For this week’s Musical Moment, we are focusing on arguably one of history’s greatest musical theatre composers and lyricists: Stephen Sondheim, the incomparable giant of late 20th century Broadway, and one of his finest works from his 1970 hit Company: Being Alive. With a career spanning over seven decades, Sondheim redefined the genre of musical theatre with his innovations in scoring, lyrics and subject matter, tackling themes that elevated the form way beyond the traditional structures of Golden Age musicals of the post-war period. His death in 2021 left behind a remarkable legacy which included numerous prestigious awards, two eponymous theatres and hits such as Gypsy, West Side Story, Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George.
Sondheim’s unique ability to translate the human experience into words is no better exemplified than in Company’s Act II closing track: ‘Being Alive’. Our protagonist Bobby (written as a male part but expertly transformed into a female lead by Rosalie Craig in the show’s 2018 West End Revival) is perpetually single and fails to see the benefits of marriage, let alone a relationship. Upon reaching his 35th birthday, something clicks in Bobby’s mind. Where he once enjoyed his life as a single bachelor, the longing for companionship starts to creep in. ‘Being Alive’ comes at the moment the penny drops – Bobby stands alone onstage, pining for more.
In contrast to the more optimistic demands of the Act I closing track ‘Marry Me a Little’, the tender lyricism of ‘Being Alive’ shows Bobby’s realisation of the messiness and imperfectness of human relationships, and of himself. In ‘Marry Me a Little’, Bobby looks to the future and imagines marriage as a union of perfect balance:
Marry me a little,
Love me just enough.
Cry, but not too often,
Play, but not too rough.
Despite the song concluding with Bobby’s fading statement of ‘I’m ready’, Sondheim’s repetition of ‘me’ throughout the track suggests the centre of Bobby’s universe is still himself. He views marriage as something to happen to him, not with him, and he’s not ready to accept the messiness of another human entering his life.
‘Being Alive’ is the other side of the coin. Opening with the ghostly warnings from his friends (‘You’ve got so many reasons for not being with someone, but Robert, you haven’t one good reason for being alone’), the song unfolds as Bobby starts to figure it all out. The vocal line trails off as he counts all the reasons to not be alone, with ‘someone’ repeated with urgency at the start of every line:
Someone to crowd you with love
Someone to force you to care
Someone to make you come through
Who’ll always be there
As frightened as you
Of being alive
His realisation then turns to an outpour of desperation and need as he urges that ‘someone’ to have a drastic impact his life, to ‘make (him) confused, to ‘mock (him) with praise’. Where before he wanted to ‘keep a tender distance’, he now craves the entanglement that comes with welcoming someone into his life. In comparing these two songs and interrogating the lyrics, it’s evident of Bobby’s growth: where before he focuses on the intricacies and bureaucracy of marriage, he has ascended into defining the very essence of what it means to be human: the messiness and joy of connection.
