ALPHABET SOUP (7) – BONUS!! FEATURING A RANDOM LETTER OF THE ALPHABET AND SOME SHOWS THAT BEGIN WITH THAT LETTER

ALPHABET SOUP (7) – BONUS!!

FEATURING A RANDOM LETTER OF THE ALPHABET AND SOME SHOWS THAT BEGIN WITH THAT LETTER

F

Usually I chat about five shows when I write an Alphabet Soup post, but, if I'd done that last week, the blog post would have been too long. Instead, I decided to do a bonus Alphabet Soup featuring only the fifth show I'd originally chosen, the wonderfully funny and tuneful A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. I'm a big fan of the show and, coincidentally, Bob will be directing a production of it at Citadel Theatre this April. So will it be "tragedy tomorrow" or "comedy tonight" for these four productions? Let's find out.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM 

 – McVickers Theatre, Chicago

February, 1972. Stephen Sondheim's debut as both composer and lyricist remains, nearly fifty-four years after its debut, his most enduring commercial success and arguably his most accessible score, full of jaunty melody and sassy, clever lyrics. It is considered by many to be a comic musical masterpiece with an hysterically funny book and a fully integrated score. Written with master comedian Phil Silvers in mind, he turned it down because he didn't like the book. Second choice Milton Berle (!!) also passed before Zero Mostel accepted the role and created one of his iconic roles. Ten years after its first appearance in New York, lead producer and co-star Larry Blyden, brought a slightly revised version starring Phil Silvers to New York, in the role that was written originally for him, via a tryout run in Los Angeles and Chicago. Along with Silvers and Blyden, this production featured a veritable who's who in the theatre, veterans and promising newcomers alike: Tony-winner Peg Murray, Lew Parker, Carl Ballantine, Reginald Owen, Pamela Hall, and John Hansen. Seated in the far upper reaches of the McVickers' balcony, I laughed a lot watching the antics onstage and marveling at the skill and timing of this cast of zanies. Phil Silvers gave Pseudolus an almost off-handed, casual approach, which somehow made the comedy even sharper and funnier. Larry Blyden was suitably frantic as Hysterium. For eye-candy to please a young, gay man, talented John Hansen more than fit the bill. Philia's wonderful song "That'll Show Him" was replaced in this version by a new, definitely inferior song, called "Echo Song," which just sat there, flat and boring. Except for that musical oops, it was fun, it was well-produced, it was a delight. – at the McVickers Theatre, Chicago.

Sidebar: This production of Forum won Tony Awards for both Phil Silvers and Larry Blyden. Interestingly, the role of Pseudolus has won Tonys for each of its Broadway originators: Zero Mostel (original 1962 production), Phil Silvers (1972 revival), and Nathan Lane (1996 revival). While ecstatically received by the critics, the revival apparently did absolutely no business and it closed at a loss after a brief run of 156 performances.

– St. James Theatre, New York

April, 1997. The St. James marquee only had two words on it: "Whoopi" and "Forum." And truly, that was all you needed to know. What Whoopi Goldberg did with this 1962 musical was nothing short of miraculous. Oh, it was still a silly, jolly romp, but with her Pseudolus leading the way, she offered us a less antic, but funnier and more fun show and gave it a new vibrant life. The men who played Pseudolus to Tony-winning success were all noted as scene-stealing, old-school comic actors. Whoopi's humor is more nuanced, hipper, and more audience-centric. You see, we in the St. James audience got the impression that Whoopi liked nothing better than to get cozy with her audience, which made the performance  seem like an afternoon with a good friend. Let me hasten to say, though, this wasn't Whoopi Goldberg just being Whoopi Goldberg. She played the part of Pseudolus and she played it well, while bringing her own inimitable touches to it. She'll never win any awards for her singing, but it worked. And her miming of the images on an erotic vase had me laughing so hard, tears were rolling down my face. Whoopi wasn't alone on the stage, though. Broadway vets Ross Lehman, Dick Latessa, Ernie Sabella and especially master scenery-chewer Mary Testa all contributed solidly to the merriment. This production axed the dreary "Echo Song" and thankfully restored "That'll Show Him," but curiously cut "Pretty Little Picture," which is not only important to the story, but is also a great tune. Maybe the producers wanted to shave some time, but cutting a three-minute song really doesn't accomplish anything. Whoopi. Forum. What a memorable combination. – at the St. James Theatre, New York.

