‘Tragedy Tomorrow, Comedy Tonight!’: Marian Theatre Guild Presents A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
by Elliot Bibat
In Stephen Sondheim’s musical comedy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, there truly is, in his words, “something for everyone.” The show opens with a troupe of Roman players presenting a comedy to the audience in attendance. The setting: a street in ancient Rome. Our leading player: a slave named Pseudolus (Patrizio Santoro) who resides in the House of Senex serving a noble family of patricians: Senex (Tony Vivacqua), his quarrelsome wife, Domina (Shauntel Harris), and their young son, Hero (Elliot Bibat).
Senex and Domina are leaving town for an excursion to the country and have put Pseudolus in charge of Hero (who is Pseudolus’s master) while they’re away. We find that Hero has fallen hopelessly in love with Philia (Kaitlin Kovach), a virgin courtesan who is a new arrival at the brothel next door: the House of Marcus Lycus (Carl Wolf), purveyor of exotic women. Seizing an opportunity to earn his freedom through sheer cunning and wit, Pseudolus makes a bargain with Hero: if he were to help Hero win Philia’s love, Hero would grant him his freedom in return. Hero accepts, and what ensues is a fast-paced romp of disguises, mistaken identities, potions, half-baked schemes, ill-timed arrivals, witty satire, and plenty of slapstick with a few plot twists along the way!
A costume designer in recent productions at the Guild, Stephanie Naumoff makes her directorial debut at Marian with Forum. Having been a regular audience member at past Guild productions over the years (and an ardent admirer of Marty Dybel’s elaborate sets), working with Marian had always been in her peripherals. She is no stranger to the show, however, as she has either directed it or performed in it a number of times with various theatre groups. It’s a show that Stephanie says she holds near and dear to her heart.
“I’m delighted with this cast,” Stephanie said, “they are so talented and have been working so hard. The singers and dancers who have been with Marian Theatre Guild are phenomenal, and I feel that they deserve to put on a Sondheim show.”
Though the musical made its Broadway premiere in 1962, and has since been performed by many other community theatres—even high schools—throughout the years, this is the first time it will be seen on the Marian stage.
“I know that Forum has that bit of ‘risqué-ness’ to it,” Stephanie remarked, “and this is the first time it’s being performed at the Marian Theatre Guild because it’s been known for being a little racy. Of course, we’re keeping it very PG—just a twinge of naughty without going over the line. I’m hoping it’ll be received well because it’s a very funny show that’s got a ton of heart.”
Playing the role of Pseudolus is Marian newcomer Patrizio Santoro, who moved to Whiting-Robertsdale a few years ago and has seen the Guild’s audition notices in The WRite Stuff in the past. He started a new job towards the end of the summer, and finding that his evenings would now be free, he wanted to finally scratch his itch to be back onstage and attended auditions back in August. Learning the track of Pseudolus, a role originated by Zero Mostel in the original Broadway production, is no small feat; he is the driving force of the story and is onstage for just about the entire show, with Sondheim’s score and trademark lyrical prowess adding yet another layer of complexity. Nevertheless, Patrizio’s dived headfirst into the rehearsal process, finding ways to make this version of Pseudolus his own.
“This is a fun challenge,” Patrizio said, “I haven’t done this work in a long time. I’ve done this work in high school and throughout my twenties, and what’s so great about playing Pseudolus now is that I’m finally age-appropriate for the part. It’s an incredible part to take on because it’s one of the great musical theatre roles, and I feel like at this point in my life I’m ready for the challenge. Rehearsals have been fun, very fulfilling and very exhausting, but getting back into the work is sort of like riding a bike—you remember how to do it once you get moving again.”
Yet another new arrival at the Guild is the production’s Vocal Director, Zach “Z” Moore, who at the time Forum rehearsals began was in the middle of rehearsing for Porchlight Music Theatre’s New Faces Sing Broadway 1960 in Chicago. When it was posted on Facebook earlier this year that Marian was searching for a Vocal Director for their fall musical, someone who had seen the post reached out to Zach saying that he’d be a perfect fit, encouraging him to get in touch with Stephanie and producer DeeJai Halicky to inquire further. Zach recalled being thrilled about the opportunity, saying he’d been wanting to get back into vocal directing for several years.
“It’s so exciting. The space is incredible, and through auditions I could see so much passion from everybody, so I’m very glad that we’ve grabbed a great cast,” Zach said, “After casting, I had to prepare all the music. We dove into it with a big group rehearsal, and everybody sounded so good that I thought, ‘We’re really going to go somewhere with this’. The heart was already there.”
Speaking of the music, learning the songs from a Sondheim show can be an immense undertaking, especially for community theatres. Zach remained undaunted, placing his confidence in the cast and directing them with an emphasis on reinforcing proper vocal technique.
“This show is so funny, and even reading through the script is like watching a Ping-Pong match. There’s so much back and forth and you need to see what happens next,” Zach remarked, “Some of the best moments as a vocal director are finding moments in these songs that are just right for each of these actors. It’s so exciting to work through them and discover things that Sondheim wrote that were hiding in plain sight.”
The cast also includes Ian Horn as the boastful Roman captain, Miles Gloriosus, Ken Bobos as Senex’s wandering elderly neighbor, Erronius, and Tom Knoerzer playing Domina’s anxiety-riddled slave, Hysterium. (This will be Tom’s fifth time performing in a production of Forum, having also played both Pseudolus and Hero in the past!). Playing the courtesans are Susan Bobos as Tintinabula, Andy Rhodehamel as Panacea, Brittany Bowers and Karen Rapchak as The Geminae, Maria Pindrock as Vibrata, Emily Yovich as Tigris, and Olivia Rhodehamel as Gymnasia, a spear-wielding courtesan whom Pseudolus takes a particular interest in. Michael Casner, Katie Isaacs, and Ray Huntington play The Proteans, ensemble actors who take on a variety of roles throughout the story.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum runs on Saturday, November 1st, 8th, and 15th at 7:30pm and Sunday, November 2nd, 9th, and 16th at 3pm. To purchase tickets, contact the Box Office at (219)-473-0713. Reservations for Dinner Theatre on Saturday shows can be made by phone call only.
And don’t forget, there will be Toga Contests held at intermission with prizes awarded for winning entries, so get out those old bedsheets and arrive at Marian Memorial Auditorium in your Roman best!
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