New York: Harold Prince, N.d. [1970]

108 mimeographed pp. bound in tan stiff paper wrappers, secured with two brass brads to left edge. Title in gilt to front wrapper. Corners and edges of oversized wrappers a little bumped, but a very well preserved copy.

GEORGE CHAKIRIS’ AUDITION SCRIPT FOR THE LEAD ROLE OF BOBBY IN THE WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF COMPANY, WITH HIS PENCILLED ANNOTATIONS TO TITLE PAGE AND PREPARED SCENES.

The paths of George Chakiris [b. 1932] and Stephen Sondheim [1930-2021] had crossed long before this audition in New York in 1970. West Side Story, with lyrics by Sondheim and music by Leonard Bernstein, opened at the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway on 26 September 1957; the next day the show had become, and remains, one of the defining events of musical theatre. The film followed in 1961. Co-directed by Robert Wise and choreographer Jerome Robbins, it starred Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer as the star-crossed lovers -- and George Chakiris as Bernardo, leader of the Sharks, a performance which won him both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Given his history with Sondheim, Chakiris had every reason to believe that this audition was likely to go well. But he clearly took nothing for granted: the title page of his audition script for Company is covered with pencilled notes prompted by his diligent and perceptive preparatory reading of the text: character observations (’Bachelor - no family - good income - should be working at marriage - HE’S CHECKING OUT WHO’S HAPPY’); prompts for points he might want to raise (’JOHN UPDIKE’S “COUPLES”’, an interesting comparator: Updike's novel had been published only two years previously); and notes relating to interaction with other characters (’Putting it all together [...] WATCH THEM & LISTEN’).

But for all his past association with Sondheim, Chakiris did not get the job, and the role of Bobby in the original Broadway production of Company went to Dean Jones. (Jones was unhappy in the show, and ill-suited to it, and was replaced after a month by Larry Kert. Kert also played the role in the London West End premiere in 1972). But Chakiris had his day: he played Bobby in the first US national tour of the show in 1971, and the colossal Elaine Stritch bestrode all three of these productions as Joanne.)

Scripts from the original production of Company are rare; pre-rehearsal scripts, still to be revised and refined through rehearsal, are rarer still. And this copy is so early it doesn’t even contain all the songs. On p.2-1-9, in an unknown hand (not Chakiris’), are the words ‘NEW NUMBER’ written in ink alongside the printed stage direction:

‘An alarm clock goes off by ROBERT’s bed. [...] ROBERT and APRIL wake up slowly. It’s 4.30 in the morning. Reluctantly THEY sing about her leaving. SHE is off to Barcelona on the early morning flight. Actually HE is glad to see her go.’

Barcelona, the bittersweet anti-love duet, and a song which became one of the many high spots of a classic show, had not yet been written...

An original script, with a superlative provenance and in its very earliest printed state, of one of the great glories of musical theatre.