– Canon Theatre, Toronto

January, 2011. A huge hit at the Stratford Festival in 2009, Canadian producer David Mirvish, think the David Merrick of Canada, but nicer, and head of Mirvish Productions, brought Stratford's production to downtown Toronto's Canon Theatre (now the Ed Mirvish Theatre) for a limited run over the Christmas-New Year's holidays in 2010-2011. The leading role of Pseudolus was double-cast with two Canadian comic favorites, Sean Cullen and Bruce Dow. We saw Mr. Dow. The better reviewed of the two, Dow gave a thoroughly enjoyable performance as Pseudolus, but the production as a whole, seemed a bit flat and tired. Too often the folks onstage just seemed to be pushing too hard and things that may have worked in the smaller Stratford venue, didn't in the larger Canon. Nobody in the cast was terrible, but, then, except for Dow and a very nice turn by Steven Sutcliffe as Hysterium, nobody stood out either. What really, really didn't work were the anachronisms that I'm sure director Des McAnuff thought were hysterical, but just weren't. For example, Philia using a roll-aboard suitcase while heading off to the harbor. Nope. Stood out like a sore thumb. The audience at the Canon, though they seemed to enjoy it, was relatively quiet. Professional, but subdued and a bit of a disappointment. – at the Canon Theatre, Toronto

Sidebar: Toronto is a terrific theatre town and I've seen some great theatre there. This quick trip, however, wasn't terribly successful, theatrically speaking. The day prior to Forum, we went to a highly-anticipated (for us) production of Parade and so hated it, we left at the interval. Forum, on the next day, sadly didn't live up to expectations. But, all that aside, we had a great time in that fabulous city eating at some tasty local restaurants and doing some touristy stuff. Fun casting factoids: Steven Sutcliffe (Hysterium) was the original Younger Brother in Ragtime and Chilina Kennedy (Philia) is currently playing Carole King in Beautiful in New York.

– Stage 773, Chicago

The odd graphic design. Uh..the show's about Pseudolus, folks. It's not about Philia in a contemporary red dress. Design miss.

May, 2015. Porchlight Theatre's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum was a mixed bag indeed. Both Bill Larkin's Pseudolus and Matt Crowle's Hysterium got off to slow, somewhat unfocused starts, but got increasingly better, and funnier, as the show progressed. Best scenery-chewing went to Caron Buinis' wonderfully over-the-top Domina. The orchestra sounded great and, scenically, the show looked good. But then, we had those pretty terrible costumes, juvenile leads that were insipid rather than innocent, lackluster choreography, pedestrian direction, an Erronius who was bewilderingly channeling Leslie Jordan (why did he have a southern accent?), a Lycus who was neither gay enough nor sleazy enough and who wore an ugly white caftan that took me back to the fashion-challenged 70s, Courtesans who weren't sexy, and, really, was it absolutely necessary for us to see our 18-year-old Hero, his actual age, drop towel at the top of Act Two and show us his bare ass? Worst of all was the fact that the guaranteed show-stopping Everybody Ought to Have a Maid didn't stop anything. It was just dull. The Chicago critics fainted over it, as they tend to do over anything the revered and seemingly critic-proof Porchlight produces. I liked parts of it, hated parts of it, was indifferent to most of it, and overall thought it missed the mark. – at Stage 773, Chicago.

And that's it for a while. Off to Puerto Rico for a month. See you in March!

© 2016 Jeffrey Geddes