FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: January 30, 2008
Contact: Emma F. Caro
Public Relations Director
513-345-2242, ext. 2071

COMPANY TO AIR ON PBS’S GREAT PERFORMANCES

(CINCINNATI) – Tony Award-winning COMPANY will air on PBS’s Great Performances on Wednesday, February 20 at 9 p.m.

Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s musical COMPANY, directed by John Doyle, premiered at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in the spring of 2006. After a sold-out run, it opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway on November 29, 2006, and closed July 1, 2007, after 34 previews and 247 regular performances. The June 30, 2007, matinee and evening performances were filmed for Great Performances in collaboration with Ellen M. Krass Productions.

According to Playhouse Producing Artistic Director Edward Stern, “We are delighted that millions of people will be able to see a wonderful taping of a live performance of COMPANY and experience the magic that started right here in Cincinnati. I’ve seen the taping of the show and it’s sensational. What a terrific way to preserve COMPANY for years to come.”

COMPANY is a revolutionary, unconventional look at love and commitment in a complex modern world. The show is a remarkably honest, clever and sophisticated portrayal of five married couples as seen through the eyes of their mutual friend Robert, a bachelor.

The story takes place on the occasion of Robert’s birthday, and he’s about to walk in on a surprise party thrown by his closest friends. Through a series of vignettes, the audience meets them as Robert weighs the pros and cons of wedded life, comparing the good and bad aspects of their marriages with three of his own less than perfect partnerships.

COMPANY won the 2007 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical and was recognized with the Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical and Outstanding Orchestrations; the Drama League Award for Distinguished Revival of a Musical; and two Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Revival of a Musical and Outstanding Actor in a Musical.
Great Performances is America's longest-running and most prestigious television series devoted to the performing arts.  Since its premiere in 1972, it has produced or presented over 600 programs of music, drama and dance.

The Cincinnati production of COMPANY was presented by United Medical Resources, Inc. and Performance Lexus/Lexus RiverCenter.

Artists fly to and from Cincinnati on Delta Connection Comair, the Playhouse’s official airline.

The Playhouse is supported, in part, by the generosity of the tens of thousands of individuals and businesses that give to the Fine Arts Fund.

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

The Playhouse also receives funding from the City of Cincinnati and The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation.

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