A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical comedy with book by Burt Shrevelove and Larry Gelbart, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Psedulous the slave has one goal in mind, to be free (don’t start singing yet). He thinks he has found a way when his master Hero tells him he will get his freedom if Hero gets his love, the courtesan Philia. Psedulous also has to juggle Hero’s parents, a warrior and his soldiers, and the other beautiful courtesans living next door. All this sounds easy, but since this is a musical comedy in two acts, we know it takes a while for there to be a happy ending.

Funny Thing has the potential to be hysterical. Unfortunately Wildwood’s production was uneven. While some bits were quite well done, overall the humor was hit or miss. Some of the funniest individual lines were tossed away as if the performer couldn’t wait to get back to the physical humor. For example, the final two minutes of the show is when everything wraps up into a nice happy ending. But instead of being amazed at the revelations that are discovered, and giving the audience the opportunity to absorb and react, the cast hurried through the scene and jumped quickly into the curtain call (and the closing commercial). The dance moves were also not consistent as some of the cast had little idea what was going on and others were right in step with the music.

Sean Finan as the slave Psedulous tried and mostly succeeded in keeping the pace up and the emotions real. Finan was constantly on the move trying to get Hero and his love on the boat in the harbor so he could go his own merry way. Hysterium, the head slave to Senex (Devin Goodman) and Domina (Alex Palmer) got along well with Psedulous. The witty repartee was pretty funny when the two of them got together to figure out what to do next. Their number together “Free” was performed well. The Courtesan Philia, in love with Hero yet contracted to the warrior Miles Gloriosus, was played convincingly by Katherine Worley. Her sexiness balanced nicely with the blank stare that so often accompanied her entrances.

Conductor Matt Eisenberg’s orchestra students all played nicely and the music stayed lively for the performance, although at many times overwhelmed the singing. The high school auditorium was huge and the sound bounced all over the place. It looked like only a few actors had microphones. Hero’s mic sounded muddy and Miles’ mic was never turned on it seemed. Maybe the area mics weren’t capable of capturing all the voices?

Scenic Designer S. Lewis Feemster’s set was colorful and tall, which allowed for much running, climbing, falling, and dancing by the cast. Costume Designer Melissa Gilbert used lots of bright colors to accent the characters. It was quite distracting though to see modern-day clothing (striped boxers and gold spandex?) peeking out under tunics and skirts. Will Bartlett’s lighting design was generally effective at underscoring each scene’s emotions.

A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a funny musical with potential that this production did not quite reach.

Director’s Note

Thank you so much for joining us for Wildwood Summer Theatre’s production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. This how is a true musical comedy-ridiculous plot twists, catchy songs, witty repartee, slapstick physicality, and plenty of “frenzy and frolic.” The cast and I have reveled in mining the silliness and mirth of the musical for as many jokes as possible, and have had many uproarious rehearsals. However, Forum primarily focuses on a character struggling to gain the most basic human right-to be treated and seen as a person, not a piece of property. Psedulous’ determined quest for his freedom is what sets riotous scenario after scenario in motion. The stakes in this musical are unbelievably high – especially for the quick-thinking slave who is fed up with living life as a second-class citizen. I have a great love for Forum because it balances levity with deep and sometimes heartbreaking needs. While Psedulous’ quest is perhaps the most exaggerated version of reaching for freedom, many of the other characters are fighting for the right to make your own destiny, etc. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is as concerned with pratfalls as it is with human dignity. I have been truly blessed with a company that has been quick to embrace both the ridiculous elements of Forum as well as the desperation that so many of its characters feel. I have had a great time working on this production-enjoy the show!

Megan Behm, Director

Cast

• Prologus, and actor: Sean Finan
• Senex, an old man: Devin Goodman
• Domina, his wif: Laura Cole
• Hero, his son, in love with Philia: Mason Catharini
• Hysterium, slave to senex and Domina: Alex Palmer
• Pseudolus, slave to Hero: Sean Finan
• Lycus, a buyer and seller of courtesans: Gary Thompson
• Panacea, a courtesan: Maryann Moses
• The Geminae, courtesans: Gabriela Schulman, Alyssa Newberg
• Vibrata, a courtesan: Courtney James
• Gymnasia, a courtesan: Shabnam Salek
• Philia, a virgin: Katherine Worley
• Erronius, an old man: Zak Marsh
• Miles Gloriosus, a warrior: Jeff Miller
• The Proteans: Rocky Nunzio, Maxim Sobchenko, Jehan Silva, Tyler Hanson, Daniel Woolson, Connor Monroe Lugo-Harris

The Staff

• Producer: Jeanie McAlpine
• Associate Producer: Mattia D’Affuso
• Director of public Relations: Lauren Fagan
• Assistant Director of public Relations: Rocky Nunzio
• Director of fundraising: Ceecee Tao
• Director: Megan Behm
• Music Director: William Yanesh
• Choreographer: Namrata Mohanty
• Conductor: Matt Eisenberg
• Assistant Conductor: Rose Weich
• Production Stage Manager: Jeremy Hollis
• Assistant Stage Manager: Liz Bragale
• Technical Director: Robert Brownstein
• Assistant Technical Director: Jay Koby
• Scenic Designer: S. Lewis Feemster
• properties Designer: Kimberely Lartz
• Scenic Artist: Hannah Schott
• Costume Designer: Meliss Gilbert
• Lighting Designer: Will Bartlett
• Sound designer: Melanie Keys
• The Crew: Robert Brownstein, Jay Koby, Jason Austria, Will Bartlett, Mason Catharini, Jamie Davis, Rebecca Goldman, Emma Hardin, Pierson Higareda, Jeremy Hollis, Patrick Lbanez, Carolyn Kidd, Limberely Lartz, Sebastian Lopez, Evan Lund, Keeley Mahoney, Jeanie McAlpine, Maryann Moses, Rocky Nunzio, Rachel Patterson, Coleman Quimby, Hannah Schott, Elise Tonelson, Sam Weich

