THE GOOD-NATURED BUFFOONERY IN FORUM
IS THE TONIC FOR WHAT AILS YOU
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, currently at Signature Theater, is knee-slapping farcical fun à la vaudeville and the Marx Brothers mixed with ancient Roman escapades, all set to the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim. Sound like a crazy evening? It’s silly on steroids.
Zachary Keller, Kuhoo Verma and Erin Weaver (Daniel Rader)
The Cast (Christopher Mueller)
Similar to a Shakespearean comedy, Forum has bawdy puns, slapstick, and cases of mistaken identity. Unlike Shakespeare, however, it is less sophisticated. Brilliant yuksters Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart combined forces in 1962 with a young and still melody-mad Sondheim to shamelessly steal from copyright-free Plautus (251-183 BC). These merry pranksters transmogrified the ancient comic’s Pseudolus, Miles Gloriosus and Mostellaria into the perfect farce with songs that Sondheim intentionally designed to not be complex as a relief from the manic shenanigans of the play. Originally intended for Phil Silvers, who rejected it as “Sgt. Bilko in a tunic” (but who won a Tony when he starred in the first Broadway revival in 1972), the gutbusting, wild and wacky plot focuses on the house slave Pseudolus: This superb trickster will do anything to win his freedom from his young master Hero.
Kaylee Olson, Zachary Keller and Erin Weaver (Daniel Rader)
Only this Pseudolus is played by a female, Erin Weaver. Well-known by DC audiences, she is the best part of this funfest. With Weaver playing the role as a spritely elf-like creature, her singing chops and hijinks command the stage and outshine her co-stars. This doesn’t work against the show, though, since her character is, in fact, the protagonist. Her Pseudolus combines wizard timing, toxic zingers, swift asides, double takes, pratfalls, slow burns, and more punch lines than seem possible to make this super servant an epicenter of hilarity.
Hank von Kolnitz, Kaylee Olson, Nolan Montgomery, Lawrence Redmond, Emily Steinhardt,
Sherri L. Edelen, Ryan Sellers, Erin Weaver and Zachary Keller (Daniel Rader)
This isn’t the first time that we’ve had a gender-bending Pseudolus — Whoopie Goldberg played the role in a Broadway revival. However, the gender-bending here goes even further by having a splashing and splurging presentation of skills from the local courtesans: Sherri L. Edelen as Vibrata, Nolan Montgomery as Gymnasia, Kaylee Olson as Tintinabula, Emily Steinhardt as Panacea, and Ryan Sellers and Hank von Kolnitz as The Geminae (the names alone are sidesplittingly predictive).
Nolan Montgomery and Emily Steinhardt (Daniel Rader)
With swift-moving direction and choreography by Matthew Gardiner, conductor John Kalbfleisch impressively leads the 14-piece live orchestra as the opening musical number, “Comedy Tonight,” though not subtle, promises just that. Weaver is the female Prologus who introduces the play to theatregoers, and then plays a woman playing a man, which lends itself to side-looks at all the misogynistic goings on (I’ll therefore refer to Pseudolus the character as “he”). A clown chorus called The Proteans (Harrison Smith, Sellers and von Kolnitz) never meet a costume they can’t change as they play everything from eunuchs to soldiers.
Harrison Smith, Erin Weaver, Ryan Sellers and Hank von Kolnitz (Daniel Rader)
The set-up: Neighbors in ancient Rome live in three adjacent houses. In the center is the house of Senex (Christopher Bloch), who lives there with his wife Domina (Tracy Lynn Olivera), son Hero (Zachary Keller), Pseudolus (who belongs to Hero), and head slave Hysterium (Mike Millan). One of the neighboring abodes is the house of Marcus Lycus (Lawrence Redmond), who is a buyer and seller of courtesans; the other belongs to the ancient Erronius (Sherri L. Edelen), who is abroad searching for his long-lost children “stolen in infancy by pirates”. Jimmy Stubbs’ scenic design of the Roman street is stunning; the three houses are majestic with impressive gateways, arches, statues, and windows — the stately set is a perfect contrast to the undignified antics of the characters.
The Cast (Daniel Rader)As can be expected, Pseudolus’s pathway to freedom is fraught with absurd obstacles. He makes a deal with his master Hero, who agrees to grant Pseudolus’s freedom if he wins for Hero a dim-witted airhead call girl named Philia (Kuhoo Verma), who lives next door in that house of goodtime girls and gents, but yet is still a virgin.
Cameron Loyal and Erin Weaver (center) with Kaylee Olson, Nolan Montgomery,
Emily Steinhardt, Ryan Sellers and Harrison Smith (Christopher Mueller)
The frivolous tale then has Senex and Domina go on a trip, leaving Pseudolus in charge of Hero to make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble. Of course, the opposite happens. While trying to unite Hero and Philia, Pseudolus discovers that Philia has been sold to the blustering warrior Miles Gloriosus (Cameron Loyal), who is coming to claim her soon. This is just the beginning of the shenanigans. In no time and in a hundred ways, split-second Pseudolus manages to outfox, manipulate, transform or hoodwink his anal retentive fellow-slave Hysterium, his master’s horny paterfamilias and “dirty old man” Senex, the Medusa-like wife Domina, and bombastic Gloriosus. Not to mention the forlorn father Erronius, a gull who is is fooled into circling the seven hills of Rome seven times in what is drama’s first and most literal running joke.
Lawrence Redmond, Mike Millan, Christopher Bloch and Erin Weaver (Daniel Rader)
Since a lot of eyes are undressing Philia, Pseudolus’s shenanigans involve a delightful campaign of altered identities and strategic deceptions. He bamboozles everyone in sight with whiplash prevarications, magic potions, gender-bending disguises, and a chase scene to hopefully not end all chase scenes.
Tracy Lynn Olivera and Zachary Keller (Christopher Mueller)
If it’s levity you need due to the stressful presidential election, the darkness of daylight savings time, or just the promise of colder weather to come, leave your troubles at the door. “Comedy Tonight!” will become the earworm you won’t want to get rid of.
Erin Weaver and Mike Millan (Christopher Mueller)
photos by Christopher Mueller and Daniel Rader
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Signature Theatre
MAX Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave in Arlington, VA
ends on January 12, 2025
for tickets, call 703-820-9771 or visit Signature
Kuhoo Verma and Zachary Keller (Daniel Rader)
