In 1969, a little-known composer/lyricist and a first-time playwright began to adapt a small series of unpublished vignettes into a new musical about marriage. However, the show that exploded onto the stage a year later was unlike anything they had expected. Abandoning any sort of linear plot and setting its witty, stinging lyrics to music that completely rejected the traditional form of Broadway standards, "Company" was a vitriolic analysis of urban life, marriage, commitment, and isolation.