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Dressed to the nines at the Arden Theatre, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" is tailored to reach the adolescent in all of us – or, in this case, the male adolescent. It doesn’t get any funnier than this.
Donald Eastman’s colorful set, with doors to slam everywhere, puts the requisite bounce in this zany musical. It’s a bright and bawdy toy with nothing on its mind but a laugh.
Initially performed in 1962, "Forum" was the first musical with both music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim with the book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Its concept was to marry the leering tone and frantic pace of vaudeville to a comedy plot (actually, two comedy plots) drawn from the Roman playwright Titus Maccius Plautus.
This Roman style – complete with clever slaves, silly old men, angry old women, hapless young lovers, luscious courtesans and long-lost siblings – proved the ideal structure for what amounts to a series of vaudeville turns, including a parade of exotic lovelies, a guy in a dress and countless dopey misunderstandings. A solid Arden cast, led by the irrepressible Tony Braithwaite, puts spunk into these crazy proceedings, and the result is a joke every minute.
Directed by Terrence Nolen, the Arden’s co-founder and artistic director, "Forum" features an all-star group of some of the best actors and actresses in Philadelphia, including Jeffrey Coon, Aaron Cromie, Caroline Dooner, Dave Jadico, Jarrod Lentz, Mary Martello, Tom McCarthy, Buck Schirner and Tom Teti. Rounding out the talent of this stellar cast are Laura Catlaw, Colleen Hazlett, Robert McClure, Emily McNamara, Jasmin Norwood, Richard Ruiz, Meredith Riley Stewart and Beth Wheeler.
Braithwaite is the ringmaster as Pseudolus, a Nathan Lane-type character, and he hits all the animated notes, wacky improvisations and hilarious outwitting of fools.
Together, the actors weave the story of escalating complications that follow Pseudolus’ attempt to win freedom by arranging the elopement with his brainless young master Hero and the equally stupid, virginal courtesan Philia, who has been sold, but not yet delivered, to the army captain Miles Gloriosus.
When Gloriosus shows up to claim his bride, Pseudolus’ plans are interrupted by the arrival of Hero’s lecherous father, Senex, who Philia mistakes for Gloriosus; then Hero’s battle-ax mother, Domina; and finally Erronius, a cheerfully muddled old man who has been off searching for his son and daughter, stolen 20 years before by pirates.
The other characters include Hysterium, a fearful slave blackmailed by Pseudolus into acting as his accomplice, and Lycus, the pimp who lives next door with Philia and the other courtesans. Suddenly, Pseudolus is masquerading as Lycus and three different Philias are tearing around the stage. At one point, four separate stories are hanging in the balance.
All the action takes place in a Roman street in front of three houses, through which entrances and exits are made with split-second timing. Eastman’s set sees ancient Rome as it might be visualized in a comic book: the view is slightly bent – like the motives of the people inhabiting the space.
When the show originally tried out, it was headed for failure, opening with a dainty piece called, "Love is in the Air." After that, nothing seemed to work. Director George Abbott, though a veteran of farce, was completely stumped and a hurried call went out to Jerome Robbins. His solution: begin the show with a number telling exactly what kind of entertainment it is (which, curiously, was what Abbott himself had done in "The Pajama Game," a revival currently on Broadway). Overnight, Sondheim came up with a slam-bang opener, "Comedy Tonight" ("No royal curse, no Trojan horse, and a happy ending, of course!"), setting the play in motion, and the apparent disaster became a surefire hit.
Nolen adds a creative zinger to this hilarious prologue by having McCarthy enter in his Willy Loman costume, suitcases in hand (a role the actor made his own in the Arden production of "Death of a Salesman"). Then Braithwaite sings, "Tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!" and McCarthy moans and leaves.
Easy sentimentality is nowhere to be found in this show. In its place is the kind of organized chaos that leads to contagious high spirits.
It’s a laugh a minute, so don’t miss it!
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Through June 25
The Arden Theater
40 N. Second St.
Tickets: $27-$45
215-922-1122
www.ardentheater.org
