Citadel Theatre’s upcoming production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” could not be better timed. Between April snows, the nasty presidential campaign and tax season, what more could audiences ask for than a “Comedy Tonight,” to quote this furiously funny Tony Award-winning musical’s classic opening number.
Being performed April 22-May 22, the Citadel stage in Lake Forest will be a riot of schemers, philanderers, young lovers and bawdy courtesans.
Written by Larry Gelbart (TV’s “M*A*S*H”, and “Tootsie”) and Bert Shevelove (“No, No Nanette”) with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, “Forum” takes its cue from the farces by ancient Roman playwright Plautus. Tim Walsh stars as Pseudolus, a household slave who will concoct any number of schemes to earn his freedom, including procuring for his young master, Hero (Jacob Fjare), a virgin courtesan (Angela Carrington) who has been promised to the vainglorious army captain Miles Gloriosis (Adam Kasprowicz).
“Forum” has long been on the theatrical bucket list for Bob Estrin, the show’s director. Estrin, who taught theatre at New Trier High School for nearly two decades, performed in a community theatre production more than 40 years ago as Senex, Hero’s henpecked and lascivious father who is under the mistaken impression that said courtesan is his new maid.
“It’s just great fun,” Estrin said. “We wanted to do the show two years ago, but we couldn’t secure the rights. You laugh a lot, and it has a great score that will be performed live, which makes the theatrical experience more dynamic.”
As with Estrin, Walsh, who plays Pseudolus, has wanted to do “Forum” for a long time. His father, Ed Walsh, directed a production in Winnetka when Tim was 14. “I was tickled (by the show),” he said. “I was a fan of Jackie Gleason and Jack Benny, who were still very much active on television. I respected them and to see this show that harkens back to the days of vaudeville and burlesque got me hooked. I thought, ‘That’s a show I want to do.”
Zero Mosel originated the Pseudolus role on Broadway with Nathan Lane and Whoopi Goldberg later stepping into his sandals. Walsh has not seen the 1966 film, which notes Estrin, has allowed him not to be influenced by predecessors. “I’ve seen actors channel Zero Mostel or Nathan Lane, and that’s OK,” Estrin said, “but Tim is making this his own, which surprises me every day in rehearsal because I never know what’s coming.”
On the joys of playing Pseudolus, Walsh enthused, “He’s got some great numbers. (An actor doesn’t) get to play low humor very often, but at the same time, Pseudolus has a heart and soul. And he gets to interact with every character in the piece,” including Senex (Bill Chamberlain), his shrewish wife (Ellen Phelps), and Hysterium (Mark Anderson), the aptly-named fellow slave.
Sondheim once compared farce to an express train. The near-non-stop verbal and physical gags in “Forum” are so relentless that people might miss a few punchlines. “We’re hoping people miss half the jokes so they have to come back and see it again,” Walsh joked.
Where: Citadel Theatre Company, 300 S. Waukegan Road, Lake Forest
Tickets: $35-$37.50
Information: 847-735-8554, Ext. 1; www.Citadel Theatre.org
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‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’
When: April 22-May 22