A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Music by Steven Sondheim
Book and Lyric by Burt Shrevelove and Larry Gelbart
Directed by Katrina Ploof
Starring Rick Stanley, Thomas Ouellette, Stephan Jones
Mad Cow Theatre, Orlando FL</strong>
I think the couple sitting next to me was old enough to have owned slaves in early Rome. That’s where we meet conniving slave Pseudolus (Stanley) and his young master Hero (Michael Mucciolo.) Pseudolus wants his freedom; Hero wants the girl next door. True, Philia (Mellissa Davis) is apprenticed to local pimp Lycus (Tony Dietterick) and he’s taken a down payment on her virginity from vain Miles Gloriosus (Jones). With Hero’s dad Senex (Rod Cathey) and mom Domina (Gail Bartell) take vacation, Pseudolus grabs his opportunity which involves lots of door slamming and mistaken identity and dancing girls in skimpy underwear. It’s truly comedy tonight, and a great slapstick farce.
With a strong cast prancing around on an imperial set by Tommy Mangieri and Sam Hazell, there are plenty of laughs. Both Stanley and Ouellette are great comics, and they do a decent job of singing as well, with “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid” the crowd favorite. Jone’s Miles Glorious was as self involved and fluffy as possible for a man in a Roman battle skirt, and even the romance between Mucciolo and Davis seemed sweetly plausible. “The Proteans” (Kevin Davis, Lori Engler and Patch Panzella) provided all the peripheral support, and bounced across the stage like improv artists high on Red Bull and non-specific amphetamines.
While this show was well executed and full of laughs, there were some slow spots where the pacing felt slightly off. True, it’s a trick to get a dozen people to hit a long series of split second entrances and cues, but from time to time I felt a laugh had slipped by and there was no time for a do-over. Despite this nit, watching Sondheim’s funniest show slide by was a glorious evening’s entertainment, and often the old jokes are still the best jokes.
For more information on Mad Cow, please visit http://www.madcowtheatre.com
