THEATER REVIEW: Unbalanced “Forum” entertains, fails to dazzle
When it opened in 1962, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” was billed as the dirtiest little clean show on Broadway. It was a Roman version of Greek comedy with American burlesque (the comedy kind not the stripping kind) shtick, and was the first score to appear with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
Utah State Theatre’s cartoon-like staging of the show made for a fun evening, but nothing special. It has its moments of brilliance which dissolve into moments of missed opportunities and misunderstood comedic genius.
The show centers on three houses in Rome. The first house is inhabited by Senex and Domina, their son, Hero, and their two slaves Hysterium and Pseudolus. The second belongs to Marcus Lycus, a procurer of beautiful women. The third belongs to Erronius, a mostly blind man abroad in search of his children who were stolen in infancy by pirates. Hero loves the virgin in the house next door, and tells Copy Ed 9/26/02 this is spelled diff. above, check spelling on this throughout Pseudolos he will give him his freedom if he gets the girl for him. What follows is a hysterical romp full of mistaken identities, plot twists, captains, courtesans and general mayhem.
The way I see it, there were two major problems with the show. The first was the choreography. It was choreography for the sake of choreography. For the most part it was unnatural and over-the-top steps that did nothing to further the story except force the actors to take full advantage of the size of the stage. This is a great style for the number “Everybody Ought To Have a Maid,” because it is that kind of “showy” exhibition piece, but the majority of the other numbers in the show could have used a lot more subtlety. This is a case of where less could have been more.
The other major problem with the show was the number of jokes the cast either didn’t seem to get or else didn’t know how to deliver. What makes this show so enjoyable aside from its pure slap-stick nature are the jokes that, if you think about them, are really quite edgy, and when they are delivered in a rush or hidden behind poor delivery we lose a lot of what makes this show so great. We can only hope the delivery will improve with a responsive audience.
“Forum” really is an ensemble piece. It takes a group of strong actors who know how to work well together to make it work. UST’s staging has four really strong actors, Eric Van Telen as Pseudolus, Justin Berry as Lycus, Katie Ackerman as Philia and Brooke Pulver as Domina. Ackerman’s clueless Philia and Pulver’s domineering Domina steal all the attention when on the stage, Ackerman with her delayed delivery and Pulver with her bellowing vocals. Unfortunately, the other leads can’t really hold their own against the onslaught and at times become more of a distraction than anything.
The big chase after intermission, which should be tightly orchestrated mayhem, also drug along with extended entrances and no underscoring, both of which can add to frenetic nature of the piece and help move it along.
If nothing else, go to listen to Sondheim’s wickedly satirical lyrics and complex music (like the use of Philia’s character song “Lovely” reprised by Pseudolus and Hysterium). That in and of itself is worth attending the show for.
The costumes and set, however, were amazing. The skewed perspective of the houses added to the cartoon-like nature of the play, and the costumes helped accentuate that. Perhaps the best costumes were those of Domina, swathed in gold and adorned with a pseudo beehive wig, and Lycus with his pastel hues and mud flap girls.
Now don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t by any means a bad show, it just wasn’t a great show. It was a mediocre staging of a hilarious classic that could have been better but isn’t. It is still a good way to spend the evening, and if you go with half a mind in the gutter, you’ll get most of the jokes and have a side-splitting good time.
“Forum” runs Sept. 26, 27, 28 and Oct. 2, 3, 4 and 5. Show times begin at 7 p.m. with a matineé Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. Admission is free to students.