Life, love, humor in ‘Company’

Humor, love and life lessons define Hoosier Musical Productions’ newest show, “Company.”

The show is about a bachelor, “Robert,” and his five friends who have either experienced marriage or are about to become married, as well as three ex-girlfriends.

‘Company’ will take place 7 p.m. today through Saturday, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, at the Bloomington Playwrights Project.

Members of Hoosier Musical Productions, an IU student organization, produced and perform in the musical. The actors include one IU graduate and 13 current students. The director, musical director and stage manager are also current students.

Throughout the play Robert is shown the ups-and-downs of love and the good and bad of being connected to another person through marriage.

Music director Evan Rees said that “Company” is his first production with the organization and added that the musical is the “Bobby” show because it focuses on the character.

“It centers around Bobby and his three ex-girlfriends,” he said. “It’s about his struggles to where he wants to be and who he wants to be with.”

Rees said that none of the actors ever go offstage during the performance. Instead, they sit in a row of chairs in front of the audience when they are not acting.

Gesi Aho-Rulli, the show’s director, said that the musical is his favorite. Aho-Rulli said he had never directed a musical before, but after working in television he decided to give it a try. He said he was surprised when he got the job.

“I only jokingly applied,” he said.

Aho-Rulli said the audience will be able to relate to the characters.

“This musical is personal for people,” Aho-Rulli said. “The main character is going through a lot of confusion and middle ground.”

The musical relates to people today, he said, because people need to find their own way and take the bad that comes with the good.

“Company” was written by the composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who has written 73 musicals since 1946, including “Into the Woods,” “West Side Story” and
“Sweeney Todd.”

Laura Young, an IU graduate, plans on attending the Saturday night performance. She said that she heard about the performance through people she was with in the IU show choir, the Singing Hoosiers.

Young said that Sondheim’s musical style differed from the normal “happy-go-lucky” Broadway music and that’s why she enjoys it.

“He took adult rolls and put them to music,” Young said. “His music is just unexpected.”