In its second production of the season, Mask and Bauble offers its audience a campy and slapstick musical performance that will at least entertain the actors’ friends. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical comedy that doesn’t try to do much more than make the audience laugh, and Mask and Bauble’s production will occasionally elicit that response from the general public. Most of the time, however, it will leave theatergoers with only a few chuckles to compensate for the nagging feeling of disappointment.
Forum, as its title suggests, is set in Roman times and tells the story of a clever and amiable slave who, in his master’s absence, contrives to set up his master’s son with the virgin from the brothel next door in return for his freedom. All of his schemes have a comical tendency to backfire, however, and the result is an amusing chaos of clumsy soldiers, scampering prostitutes, virgin imposters and two kids in love who just want to be together. And the end? They all live happily ever after, of course.
The slave at the center of all this confusion, Pseudolus, is a role that requires a commanding stage presence and execellent comic timing, and Michael Kocher (SFS ‘05) is up to the task. Although his singing is mediocre?which proves to be an epidemic in this cast?Kocher’s performance is nonetheless balanced and consistent, and his periodic interjections of ironic sanity border on hilarious.
Pseudolus is supposed to be the character who holds the chaotic plot together, but Kocher finds himself in the unfortunate position of holding the production together as well. His only equal on stage is Adam Yaeger (CAS ‘04), who plays Marcus Lycus, the cowardly pimp. Although he protrays Lycus as more of a nobleman than a sex capitalist, Yaeger’s vocal talent is a welcome, if brief, addition to the show.
Both Ken Leichter (CAS’03) and Sally Richardson (CAS ‘04) contribute positively to the cast. In the roles of Pseudolus’s master and mistress, Leichter and Richardson are appropriately cast, they play off one another well, and their skillful delivery of comical lines makes up for their musical shortcomings. In the role of the blind old man, Erronius, J.R. Malone (MSB ‘02) also provides some quality comedic moments (“O most filthy pirates!”), even if he gives the impression of struggling to stay in character.
More than one performance is substantially sub-par, however, and Tom Huddleston (SFS ‘05) as Hero gives one of them. His big eyes and forlorn sighs are just not cute enough to forgive his sloppy stage presence and poor sense of pitch. Playing opposite Huddleston as Hero’s love interest, the virgin Philia, Jenn Brookland (SFS ‘05) offers a similarly unremarkable performance. Despite delivering some of the best-sung notes in the show, Brookland’s vocal performance is inconsistent, and her movements seem very rehearsed rather than a natural response to the action on stage.
The most authoritative figure on stage should be Miles Gloriosus, the military captain who has purchased the right to marry Philia. Chris Babayan (CAS ‘05) often neglects to provide this power, however, and the result is a lot of high-pitched yelling, wishy-washy gestures and out-of-tune notes. Sean McKelvey (CAS ‘04) adequately portrays the neurotic head slave, appropriately named Hysterium, but his levels are over-exaggerated and his singing is, once again, sub-standard.
One performer in the ensemble deserves special recognition. Meredith Grasso (CAS ‘02) is nothing short of hilarious in her role as one of four so-called Proteans. In the absence of scripted lines, Grasso uses facial expressions and gestures to their maximum comic potential. In fact, her hip-hop-style military “salute” is easily the highlight of the show.
The set design by Stephen Esposito (SFS ‘02) is both aesthetically engaging?thanks also to the scenic paint design by Caitlin Lowans (SFS ‘03)?and functional. While the downstage exits become distractingly crowded at times, the lack of scene changes adds fluidity to the show. Unfortunately, the stage is much too close to the audience. The designers appear to have overlooked that musicals are just not meant to have the same intimacy with the audience as “straight” plays.
Although effective at emphasizing mood changes in a scene, the lighting design by Michael Radolinski (CAS ‘03) approaches over-exaggeration. Stage lighting should supplement an actor’s emphasis on certain actions or emotions, but in this production, it seems as if the actors allow the lighting to dictate what is important for them.
Costuming by Karen Sudkamp (SFS ‘04) is inconsistent; slaves and prostitutes are very well costumed, but the “noble” characters (especially Marcus Lycus) seem to have received the short end of the costume budget stick. Also, the Roman sandals worn by the whole cast prove to be precariously assembled and a tripping hazard on stage.
The choreography by Tai Parks (NHS ‘03) is also a mixed bag. In musical numbers with four people or fewer, her moves are simple enough for a cast without dance experience yet clever enough to be entertaining. The company numbers, on the other hand, are both elementary and messy. Contrary to popular belief, the kick line is not a requisite for a musical and should have been left out of this one.
Likewise, vocal director Adam Lippman (CAS ‘03) appears to have spent little time with the chorus, and even his work with the leading actors must have failed to integrate song with drama. Lippman and director Elizabeth Cooney (NHS ‘03) have not succeeded in producing a cast that moves seamlessly between speech and song, a crucial element to a solid musical.
To be fair, Mask and Bauble faces difficult barriers to producing quality musicals, including low funding, a small performance space and a lack of highly talented musicians to recruit for auditions. But then again, it is Mask and Bauble’s choice to continue to put on musicals, and they continue to do it unsatisfactorily. Although some aspects of your evening on the way to the Forum may be entertaining, don’t be fooled into thinking you are watching the best Mask and Bauble can be.
