(out of 
)I have been impressed with the steady rise of professionalism amongst the community theatres over the past year. Each theatre seems to have infused itself with talented designers, production staff, and performers, and their production values have increased greatly. Unfortunately, Tempe Little Theatre's latest production of the popular musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is not an example of this. While this production is not entirely terrible, it seems a step backward for a company that has seen a dramatic increase in its theatricality over recent years.
Forum is one of those great '60s classic musicals
that delivers on cleverness, fun and frolicking. Pseudolus is
a Roman slave seeking his freedom, and Hero is the son of his
master who promises his freedom if he can set him up with the
virginal Philia. The problem is that the pure Philia has been
promised to a ruthless General by a purveyor of the flesh, Marcus
Lycus. The intrigues of Pseudolus in his attempts to get the two
lovers together is quite hilarious, and just as twist-filled as
the Roman comedies on which the show is based. Pseudolus is a
role remembered as a vehicle for Zero Mostel, although recently,
it has also been hilariously performed by Nathan Lane and Whoopi
Goldberg.
Director Evelyn Gregor Durnil has collected together a
sometimes weak, often miscast group to play the show's broad stereotypes,
and allowed Choreographer Kathleen Brazie Engel to create
absolutely banal movement for the many songs in the show. Not
only has Ms. Durnil placed actors into roles that are not in their
vocal range, but she has seemingly stacked the cast with nearly
every effeminate male actor available, allowing only two of the
leads to seem remotely male. One can only imagine that Ms. Durnil's
casting choices were limited, based on what she has gone with.
In Ms. Durnil's defense, the show is well-paced, but this only
allows the audience to be swept up by the mediocrity.
An example of the vocal miscasting is Meredith Mullan as the virtuous Philia, who is pretty, and an acceptable actress in a thin role, but whose voice dissipates into the ether as she moves from her chest to her head voice. There is a duet that she sings with her love, Hero, that may as well be a solo when she uses her upper register. An example of both vocal and literal miscasting is the normally solid Eric C Reda in the role of Hero. For some reason, this Hero is less love interest than bumbling oaf. With Mr. Reda's bleached hair and hideous costume, he looks more like a blonde Buck Henry than a stereotypical love interest. Vocally weak, though at least full of 80% of the energy his part requires, Jeffrey J. Davey huffs and puffs his way through songs, and eschews the normal characterization of Pseudolus as a broad clown in Zero Mostel's honor to take on a more Stephen-Furst-as-Flounder-in-Animal House style for the role, which isn't exactly a wrong choice, just a wretched one.
After the three leads, the rest of the cast is mixed. As silly
slave sidekick Hysterium, Thomas Steele is funnier, and
blessedly consistent. While just vocally solid, Michael Rubino's
fearsome General Miles Gloriosus is always funny to watch. Mike
Wyckoff and Jill Knapp are also solid as Hero's mom
and dad, as is Jeremy Moskowitz as flesh peddler Marcus
Lycus, although he has the annoying tendency to look at the floor
while speaking and singing. The three Proteans, Jonathan Furedy,
Ryan Keller, and Peter Perreault, Pseudolus' comic
sidekicks, are also solid, though one, and I don't know who he
was, save that he was the one in glasses, seemed to get the point
and delivery of the comedy more than the other two.
Sadly unimpressive and just not sexy enough were the women that
made up Lycus' corral of available maidens. The perfect example
of what did not work in this group was Christine C. Essig
as the dominating Gymnasia, whose good looks were balanced by
her vocal hesitance, gawky dancing, and air of nervousness. Her
imposing size called attention to her inability to dance the simple
and hackneyed choreography, and helped to make those chorus numbers
just look silly.
While Teri Glaess' Set Design was workable, Annette
Heath's costumes were just plain wrong in many instances,
especially with the women's chorus. Bob and Dave Nelson's
lighting was solid, though Debra Jo Gunby's Musical Direction
was a mixed blessing. Yes, it was a live band, and anything not
canned is already a plus, but on opening night, the orchestra
seemed to be struggling with the challenges of a Sondheim score.
It must be acknowledged that this script is a deceptive one, and
not as easy to mount as it seems, a fact most Community Theatres
discover too late. Ms. Durnil made her job harder, though, when
she miscast performers in both performance and vocalization. Adding
on the absolutely lame choreography, and allowing the sloppiness
of the chorus dooms this production. Some will undoubtedly enjoy
it, allowing for a community theatre's limitations, but after
proving that they could produce work at a semi-professional level,
TLT has set us up for
a letdown.
Production Details:
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Book
by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, Music and Lyrics
by Stephen Sondheim
Tempe Little Theatre
The Tempe Performing Arts Center,
Tempe
(602) 350-8388
March 19th - April 3rd, 1999