“A
Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” at the Bay Street Theater
On lists of
the great opening numbers in musical theater history—“Another Op’nin, Another
Show,” “Wilkommen,” “Join Us,” “Tradition” among them—Stephen Sondheim’s
brilliant “Comedy Tonight” for “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
(now playing at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor through September 1st)
is usually included. And for good
reason—Sondheim went through three songs in his search for the perfect opening
for the show written by Burt Shevelove and Barry Gelbart. His previous attempts, “Love is in the Air”
and “Invocations and Instructions to the Audience,” left the audience
cold. Eventually realizing that
theatergoers needed to be literally told what they were about to see, Sondheim
penned “Comedy Tonight.” The song is triumphant,
musically and lyrically flawless, and larger-than-life. When performed by actors like Nathan Lane or
Zero Mostel (both of whom have starred in iterations of the musical), “Comedy
Tonight” is overwhelming. When, as at
the Bay Street, it’s performed by Peter Scolari, it’s still quite fun.
Mr. Scolari
brings a unique fast-talking, wisecracking air to the role of Pseudolus that is
occasionally welcome, but some of his numbers come off as forced when he
remains stubbornly unexpressive, as in “Free” (his character’s ode to the
promise of freedom from slavery). The
tricky balance to be struck when performing in “Forum” is between the complex
mistresses of comedy and drama, and Mr. Scolari leans a little heavily toward
comedy, with the result that he never truly masters either. The relentlessly nagging feeling throughout
is that if Mr. Lane had been playing the role, the musical would improve
tenfold. (It doesn't help that Mr. Scolari stares at his feet through many of his stage appearances.)
But as
always, “Forum” entertains expertly.
Whatever actors are slotted into its many roles, it’s always solid, and
remains so here. Conrad John Schuck and
Jackie Hoffman are well-paired as Senex and Domina, Tom Deckman wrings his
hands endearingly as Hysterium, and Nick Verina is surprisingly funny in a role
that classically isn’t, the lovestruck Hero.
The
libretto, an excellent blend of farce and Borscht belt-style humor, deals with
Pseudolus’s attempts to gain his freedom from his master, Hero, by winning Hero
the hand of the lovely courtesan next door, Philia (Lora Lee Gayer, clearly
trying her best). But Philia’s been sold
to a narcissistic captain, Miles Gloriosus (the talented Nathaniel Hackmann). Meanwhile,
cases of mistaken identity involving three wealthy merchants, Senex, Erronius
(Stewart Lane), and Marcus Lycus (Laurent Giroux) confuse everyone. Panderers, philanderers, cupidity, and
timidity plague our heroes, but we get a happy ending, of course.
This
version of “Forum” has gorgeous sets (designed by Michael Schweikardt) and is
well-directed (by Marcia Milgrom Dodge, also the choreographer). Unfortunately, it falls into some traps in
interpreting this great material. Like
many local productions, this version has eliminated Pseudolus’s great number
“Pretty Little Picture,” which is one of the best in the show. Pseudolus’s love interest, a slave named
Gymnasia, is played by a transvestite, Terry Lavell, which makes for a nice
“Some Like it Hot” reference but is otherwise useless. And the show is too self-aware, referencing
its own gags somewhat self-effacingly and expanding upon the initial conceit
(“We are a troupe of actors” as presented in “Comedy Tonight”) to its own
detriment. Still, you can’t fault the
director for taking some creative license, and it’s still a whole lot of fun to
watch.
The premiere of “Forum” in 1962 may
well have been the advent of the modern musical comedy, and it’s still
refreshing. There have been many
variations on the show, and there will be many more. This one ranks somewhere north of middling.
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