Critic's corner

0 Comments | USA TODAY, February, 2008 | by Robert Bianco

Some things are much more welcome when they're free.

Granted, this PBS presentation of the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company (tonight, 9 ET/PT, times may vary) may still strike you as a hard sell. Starring Raul Esparza (Olive's would-be boyfriend on Pushing Daisies), the production showcases the same gimmick director John Doyle used in his better-received Sweeney Todd: The actors double as members of the orchestra.

There is, to be sure, some novelty value in watching the cast march around singing and playing instruments. Unfortunately, they do neither well enough to do justice to the score, and as bad as they often sounded in the theater, they sound even worse on TV, which tends to amplify pitch problems. And considering the weakness of the book,...