A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum
May 13 – 28, 2016
A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum
This musical, originally produced on Broadway by Harold S. Prince, has an exceptional pedigree. The book by Burt Shevlove and Larry Gelbart is all the more engaging with the support of music and lyrics by the brilliant Stephen Sondheim. Most people will know the opening song of the show ‘Comedy Tonight’, but the skills of Sondheim are projected through a range of songs that tell the story and add to the humour of the script.
A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum is a delightfully funny musical. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (251–183 BC), this musical tells the story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. The plot displays many classic elements of farce, including puns, the slamming of doors, cases of mistaken identity (frequently involving characters disguising themselves as one another), and satirical comments on social class.
The musical’s original 1962 Broadway run won several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Author (Musical). A Funny Thing… has enjoyed several Broadway and West End revivals and was made into a successful film starring the original lead of the musical, Zero Mostel. The 2012 Australian revival saw Geoffrey Rush following in the footsteps of musical theatre greats who have played the lead role of Pseudolus – Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers and Nathan Lane in the USA, and Frankie Howerd in the UK. In the case of Frankie Howerd, he followed up his role in “Forum” with a very similar character in the British TV series “Up Pompeii!” which went on to become a successful movie of the same name.
This show doesn’t age – it is as popular now as it was when it first hit the Broadway stage. Dural Musical Society last produced “Forum” in 2003, with Eddie Bruce, Phil O’Connor and Ben Wilson-Hill in the roles of Pseudolus, Hysterium, and Marcus Lycus respectively. This trio of regular DMS performers enjoyed the show so much that they have returned for the 2016 production, with Phil taking on the role of Director of the show, Eddie in his favourite musical comedy role of the slave who is desperate to be ‘free’, and Ben changing his Marcus Lycus garb for the robes of the hen-pecked husband Senex.
As always, the cast features a number of new members of the Society in key roles, along with some of the popular regular performers. A number of “gang” members from last year’s highly successful production of “West Side Story” (also a Sondheim show) have swapped the back streets of New York for the ancient paved streets of Rome – Adam Garden, Liam Dailly, Helen Bell, Brooke Stephens, Sarah Aylen, Millie Reid-Alvarez, Laura Murdocca and Max Hearn-Sarchfield take on very different roles in this fast paced musical comedy. The ensemble cast is rounded out with Tim Chivers, Dennis Channels, Rebeka Kendall, Charlie Hearn-Sarchfield, Tom Oliver, and sisters Mel Hogan and Chelsea Dunn.
| Cast: | |
| Pseudolus | Eddie Bruce |
| Hysterium | Adam Garden |
| Senex | Ben Wilson-Hill |
| Domina | Helen Bell |
| Marcus Lycus | Tim Chivers |
| Hero | Joshua Brown |
| Philia | Brooke Stephens |
| Captain Miles Gloriosus | Liam Dailly |
| Erronius | Dennis Channells |
| Proteans | Tom Oliver |
| Isaak Koorey | |
| Max Hearn-Sarchfield | |
| Charlie Hearn-Sarchfield | |
| Tintinabula | Millie Reid-Alvarez |
| Panacea | Laura Murdocca |
| Panacea Understudy | Stephanie Quaglia |
| Geminae | Chelsea Dunn |
| Mel Hogan | |
| Vibrata | Rebeka Kendall |
| Gynmasia | Sarah Aylen |
| Feathers McCluck | Honey Boo-Boo |
| Production Team: | |
| Director | Phil O’Connor |
| Musical Director | Julieanne Patmore |
| Choreographer | Christina O’Neill |
| Fight Coordinator | Phil O’Connor |
| Stage Manager | Daryl Osborne |
| Lighting Manager | John Nawotka |
| Lighting Assistant | Tom Cavanna |
| Follow-Spot Operator | Emily Daniels |
| Prompt | Karen Smyth and Rebecca Dare |
| Set Design | Eddie Bruce and Phil O’Connor |
| Set Construction | Cast & Family and Friends of DMS |
| Scenic Artists | Production Team and Cast |
| Artistic Consultant | Vikki Page |
| Costumes | Judy Clarke and Julie Scargill |
| Properties | Cast |
| Front of House | Friends of DMS |
| Programme | Eddie Bruce and Scott Osborne |
| Publicity | Julie Bruce and Andrew McLean |
| Sponsorship | Julie Bruce and Friends of DMS |
| Photography | Barry Clarke and Tim Scargill |
| DMS Band | |
| Conductor | Julieanne Patmore |
| Keyboard | Louise Fountain |
| Trumpet | Raph Harvey |
| Warwick Edwards | |
| Reeds | Gemma Rolph |
| Alvin Mak | |
| Jessica Scott | |
| Bass | Ben Salmon |
| Trombone | Bien Javier |
| Percussion | Evelyn Kiefel |