EDGE Interview: In Gender-Switched 'Company,' Matthew Rodin is 'Not Getting Married Today'

Note: Introduction by Robert Nesti

"Company" hit Broadway in 1970 with the shock of the new: a plotless, concept musical that dealt with contemporary views of marriage. In it, married friends of Bobby, its protagonist, gather to celebrate his 35th birthday and prod him about his not being married. As he blows out the candles, a series of scenes unfold that show his relationships with the couples, as well as the women he dates, as he struggles with his commitment issues.

The show marked the first collaboration between composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and producer Harold Prince, collaborators whose subsequent productions over the decade would transform musical theater. It was a hit, winning six Tony Awards (out of a record-breaking 14 nominations), and ran 705 performances. Numerous revivals have kept "Company" relevant, including John Doyle's 2006 production in which the actors played instruments.

But how do you bring the show in the 21th century? British director Marianne Elliott pitched the idea of a gender-swap production to Sondheim in which Bobby became Bobbie, a successful and single 35-year old New Yorker with a group of married friends and a trio of men she dates. According to an interview in the New York Times, Sondheim said at first was skeptical, but after Elliot sent him a tape of a workshop of her concept, he was intrigued. Then when Marianne told him that workshop's young cameraman who was unfamiliar with the show said, "You mean it worked with a guy?" And Sondheim was sold.

What especially worked for Sondheim, who won his first Tony Awards for "Company," was the scene at the end of the first act in which a young bride has second doubts about her impending wedding with the tongue-twisting "Not Getting Married." With gay marriage legal, the couple became two men and the scene resonated with the contemporary feel it had decades ago. Sondheim said the production was "thrilling from beginning to end. And the last scene of Act I (which is now two guys) will completely shatter you, as well as it being one of the funniest scenes on record."

In this new version, the anxious bride, named Amy, becomes Jaimie. It is also a role that has brought the actors who have played it in London and Broadway awards. Jonathan Bailey – now a major star – won the Olivier Award in London and Matt Doyle on Broadway in the pandemic-delayed production that became a hit and was running when Sondheim died in November 2021.

In the current tour, that arrives in Boston this week at the Citizen Bank Opera House through April 14, Jaimie is played by Matthew Rodin, the 31-year-old New Yorker who program bio reads: "Matthew is grateful to be here and queer." It was a sentence that would have been forbidden in a program bio in 1970. In addition to his acting, Matt is accomplished video director and editor; and is the creator and host of "The Come Up" (Broadway Podcast Network) and "The Red Carpet Challenge" (Broadway.com). Prior to "Company," Matthew has appeared in "Rent" (Paper Mill Playhouse), "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" at Milwaukee Rep, and the 2022 film musical "Beau," directed by Josh Rhodes,

EDGE spoke to Matthew during the show's recent run in Washington DC about his career, the show's gender-swapping concept, and being a queer actor in 2024.

EDGE: Please introduce yourself to the readers.

Matthew Rodin: My name is Matthew Rodin. I'm from outside of Chicago from a little suburb called Northbrook. I attended the Boston Conservatory and now I live in New York.

EDGE: When did you get your 'big break?'

Matthew Rodin: This is my big break. If I were to consider something my big break, I would say this opportunity and this show. I've never gotten the chance to work on something of this scale and caliber and with an amazing group of performers.

EDGE: "Company" premiered in Boston 54 years ago. How does it feel to come to the city where it all began?

Matthew Rodin: As a young person who loved theater, I looked up to many Broadway actors and held their performances close to my heart. I have always wanted to be a part of Broadway and I have always wanted to have a small part in the legacy of this show and musical theater at large. It's not lost on me, and I don't take it for granted for a single second. The thing that I feel mostly is just gratitude. Gratitude for the opportunity and gratitude that in 1970, they took a leap of faith and tried something completely different. "Company" was the first nonlinear concept musical. Nothing had ever been done like this before. I think still it's having an impact on audiences in the way that it doesn't land like a traditional musical. It leaves you with more questions than it does answers the same way it did in the beginning.

EDGE: When did you first experience the show?

Matthew Rodin: I knew Sondheim music, at a pretty young age, but I didn't become familiar with a lot of his work until I was in college. "Company" still evaded me until this most recent revival. I was familiar with some of the music as I'm sure I'd watched some clips on YouTube, but again wasn't really familiar with all the music. I knew "The Ladies Who Lunch, "Being Alive," and "You Could Drive a Person Crazy." Those classic numbers. It wasn't until I went and saw this revival in 2021 that I was really taken aback by how relevant it felt and how clearly, I understood what these relationships were about. I have been with my husband now for about four years and I had never heard anyone articulate the experience of being in partnership as clearly as Sondheim's lyrics did. I couldn't believe that Sondheim, who had never been in a relationship before when he was writing this, was able to put into words what that experience was like. I honestly felt comforted.

