THESE WOMEN

Marta, Marta, I just can't. Oh my gosh. I can't.
She's just this outrageous, fervent, young and unafraid character.
And she's supposed to represent the city of New York, isn't she?
I don't know anything firsthand about being in New York, or in any big city really, but this scene does wonders for me.

Her voice is just this powerful, brassy thing. When she dips into her lower notes there's this inviting mystique, and as it heightens it becomes frantic but above all never backs down. The lyrics, the music, her entire performance illustrates glory and frenzy and intrigue, and ever present in her voice is this exciting edge that draws you in, the way a CAUTION sign does. It says to me, the city's not for everyone, but it is a wondrous, enthralling place for those people to whom it calls. Those people like Marta.

"And another hundred people just got off of the train."
She's saying, it could be you. It is me, I'm already there, but you've got to see it for yourself. People are coming here every day, every minute, every few seconds--living it, breathing it, soaking it in or passing it by. It could be you. And, in the case of Bobby, there are so many people...who knows who you'll meet in the mix?

Sondheim is brilliant, and Company--at least this performance of it--is one of the best things I have ever seen.