BUOB opens first full-length production of semester with ‘Company’

Thirty-five years old and inundated with the throws of adulthood, what’s a single man in New York City to do?

BU On Broadway will open its latest musical production, “Company,” on Thursday. The show is the first full-length production of the semester for the student-run musical theater organization.

“Company” tells the story of Bobby, a bachelor approaching his 35th birthday, and relationships he has with his married friends and the women he is romantically pursuing. The story is told through a series of short vignettes.

Jimmy Bie, a senior in the College of Communication, plays the lead character Bobby.

“It [takes place] at a time when marriage as an institution is very different than how it is now, and there was a lot of societal pressure for someone to get married,” Bie said. “And for a single bachelor who’s turning 35, this is kind of a now-or-never sort of thing.”

Director Michael Busani, a sophomore in the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, said he chose to direct “Company” because it is one of his favorite shows.

“It’s one of the shows that really got me to fall in love with musical theater,” Busani said. “It was a show that I loved and knew I just wanted to get my hands on and be involved with.”

Busani said his confidence in the BUOB team was another driving force behind his decision to direct “Company.”

“I knew that BUOB was a place that fostered the creativity that would allow us to dig into it in a way that wasn’t just on a superficial level,” he said. “I had confidence that we could get it done.”

“Company” has a cast of 14 characters and is being produced at the Student Theater in Agganis Area, said Hali Letlow, a COM senior who plays Joanne — a blunt older woman on her third marriage.

Small shows like this, Letlow said, create a more intimate theater experience.

“The Student Theater shows are always great because the cast is always so small,” Letlow said. “We bond together, and that’s definitely the case in this show, too. Student Theater shows are usually a little bit more scaled down, so [the audience] can focus more on the show itself.”

Bie said playing a leading role has pushed him to grow as an actor.

“This show has been different because this is such a massive role to take,” he said. “I’m only off stage, like, twice, so I have to find new ways to be constantly in character when I’m in the background of scenes.”

Sabrina Rollings, a COM sophomore, plays the character Amy — who she described as a neurotic, high-strung and emotional woman who gets cold feet about marrying her fiancé.

Rollings said her main scene is “a rollercoaster” and she has had to find ways to navigate the emotional highs and lows her character experiences.

“She goes from being way up in space and being very high-strung to being very calm and collected and telling her truth,” Rollings said. “And I think that was really difficult for me to kind of find a balance between [the two] and be able to transition between both ends of the spectrum.”

Rollings also performs “Getting Married Today,” which she said is one of the fastest songs in musical theater — the fastest verse clocks in at 6.2 words per second. The pacing of the song has made it a well-known number throughout the theater community, Rollings said.

“Just the fact that people are going to come in knowing that song is coming,” she said, “is really exciting.”

Dani Chaum, a sophomore in COM, said she is taking on a new role in this production as the show’s choreographer. While Chaum has participated in musical theater before, she said, this is the first time she is working on a show’s creative team.

“I usually perform onstage, so I thought it’d be a good opportunity to switch sides and do the creative team aspect,” Chaum said.

Chaum said she drew on past experiences to help her take on this new role.

“I researched a lot of dance from the late ‘60s,” she said. “I watched a few different versions of ‘Company,’ and I got some inspiration from what they did. And I used my dance background, kind of mixing jazz and musical theater technique together.”

Rollings said all the members of the production hope the audience can find something relatable in “Company.”

“We all have times where we can relate to certain characters in this show,” Rollings said, “and I think it’s important for audience members to know that you may not be a man who’s not married, but you can relate to any character in this show.”

BUOB’s production of “Company” will be playing in the Student Theater at Agganis Arena from Thursday through Saturday. The show starts at 8 p.m. on the weekdays and 2 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $8 for students.