Before ending this interminable week with a night at the theater, I would have scoffed at the notion of repeating any of it. Though once more rid of Daylight Savings, for many of us the past few days haveM felt longer than ever. Indeed, few things could make me agree to wake up tomorrow to another Election Week. And yet, if time travel was the only way to catch Signature Theatre’s riotous new production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum again, I would have to reconsider. After all, a tragedy tomorrow is worth a comedy tonight.
In a collaboration that has proven equally successful and auspicious to the future of theater in the DMV since its inception, Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner and Managing Director Maggie Boland return to champion a fresh revival of Sondheim’s zaniest musical farce. With a powerhouse cast, a playful engagement with Shevelove and Gelbart’s book, and production design to dazzle, Signature’s Forum is nothing short of a spectacle.
For the uninitiated, a good pitch — not straight from Sondheim, but surely in his spirit — isn’t far from “The Flintstones Take Rome.” In a travertine corner in the capital of the Roman Empire, three households have spent their days, both on purpose and by chance, largely avoiding one another. When the henpecked senator Senex (Christopher Bloch) accompanies his quarrelsome wife Domina (Tracy Lynn Olivera) to visit her mother in the country, their lovestruck son Hero (Zachary Keller) promises to free his slave Pseudolus (Erin Weaver) in return for Philia (Kuhoo Verma), the girl of his dreams. The trouble? Well, that’s where the farce comes in. A winsome courtesan in the neighboring house of Marcus Lycus (Lawrence Redmond), Philia has already been promised to the swaggering braggart Captain Miles Gloriosus (Cameron Loyal). In a madcap succession of plots hatched, foiled, mistaken, and transformed, order quickly devolves into pandemonium as Pseudolus leads this hapless ensemble into chaos.
Staging a farce — let alone adapting one to our current moment — is no simple endeavor, but Signature’s cast does so with ease. Forget laughs per minute; this cast gets a laugh in for every breath they take — and the pauses in between. Balancing humor on equal parts ardent commitment and blithe self-awareness, Forum is a cyclone in the making, even as it’s a breeze to watch. Indeed, this is not a show for the weak of craft, but it is clear: these are masters of theirs. With the trusting comradery of a sketch show and the breezy banter of a stand-up set, this cast shines with confidence.
The joy with which the Signature players embody their roles would be enviable if it wasn’t so infectious. Signature veteran Erin Weaver is a powerhouse as Prologus and Pseudolus, in many ways the peppy coxswain steering the show. She is joined by other staple players at Signature including the hilarious duo of Christopher Bloch and Tracy Lynn Olivera. Bloch plays Senex as a hapless kind of coward rather than a sympathetic lemon, while Olivera embraces Domina’s playful cattiness. Together, they keep all the fun and elide the tired misogyny of the script. Zachary Keller and Kuhoo Verma likewise reinvent Hero and Philia’s dynamic, leaning heavily into the bemusements and melodramas of puppy love with uninhibited excess. Keller’s ditzy Hero flops around the stage, transported by longing, while Verma plays up the irony of Philia’s virginal courtesanship to slapstick proportions. Together or apart, these characters shine in their physicality, verbal embodiments, and histrionics.
Cameron Loyal’s blustering Miles Gloriosus knows a thing or two about histrionics, too! An idol to his soldiers (and to himself), Miles struts and flexes and peacocks around the stage. Loyal plays this to riotous effect, indulging Miles in any attention he can attract. Similarly self-involved, Lawrence Redmond’s Marcus Lycus is the perfect coward. Jumpy and covetous, Lycus dumps his problems on any passerby, then runs off to blackmail a senator. A purveyor of Rome’s finest courtesans and a fair amount of miscommunication, Redmond’s Lycus entertains even as he flees the stage.
Such lovely courtesans mustn’t go unmentioned either. As an ensemble of Rome’s finest beauties, Lycus’ retinue also has formidable talent. From Tintinabula’s noisy seductions (Kaylee Olson) to Panacea’s neurotic fugues (Emily Steinhardt) and from Vibrata’s feral ramblings (Sherri L. Edelen) to Gymnasia’s punishing power play (Nolan Montgomery), the house of Marcus Lycus has something for everyone.
As ensembles go, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum boasts multiple, but much of its ancillary support comes from a retinue of only three actors: the Proteans. Embodying all walks of Roman life from slaves to legionaries to eunuchs to sailors, Ryan Sellers, Harrison Smith, and Hank von Kolnitz enter the stage with a new schtick every time. With the commitment and richness of their characters, each deserves their own one-man show, or at least a confessional scene.
An ensemble all of his own, Mike Millan’s Hysterium rounds out this fabulous cast with the anxious, apprehensive humor of a Shakespearean fool. Irreverent and performative, Millan plays Hysterium through the fourth wall and straight into our hearts. If there ever was cause for Sondheim to return, it is to write Millan a Hysterium sequel.
Of course, such a cast can only earn such respect through the work of an expertly executed technical vision. Rome is brought to life by Erik Teague’s visionary costume design, which evokes a more refined take on the archetypal Roman featured in Monty Python and Blackadder. (More from Teague about his process crafting such meticulous work can be found through an Inside Signature interview available here.) Jimmy Stubbs’ set is strategic in design, compact yet expansive through its versatility. Characters find ways to occupy every nook and cranny, fleeing down alleyways, climbing onto balconies, and peeking through windows. Cast in deep shadows by Jason Lyons’ expert lighting design, Stubbs’ set also has remarkable dimension for its size.
Transportive in performance and design, Signature Theater’s production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum carries on the theater’s tradition of staging Sondheim’s work to great success, and even greater enjoyment. In the words of Pseudolus, “The theatre is a temple, and we are here to worship the gods of comedy and tragedy.” Let us rejoice that we may escape into the former when the latter is all too true to life.
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum plays through January 12, 2025, in the MAX Theatre at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA. For tickets ($40–$126) call (703) 820-9771 or purchase online. Information about ticket discounts is available here.
The program for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is online here.
Closed captions are available via the GalaPro app.
COVID Safety: Masks are optional but strongly encouraged in the lobby and other public areas of the building except that face masks are required inside the performance spaces on November 19 at 7:30 PM, December 1 at 2 PM, and January 3 at 8 PM. Signature’s COVID Safety Measures can be found here.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Book by Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart
Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Music Direction by Jon Kalbfleisch
Directed & Choreographed by Matthew Gardiner