It’s true that no one walks out of a theater humming the scenery. But on leaving the Muny’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, there were a couple of people merrily singing “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid.” It’s that kind of a show, and it was that kind of a night, especially since we had all dodged the rain that dotted the area before the show.
It’s a delightful production of a very funny work with impeccable bloodlines. How funny? Larry Gelbart, along with Burt Shevelove wrote the book. Larry Gelbart? Wasn’t he the guy that created and produced MASH? Well, yes, and there are lines in here that do seem to presage wisecracks from Hawkeye and Klinger. Then there’s the music. This was the first show that Stephen Sondheim wrote both the music and lyrics for. (It was lyrics-only for shows like West Side Story and Gypsy.) The bloodlines go all the way back to the Roman Empire – I’m serious here – when a playwright named Plautus wrote bawdy farces about a slave named Pseudolus.
All this is perhaps very interesting, but, more importantly, the result is definitely worthwhile, made more vivid by what occurred with the actors playing Pseudolus in the Muny show. Peter Scolari was a victim of a sinus infection multiplied by the notorious allergen count hereabouts. On Saturday before the Wednesday opening said he just couldn’t do it. The Muny called Jeffrey Schecter, who’d played Scuttle, the bird in the previous show, The Little Mermaid. He arrived on Sunday morning, ready to rehearse. And rehearse and rehearse and rehearse. Even working with script in hand, he manages really well – some of the more complex choreography is sorta loose, but Schecter does himself and the Muny proud. It’s easy to forget he’s using the paper and I'm sure it’ll be gone soon.
Pseudolus is indeed a slave, owned by Hero (Marrick Smith), the young son of a fine Roman family. Pseudolus wants his freedom, and he’s quite the schemer. On one side of the family’s handsome villa is another, belonging to Marcus Lycus (Jason Kravits), who uses it for the courtesans he procures. One particular lovely, Philia (Ali Ewoldt) has caught the eye of young Hero, he of the shapely calf, who pines for her. The house on the other side is that of Erronius (Whit Reichert), absent on a long, long quest seeking his children who were abducted by pirates.
Marcus Lycus has contracted Philia to a big-deal captain in the Roman army, Miles Gloriosus (Nathaniel Hackmann), so Hero is out of luck. But not if Pseudolus can get his way; Hero has agreed to free him if he wins the hand of the fair Philia. (A great deal is made of the fact that Philia is a virgin, so she’d be an alright bride for the aristocracy – we assume.)
(Photo, L-R, Jason Kravits, Jeffrey Schecter, Marrick Smith)
There’s more, of course. This is a door-slamming farce, mildly bawdy baggy-pants comedy done in togas. Schecter’s Pseudolus is faintly reminiscent of Nathan Lane, who, in fact, is one of a long line of fine comedic actors and comedians who’ve done the role. (Tom Poston, anyone?) He’s both thwarted and abetted by John Tartaglia’s Hysterium, the household’s majordomo, who twitches and flutters his way through the evening, including appearing dressed as a (large) version of Philia. Hero’s parents Senex (Mark Linn-Baker) and Domina (E. Faye Butler) do battle between themselves; Linn-Baker is funny but Butler rules, in more ways than in the script. There’s just no messing with her at all.
Philia has a large number of funny lines showing she’s not much more than a pretty face, all delivered very earnestly by Ewoldt, but it doesn’t dawn on Smith’s Hero at all. Their duet, “Lovely,” is a great song, but the voices are unbalanced – it’s hard to hear Ewoldt and not harken back to the days of Romberg operettas on this stage. Her would-be husband, Hackmann, is pretty much wooden, which is what the role demands. Everyone’s a caricature, and Hackmann’s physical comedy begins the first time we see his foot, in a huge, exaggerated stride, come on stage. Kravits and Reichert, the guys in the neighborhood are equally funny.
Tim Mackabee’s lovely villa facades give us a simple set that remains for the whole show but it’s perfect. Mara Blumenfeld’s brilliantly colored costumes make the relatively small cast stand out. Director Gary Griffin, who knows this stage very well, orchestrates things so carefully it seems like he’s just let the cast go play.
Please listen to the delightful lyrics of “Comedy Tonight”. For anyone who loves, or even just likes theater, they’re a treat.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
through July 11
The Muny
Forest Park