Last night we saw the much-anticipated, star-studded production of Company at Lincoln Center, with music by the New York Philharmonic. It was such a wonderful experience; with a cast of such wattage, at times I didn’t know where on stage to look: should I be watching Neil Patrick Harris? Patti LuPone? Stephen Colbert? Christina Hendricks? Jon Cryer? Not to mention: Martha Plimpton, Katie Finneran, Anika Noni Rose… it was like one of those episodes of The Love Boat where you watch the opening credits and see the face of great guest star after great guest star appearing in those circles: how cool is it to see all these people performing together?

(Here’s a slide show from the first performance on Thursday night.)

Considering that much of the cast rehearsed via iPhone, it was a pretty smooth show. The singing wasn’t of uniform quality; frankly, not all of these people are known for musical performances. But the acting was terrific all around. Standouts for me were Stephen Colbert and Martha Plimpton as Harry and Sarah; Christina Hendricks as the ditzy April, her voice pitched a little higher than when she plays Joan Holloway on “Mad Men”; and Katie Finneran as Amy.

Also great was the dancing! The vaudeville second-act ensemble number, “Side By Side By Side / What Would We Do Without You?” was a blast. Celebrities are usually each the center of attention when they perform, so it was a real treat to see all these famous people perform together in a big vaudeville dance number with straw hats.

And of course much of the singing was terrific. Patti LuPone stopped the show with “The Ladies Who Lunch” — not a surprise to anyone who saw her perform the number at the Sondheim birthday concert last year, whether live or on video. (When she said “I’d like to propose a toast,” the audience roared with applause.) Anika Noni Rose was great with “Another Hundred People,” and Katie Finneran was hilarious in “I’m Not Getting Married” (although she ran out of breath a few times, and the orchestra drowned her out a bit). I still think Raul Esparza’s performance of Bobby in the Broadway revival four years ago is iconic, but Neil Patrick Harris did a great job in the role and brought a nice emotional quality to “Being Alive.”

Even better for us: our seats were upgraded. When we bought tickets a couple of months ago, we bought relatively cheap seats in the third tier. But on Tuesday, the box office called and said they needed to use our seats for video cameras, and consequently they were moving us to the orchestra. We were toward the back, so we still couldn’t really see facial expressions, but we were still closer than we’d planned to be, and it was cool to be able to sit there.

Also, it was my very first time at Avery Fisher Hall. I’m glad I finally got to visit.

It was a memorable theater experience, the sum greater than its parts. Fortunately it’s being filmed for limited theatrical release, so others will be able to see it, too. But I’m really glad I got to see it live.