Of nuts and balls and getting a good lei

On June 25, Tuesday, at 8 p.m. sharp, the country’s premiere vocal group, The CompanY, will take center stage at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. This vocal sextet shall present a concert featuring ‘balls’ Ryan Cayabyab’s nuts and tips on getting a good lei.

You read right! Now before you jump to any conclusions, allow me to explain.

The concert is actually The CompanY’s 17th anniversary concert simply titled The CompanY Live at the CCP!, Furthermore, the show will also feature nuts, rather the Ryan Cayabyab/ Smokey Mountain hit song The Coconut Nut. Moreover, The CompanY also gets lei’d onstage in this tropical production number! To be performed a cappella with matching coconut shell props, The Coconut Nut will be one of highlights in a musical concert succinctly described as a musical maelstrom. Furthermore, the balls mentioned earlier pertain to mirror balls in an a cappella disco extravaganza.

Whew! Now that’s cleared up.

The CompanY Live at the CCP will feature a highly electric repertoire spanning various genres and eras.

"We’ve decided to make this anniversary show special by returning to our musical roots. Getting the opportunity to sing classical, jazz and a cappella, without worrying whether it was commercial, was very appealing to us," explains CompanY artistic director Moy Ortiz.

Because of the breadth and degree of difficulty of this almost entirely new repertoire, The CompanY spent three months ( i.e. the entire summer season of 2002) rehearsing and memorizing the songs.

Lest you think The CompanY has turned their back on their "pop" personas, think again. The CompanY will still bring out the "goodies" for their fans.

"One big factor why we’ve lasted this long is because of the loyalty of our fans. Of course, we’re going to do our pop hit songs. We promise to perform our latest songs on the radio from our latest album Storybook* (i.e. Baka Ikaw, and Pag Nagkataon) and naturally, our catalogue of past hits," assures CompanY tenor Andre Castillo.

The CompanY is even quite flattered that their catalogue of hits has started to be revived by other recording artists. Sana Ay Ikaw Na was recorded by Regine Velasquez for the soundtrack of her film Pangako Ikaw Lamang; Carol Banawa scored a hit with Muntik na Kitang Minahal; and currently dominating the airwaves is Aiza Seguerra’s version of Pakisabi Na Lang.

Coincidentally, this concert is also a homecoming of sorts for this group who had their first professional performance at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

"The very first time CompanY got a paying gig was for Celeste Legaspi’s multi-media concert entitled Komiks Konsierto way back in 1985. Ryan (Cayabyab) was the catalyst for giving us that first big break," recalls founding member Annie Quintos.

It was Professor Cayabyab who spotted the group singing a cappella sets at the now defunct restaurant, Italian Village. On the spot, he hired the vocal group to play the role of backup singers and stage actors for Celeste Legaspi’s major concert at the CCP.

Seventeen summers later, the singers of The CompanY finally find themselves headliners of their very own concert at the CCP. These versatile musicians can’t help but feel like they’ve gone full circle with this latest concert.

However, please do not expect only a musical sentimental journey down memory lane for these singers. The CompanY promises a night that can be described as just "very CompanY."

"Oh no! Please don’t think we’re just doing the so-called serious and cerebral stuff. It also just won’t be a parade of hits. The concert will be partly that and more. That stuff will be part of the act but we insist on giving the show the stamp of our slightly-bent sensibilities. It will be entertaining, wacky and irreverent. We forsee a few eyebrows might just go through the roof with this show. So let the warning come from ourselves – music purists keep out!," chuckles CompanY alto Cecille Bautista.

Even the concert’s pictorial was done with that "tongue in cheek" humor. At the height of summer, at the front lawn of CCP, The CompanY was seen leisurely enjoying an English country picnic (complete with de riguer scones and high tea!); completely oblivious to the rush hour, bumper-to-bumper traffic on Roxas Boulevard. A pictorial bordering on the absurd and ridiculous one may conclude; but considering the crazy times we live in, we all need a little ridiculousness to make it through each day.

It is this subtly-warped sense of humor that runs through this supposedly "serious" classical/jazz/a cappella concert. From the looks of it, The CompanY Live at the CCP is destined to be a delightfully unconventional show for both "serious music aficionados and "not so serious" music connoisseurs alike!

The CompanY Live at the CCP features Beth Martin on grand piano, Joji Magadia on acoustic and electric bass and Jorge San Jose on drums and percussion Written and directed by Moy Ortiz and The CompanY. Choreography by Jaime del Prado. Light Design by Dennis Marasigan. Set Design by Eric Cruz. Executive Producer Menchie Mabanta. Sound Engineer: Nikki Cunanan.

The CompanY Live at the CCP is a production of the Cultural Center of the Philippine under the Special Concerts Series 2002. Tickets are available at the CCP, Ticketworld in National Bookstore outlets and at Tower Records. Clothes by Mix Boutique (Greenbelt). Furniture by Bo Concept at Glorietta 4. Hair and make up is by Tinette and Company. Official concert radio stations are [email protected] and 105.1 Crossover. Rehearsal studios at Shapes and Curves. Catering by Rai-Rai Ken. Wireless microphones by ML Entertainment.

The CompanY is Sweet Plantado, Annie Quintos, Cecile Bautista, Reuben Laurent, Andre Castillo and Moy Ortiz.