REVIEW: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Signature Theatre)
If you’re like me, you could use a laugh right now.
If you’re also like me, you probably don’t want to laugh right now — there’s too much bad juju in the air.
If you’re reading a one-man blog about musical theatre in your free time, then I take it you’re in my boat as of this writing (11/7); the venn diagram of those negatively impacted by recent elections and those who enjoy this blog’s content is probably a circle.
But the show goes on, and it’s time for Signature’s yearly big-fat Stephen Sondheim production. After skipping last season, AD Matt Gardiner takes the reins for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a classically Greco-Roman Farce featuring a score by Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. It won several Tonys when it premiered in 1962, and has had 2 acclaimed revivals, the most recently being in 1996. Yet it's not the most immediately familiar work of his -- that 1996 production’s cast recording isn’t even on Spotify. (I wasn't even alive for it, so it's just history to me.) But with an opening number like "Comedy Tonight", one can hope that now is as good a time as any to bring it back to the masses.
Book/Music
In Forum, it’s technically a play-within-a-play, but you wouldn’t know it if you miss the parading opener “Comedy Tonight”. This track sets the tone well as a another word-friendly, pun-adjacent Sondheim piece. The show is full of consistency, from simple lover ballads such as “Love, I Hear”, to pattering rhymefests in “Pretty Little Picture”. I found myself enjoying more of the score than I expected, but it doesn’t particularly soar to great heights; it’s just very Good. The underlying story covers the hijinks of a Roman slave, Pseudolus, who makes a deal with his master Hero to win his freedom if he can match Hero with the courtesan of his fancy, Philia. Cue several white lies, disguises, slammed doors, hallway chases, an overdose of sexual innuendo, and drag, and you have a madcap fever dream of salacious quips that would probably not land as well in a healthier political climate. This isn’t to say that it would be bad — Gardiner does an excellent job with timing and vision — but the sour irony of the laughs we get here almost make you forget about the political reality. And for that, I commend it: laugh along with Forum, if not out of spite, then for its genuine heart. 8/10
Acting
Signature's casting this season (year??) has been a model of consistency. This season alone with Soft Power and Primary Trust has featured a lush array of charismatic locals that brighten up two pieces with quite sullen subject matter. The ensemble that they've riled together for Forum not only keeps this streak going, but reinforces the mark of quality that we get when we rely on homegrown talent to lead these types of high-budget productions.
Nonesuch is proven more than our Pseudolus, the sensational Erin Weaver, last seen at Signature as the abrasive jokester, King, in Private Jones. Weaver is buoyant on the material; making quick work of the hijinks without missing a beat, at times feeling like she was born to play this role. Other locals make their mark, such as with Christopher Bloch’s sleazy Senex and Nolan Montgomery as the firey concubine Gymnasia. Sharp-eyed DC theatregoers will recognize the Proteans, a trio of stage hands that assume a litany of roles, played by local favorites Ryan Sellers, Harrison Smith, and Hank Von Kolnitz, and wonder why their physical comedy couldn’t be expanded on more (or even put into a speaking role). But the out-of-towners are also great inclusions: Mile Millan's Hysterium -- especially in the Act II drag section -- puts the name to use with hysterical work, and leads Zachary Keller (Hero) and Kuhoo Verma (Philia) have a wonderfully sloppy rapport that keeps the thread of background humor taut. I could go into substantial detail about why I liked every role, but I will spare you in an effort to let what it is unseen be the draw. For a piece as packed as this, it would be easy to misstep, but it has successfully been avoided. 9/10
Production
As mentioned, Gardiner’s tight direction keeps things aloft for its healthy 2.5 hour runtime. His driving elements? Stunningly rich and diverse costumes by Erik Teague and gorgeous set by Jimmy Stubbs. Stubbs’ set particularly uses leading lines to create an ephemeral depth to the static environs, and has little details in the friezes and gargoyles that add to the Forum’s worldbuilding, and I couldn’t stop analyzing it. 8/10
Viz
Before things get going, the stage is flanked by two temple-y structures and features a sheen ochre curtain in the middle. There’s ambient noise that evokes “mediterranean”, so it works, but isn’t mind-blowing. The program art is humorous, continuing the effective rebrand they’re introducing this season. The Roman bust, painted with fuschia hues, is overlaid on the mouth by a glamourous gasp and bright nails, evoking a flamboyant gossiper that matches the slaphappy energy of the show. 8/10
Verdict
Signature’s Forum is a relieved sigh of humor at a time when we all need it, executed with aplomb with a gaggle of the house’s favorite local talent and some outsiders, too. 33/40
