheim captures a moment of pure existential terror, Amy isn’t just afraid of marriage, she’s overwhelmed by the burden of losing her freedom and the irreversible nature of this choice, she even says to Bobby when he impulsively asks her to marry him instead of Paul, “Isn’t this some world, I’m afraid to get married and you’re afraid not to” followed by what I think is one of the best quotes in the show, “You have to want to marry somebody, not just some body”. Moving our focus back to the song, it lays bare the responsibility of shaping one’s own meaning in a world where no external structure, not even marriage, can guarantee fulfilment. Her frantic inner monologue contrasts with the calm, ceremonial setting around her, highlighting her isolation and the absurdity she sees in the ritual. Beneath the humour and chaos lies a deeply human struggle with choice, commitment, and the search for purpose.
Getting Married Today runs at a blistering tempo of around 163 beats per minute, with the performer rattling off nearly six words per second at the peak of Amy’s anxiety, perfectly mirroring her spiralling panic.
AMY: “I telephoned my analyst about it, and he said to see him Monday, but by Monday I’ll be floating in the Hudson with the other garbage”
If you are going to listen to any of these, please listen to ‘Getting Married Today’ . It is a masterpiece (I’m always right remember), and I believe the only song that is faster in terms of words said/sung, is ‘Guns and Ships’ from Hamilton. It will blow you away that some performers are able to do this.
I decided to link the 2011 PBS Great Performances version below, this is because it is the best quality, there is also a Jonathan Bailey version of ‘Getting Married Today’ in the gender swapped 2018 version which is incredible. Amy is cleverly named ‘Jamie’ instead.
'The Little Things You do Together' by Patti LuPone in 2011 version
'Ladies who Lunch' by Patti LuPone in 2011 version
'Getting Married Today' by Katie Finneran in 2011 version
'Getting Married Today' by Jonathan Bailey in the 2018 revival
Company ultimately uses its characters in a fragmented form to ask existential questions: What does it mean to choose? How do we find authenticity in a world of expectations? Is connection possible without self-deception? The musical offers no easy answers, but through Bobby’s journey, it insists on the importance and terror of facing these questions honestly.
Essence precedes existence: Bobby’s acceptance of “Being Alive”
Bobby has been portrayed in various ways throughout the multiple productions of the musical. I must say my favourite is Raúl Esparza from the 2006 Broadway revival cast, something about that version holds a special place in my heart.
Bobby can be seen as a relatable character, he’s designed as an every person sort of character. He has no background or specific personality traits. All we know is that he is a single bachelor and it’s his 35th birthday. Creating a deliberately incomplete character with flaws makes his relatability come from not being admirable or consistent, but messy and flawed. Like all of us.
Bobby, at the heart of Company, embodies the modern existential struggle. Throughout the musical, he drifts through relationships and social scenes, being more of an observer than participant, paralysed by the weight of choice. Seen through an existential lens, especially Sartre’s, Bobby’s dilemma reflects the anxiety of radical freedom: the terrifying realisation that he alone must create meaning in a world without inherent purpose. His fear of commitment doesn’t stem from an inability to love, but from the knowledge that to choose to marry, to connect, to belong is to take responsibility for shaping his own essence. His charm but detachment conceal a deep confusion. He yearns for intimacy but recoils from the vulnerability and loss of freedom it demands, this is literally shown in ‘Barcelona’ and ‘Marry Me a Little’, like he only wants to be married “a little” and “loved just enough”. In ‘Barcelona’ after sleeping with April he struggles coming to terms with his own intimacy and relationship with her, changing his mind halfway through the song, at the beginning he wants April to stay, and by the end he doesn’t he wants her to go. While the married couples around him have taken the plunge, with all its risks and compromises, Bobby remains on the sidelines, alienated, and this is something that is made clear throughout the various songs and scenes.
Indecisive, and searching for the courage to engage, by the final number, ‘Being Alive’, Bobby begins to confront this fear and move toward authenticity: he recognises that freedom without connection is empty, and that to be truly alive means embracing the messiness, risk, and responsibility of love. His journey mirrors the existential demand to stop avoiding choice and to actively create meaning, no matter how uncertain or terrifying it may be. ‘Being Alive’ is a bonafide musical theatre banger, but its context within the show adds incredible weight to Bobby’s journey, finally he accepts that simply “being alive” is enough, while also accepting the complexities of love. He knows that with love comes challenges, “Someone to hold me close”, “Mock me with praise”, "Let me be used”, “Make me confused”. All of these challenges are what makes love difficult but he accepts that the messiness of love can create meaning for himself and fulfil the existential ability to shape one’s own essence through action.
I think ‘Being Alive’ is also open to other interpretations and its up to the listener or viewer to decide what ‘Being Alive’ means to them.
Conclusion
In Company, Sondheim and Furth present more than just a musical about marriage; they offer a profound exploration of what it means to be human in a world without clear answers. Through Bobby’s journey, we witness the existential struggle between freedom and connection, isolation and belonging, avoidance and engagement. Company does not provide easy solutions; instead, it invites the audience to reflect on their own fears of commitment, their search for meaning, and the risks that come with truly being alive.
Like Bobby, we are left to grapple with the responsibility of creating purpose in our lives not through avoidance, but through the messy, imperfect act of reaching out to others.
This ended up being really long, I was originally just going to focus on Bobby but once I started writing I couldn’t stop, and fell down a real philosophical pipeline, I’ll leave a little informal bibliography with the philosophical aspects where I gained a lot of existential thinking from, it was really interesting to read about.
Thanks for reading,
Jack (:
Bibliography
https://philosophybreak.com/articles/existence-precedes-essence-what-sartre-really-meant/
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sartre/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/existentialism
https://www.cambridge.org/core/publications/elements/philosophy-of-soeren-kierkegaard