Theres a moment in the Roundabout Theatre revival of Company which beautifully sums up the dilemma of Stephen Sondheim. Its at the top of Act II, when Bobby, the lone bachelor, and all his happily married friends sing "Side by Side by Side." As the tide suggests, the number has a presentational, vaudevillian quality, and when, toward the end of Rob Marshalls inventive staging, the cast comes together to form a mechanical kickline, the audience bursts into happy, contented applause.

But wait a minute: the whole point of this chorus is that the mechanics dont work. In I970, in the original production, Michael Bennett gave each husband and wife call-and-response tap breaks—except, when it comes to Bobbys turn, he has no one to tap with: thats the entire play in a four-count break. In the new production, Marshalls choreography extends the idea: Bobby is the odd man out, always out of step—as he raises his top hat, the others are lo ...

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