Something for every senator and every slave: STC’s “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”

Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” should have a warning on its billboards: “For immature audiences only.” Surely that would help ensure a nightly sell-out of Sidney Harman Hall.

Stephen Sondheim's opening song, “Comedy Tonight,” promises “something for everyone,” and indeed, the play delivers on it: every audience member will discover at least one ribald joke worthy of a belly-laugh, and several other sniggers to boot. Broad comedy, as the polite phrase puts it, does indeed provide something for every senator and every slave in the house. Needless to say, however, none of them will find any pretense of subtlety.

The plot of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” takes its spirit from ancient Roman comedies. But having a classical-studies degree isn't necessary to recognize the storyline. It's the basically the same as every P.G. Wodehouse novel or Marx Brothers movie: a few people want to pull off something dirty; they need to tell a lot of lies to do it; and just when their schemes are about to land them in the soup, there's a happy ending for nearly everyone. There must be at least one ditzy blonde, one shrewish battleaxe, a macho moron, several confused old men, and a somewhat loveable bad guy at the center of it all.

From last Tuesday's performance, it was clear that everyone involved in STC's production had a rousing good time. If the Technicolor costumes and set of David C. Woolard and James Noone didn't give notice that no avenue for a quick laugh was being left unexplored, the opening of the second act will leave no doubt (pasties are involved, and we don't mean the food item). But some of the creative choices made in STC's production actually weaken the effect. In particular, Bruce Dow's portrayal of Pseudolus (this play's answer to Jeeves and Groucho Marx) appears to be little more than a campy, fun-loving buffoon—at variance with his character's twisted genius and heartfelt desire to be set free from slavery (and marry a dominatrix). Tom Story as Hysterium, Psudolus's boss, is also a campy buffoon, but appropriately so. If Dow had toned down some of his goofball asides and desperate mugging, the play might have avoided seeming like a parody of Broadway itself. Still, that might very well have been what director Alan Paul was trying for.

If you need a break from the routine of DC in December, then escape to this show. It's a little bit of Vegas on the Tiber; you'll be humming the tunes the next day; and it's got the girls and more than enough slapstick humor to go around. So bring your friends, but definitely not your parents, and laugh the night away.

“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” runs through January 5: get tickets now at http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/.

Cloture Couple remind their friends of Mata Hari and Ernest Hemingway, except that they are much more daring and intriguing. When not writing theatre reviews for Cloture Club, they are involved with haute cuisine, oenology, and international intrigue. They are the most interesting people in the world. Or, at least, in their world.

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