It’s rare to find a musical which thinks exploring adult friendships is more interesting and relevant than focusing exclusively on romantic relationships. Then again, not too many musicals move back in time, either; Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along has its share of attributes that make it not your average show.

That isn’t to say it’s a masterpiece. Merrily We Roll Along, now being staged by Eric Schaeffer at the Sondheim-loving Signature Theater, has plenty of merit, but has never secured a place in the pantheon of great Sondheim works. The focus of the piece is Franklin Shepard (Will Gartshore), a brilliant composer who sold out late in his career, picking fame and fortune over artistic integrity and losing some friends along the way. The show starts with Shepard successful but dissatisfied; it ends with him fueled with the optimism and promise of youth. At the beginning he’s been written off by those who loved him most – his writing partner, his best friend, his first wife and his second. As the show progresses, we learn how each found their way into his life.

Merrily features characters we care about, and personal dilemmas that ring true. And while audiences might like to get the titular song out of their head more quickly than they’re able, the show has some wonderful musical moments here that showcase some really talented performers — Bayla Whitten’s anguished delivery of “Not A Day Goes By”, Liberman’s masterful, speedy take on the impossible and hilarious patter-song “Franklin Shepard Inc.” Even the jaunty “Old Friends” can grow on you.