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
