The lights of the North Point Theater dimmed on the Night of April 18th as the up-tempo music of the orchestra in the back resounded throughout the room. From behind the curtain, a character in a tunic emerged introducing this spring’s musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, through vibrant show tunes. The production, which had a three night run, had in the words of opening song, “Something for everyone.”
Set on a street in ancient Rome, Forum tells the story of a slave named Pseudolus (Tevon Diggs-Bing (‘14)) and his dream to purchase his freedom. When his master and mistress leave town for a day, he finds out that the young master, Hero (Bobby Keim (’13)), has fallen in love with a virgin from the House of Marcus Lycus, a slave dealer specializing in beautiful women. Pseudolus concocts a deal in which he will be freed if he can procure the girl for young Hero. However, things begin to go awry as cases of mistaken identity, miscommunications, and lies result in chaos and confusion of a comedic measure.
While the story in itself was humorous, the cast really made the show. The actors were full of energy and hit every note during the musical numbers. While all were good, there were several key players who brought something unique to the stage. Bobby Keim (’13) and Liesl Wegand (’14) were well cast as the two lovers of the play. They brought a level of genuine chemistry that was pleasing to watch. Another crowd favorite was Jake Walker’s (’14) portrayal of Erronius, who bought the audience to an outburst of laughter and applause on more than one occasion.
Despite a few hiccups, the actors felt pleased with their performance. “Overall the play went really well with some minor adjustments.” commented Morgan Kline (’16). “My favorite part was definitely seeing Aaron as a girl, and the guys try to do their own makeup.”
“I think that the play was amazing. Everyone really came through and put all of their effort into it,” enthused Emily Garcia (’13), the stage manager for the production. “We had a lot of ups and downs, but we really came together as a cast, crew, and pit.”
At the end of the day, three months of rehearsing, set building, costume making, and anything in between was evident from the rise of the curtain to the falling of the same.
