For those of you unfamiliar, the title of this musical comedy classic (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) probably started in the heyday of vaudeville. It was the on-ramp to countless gags that started with: “A funny thing happened on the way to….the deli, the movies, the grocery, the cleaners…” you name it. It was the set up. Early in his career, Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics to A Funny Thing….collaborating with Bert Shrevelove and Larry Gelbart, who wrote the book. Inspired by the farces of Ancient Roman playwright, Plautus, A Funny Thing premiered in 1962, winning several Tonys.
Funny’s the story of Pseudolus, a cunning slave who longs to buy his freedom. Hysterium is the other House Slave, and he’s got no use for his hi-jinks. When his master and mistress leave town for some R & R, Pseudolus grabs the chance to help their son, Hero, wed the girl he pines for, Philia. Hesitant at first, Hero promises Pseudolus his emancipation, if he can make the romance happen. Pseudolus begins by taking Hero to the brothel of Marcus Lycus, where the proprietor trots out his “wares” for perusal. It’s there that the (more or less) exquisite Philia is discovered, but Lycus says she’s been promised to Gloriosus, a renowned and victorious officer of the Roman Army. Gloriosus in out of town (though enroute to claim his mistress) so Pseudolus hastily sets the wheels in motion. There are Carmelite nuns who know more about sex than poor, sheltered Hero, so Pseudolus has his work cut out for him. Eventualities, shenanigans and breakneck brainstorms ensues.
Comic Roman playwrights were notorious for their crass, risque’, irreverent comedies, and Plautus was no exception. Funny Thing brims with preposterous, hokey, bawdy capers and silly puns too ridiculous to be offensive. What was considered blue in 1962 is quite innocuous in light of the television comedies of 2022. Which doesn’t make it any less tickling. Apart from the histrionic, exhausting, logic-defying plot, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum thumbs its nose at the conventional tropes of Romantic Comedy. The courtship of Hero and Philia is insipid and laughable. Much funnier than lofty ardor by far. Philia sings the inane (though pretty) “Lovely”: I’m lovely. Positively lovely. Gloriosus is a pompous, narcissistic buffoon. Hero’s dad tries to have sex with Philia. Funny Thing delights in dismissing the admirable, the pure, the honorable and the brave. Don’t miss this high-octane, fast-talking, shamelessly skeptical, daffy romp.
Richardson Theatre Centre presents: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, playing May 20th-June 5th, 2022. 518 West Arapaho Road, Suite 113. Richardson, Texas 75080. 972-699-1130. richardsontheatrecentre.net