EDGE: What do you enjoy most about playing Jaime?

Matthew Rodin: Getting to play a queer character on stage every night is an incredible privilege. As a queer person, I grew up seeking out representation, trying to find places and people that I felt looked like me, behaved like me, or thought like me. We've certainly come a long way since the '90s when I was born. The fact that I get to bring a large part of myself to and share that with audiences every night is a gift. His neurosis is fun. His relationship with Paul is such a joy to get to be a part of every night. I'm lucky that I've had two wonderful gentlemen play my husband in this production – Ali Louis Bourzgui, who's playing Tommy on Broadway right now, and Jhardon Dishon Milton, who is just so generous, kind, smart, and warm. Being across from them every night has been my favorite part of playing Jamie. I feel very lucky to have a partner to go through this show and tour with. Tour life is not simple and it's not always easy, so to have someone to lean on and be there for you is amazing.

EDGE: How does the gender swap change the way you see the show?

Matthew Rodin: I think it's a testament to the piece that the genders of pretty much any of the roles could be swapped, and the story still stands. I certainly think that these gender swaps that they've made are so brilliantly made. They provide a new context for these characters and their stories, which makes them more relevant to where we are in society today. A 35-year-old unmarried man isn't as uncommon as a 35-year-old unmarried woman for the most part, and the pressures on a 35-year-old unmarried woman are very different from the pressures on an unmarried 35-year-old man in 2024. At the end of Act I, having the queer couple be the one that is going through a little bit of tumultuousness and questioning is powerful because it shows that they are part of the larger picture in terms of what marriage is.

EDGE: How does Stephen Sondheim's music inspire you?

Matthew Rodin: What's incredible about his music is that he has a way of articulating what's happening internally in a way that's both explicit and suggestive. He doesn't use too many words. Everything is efficient. What's also quite remarkable with his music is that what's happening underneath deeply informs the words that are coming out, which I think is the hope of all musical theater. We want the melody, the accompaniment, and the harmonies that are built to amplify both the words that we're saying and the message that we're trying to relay. His music does that in such a way that I don't think anyone else has ever achieved in musical theater. He is the Shakespeare of our time in terms of musical theater.

EDGE: What do you hope the audience takes away from this production?

Matthew Rodin: I hope that people leave with questions. I hope that they will want to talk about what partnerships and relationships mean to them and where they fall into the expansive and endless spectrum of what that means. I don't think the show provides any answers, which is why I love it so much. I hope, if anything, people leave with a sense of comfort knowing that life is complicated and it's even more beautiful because we get to share it.

EDGE: In the cast bio it says, "Matthew is grateful to be here and queer." What does being queer mean to you and what is your message to other queer individuals.

Matthew Rodin: I mean that specifically in the sense of in a particular moment. Right now, I'm talking to you. I'm in D.C. and you're in Boston, but I'm grateful to be here at this moment right now with you. And when someone reads that, while sitting in the theatre, in the Playbill bio, I'm probably backstage getting ready for the show or its intermission. It's my acknowledgment of a moment that I am glad to be sharing with you. Then the other half of that is the queer component, which is my queerness. It's all-encompassing in that it's not only who I am, but it's what I believe. For me, everything is nuanced. There is no good and bad. There is no black and white. Everything is a part of a larger spectrum. I think queerness for me is a representation of that, not only of my sexuality but also of my gender and my faith. It's everything.

That is what I love about being queer and identifying as a queer person. I feel as if everybody is a part of my family. I'm talking about straight people and gay people. My queerness is the acknowledgment that I am a part of something much larger than myself. I'm grateful that you asked me this question because it makes me happy, and it makes me grateful, and it keeps me humbled. My message for other queer people is that you don't need a definition and you don't need to put yourself into any boxes that exist as you are today in this particular moment, in this hour, in this minute, that is more than enough.

EDGE: Tell us about your podcast, "The Come Up."

Matthew Rodin: Absolutely! Thanks for asking. "The Come Up" is a podcast that I started a few years ago that is a space to have really honest and candid conversations about the reality of being a growing person and artist. It is me sitting down with people I know and people that I don't know, and we talk about their relationship with themselves and their work. I want to know where they are in their journey of self-discovery. The podcast is an opportunity to check in and see at what point they are in their journey. I feel very blessed and lucky that I have been able to have so many heartwarming, heart-opening, and eye-opening conversations. I love getting to talk to people. I can't shut up and it's given me not only the opportunity to connect on a deeper level with people that I do know but also to go deep with people that I admire. The conversations are often funny an d spiritual. We sort of touch on everything. I'm excited because I think we're going to do another batch of episodes for this upcoming Broadway season.

The National tour of "Company" is currently at Boston's Citizen Bank Opera House through April 14, 2024. For more information, follow this link.

For upcoming dates on the "Company" tour, follow this link

Watch Matthew Rodin in the trailer for the film "Beau."