The Orchestra

• Matt Eisenberg, Conductor
• Rose Weich, Assistant Conductor
• Woodwinds: Alisha Bhore, Jonathan Cothran, Sarah Gitterman, Linda Krasniewski, Joseph Wang, Rose Weich
• Trumpets: Richar Gray, Itai Yasur
• French Horn: Sam Weich
• Trombones: Evan Middleton, Josh Jenkins
• piano: Alex Greenberg
• Cello: paul Buehler
• Bass: Sara Korpeck
• Percussion: Alex Krasniewski, Julius Verzosa

Disclaimer: Wildwood Summer Theatre provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

Mike talks with Director Pam Freedy about the Wildwood Summer Theatre‘s production of City of Angels.

Interview with Pam Freedy about Wildwood Summer Theatre’s City of Angels [MP3 3.6MB 7:51]

Laura: This is the ShowBizRadio Review of Parade, performed by the Wildwood Summer Theatre at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland. We saw the performance on Saturday evening, July 26, 2008.

Mike: Parade is a musical with book by Alfred Uhry, music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. The show concerns the real life 1913 trial of Jewish factory man Leo Frank, who is accused of raping and murdering a thirteen year old factory girl, Mary Phagan. The trial, which was sensationalized by the media, aroused anti-semitic tensions in Atlanta and the state of Georgia. When Frank’s sentence was commuted to life in prison due to possible problems with the trial, he was transferred to a prison in Milledgeville, Georgia. Frank was kidnapped and taken to Marietta Georgia where he was hanged.

Laura: Although this production did not have a happy ending, I enjoyed myself. I felt it was powerful. I liked some of the special effects used in some of the scenes and some of the singing scenes.

Mike: This production was a significant accomplishment for the Wildwood Summer Theatre. The sets were incredible. The singing and acting was top notch. There were some minor technical problems, but all in al this was a good show and I had a good time. It is not necessarily a show you go to to enjoy. It does expose some of the nastiness in the history of the United States. However, it was very well done and thought provoking as to how far we have come in the last 100 years.

Laura: Leo Frank, the man falsely accused of raping and killing Mary Phagan, was played by Ben Lurye. He had a powerful presence on stage. Lurye’s performance seemed to be that of the frustrated factory manager who was just trying to make a living. He was not happy living in the south. He had made references to wanting to earn some money so they could get out of there as soon as they could. I liked his compassion. Although he seemed a little brusk. I think he had some compassion for the workers while he was intent on them getting the job done.

Mike: He sang a song early in the show entitled, “How Can I Call This Home?” It had such a strong sense of longing and anguish and loss about not being up north, it really humanized Frank’s character. There was also a scene with his wife Lucille, played by Sherry Berg. The playfulness between the two of them and the fact that there were things he could not say to his wife really showed later in the trial how he had been taken advantage of by the system.

Laura: I thought Berg was a go getter. She played the role with a lot of feistiness. Even though she was frustrated with her husband at times for his seemingly lack of gumption, she wanted to fight for him and for his freedom. They had a good song together in the second act that had some sound issues and the orchestra over powered them.

Mike: There were sound issues throughout the evening with microphones not coming on or would rustle against clothing. That may still need some tweaking as to making sure the cues are set up correctly so that the microphone can be come on at the correct time. There were times when it was distracting. One notable case was during the interrogation of Newt Lee (played by Kristopher Owens). It was hard to hear him tell his side of what he saw at the factory on the day of the murder.

Laura: Another character that I thought did well was was Frankie, a friend of Mary’s. He was played by Bennett Clarkson. He had a good scene in the first act when he sang “It Don’t Make Sense.” He had a lot of intensity and powerful emotions. He had really scary eyes that came out with his anger over what he wanted to do to Leo. It was very honest.

Mike: Parade took place in a lot of different locations. There were a lot of different scene changes. They were handled nicely and it was not distracting to see giant platforms being wheeled out behind other scenes were taking place. The scenes were designed by Nicole De Pedro. One scene that I really liked was in the second act when Jim Connley (played by Michael Kuhn) and the chain gang sang “Blues: Feel The Rain Fall.” He was part of a chain gang for an unrelated crime. Behind the scrim in the back were several other members of the chain gang. And the way the lighting was used was very effective with the timing of the music and the singing of the song. It became a very powerful scene.

Laura: Parade lasted two hours and fifty minutes with one intermission. It is playing through Saturday August 2nd. Friday and Saturdays at 7: 30 pm at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland.

Mike: If you have seen the show, we would like to hear your comments. Simply leave a comment here at ShowBizRadio.net. We would also like to invite you to join our free mailing list. Stay informed with what’s happening in theatre in the DC region.

Laura: And now, on with the show.

Cast

• Young Soldier: Lonathan Loewy
• Old Soldier: Will Lockhart
• Aide: Melanie Kurstin
• Assistant: Sara Wright
• Lucille Frank: Sherry Berg
• Leo Frank: Ben Lurye
• Hugh Dorsey: Will Lockhart
• Governor John Slaton: Paul Scanlan
• Sally Slaton: Pam Freedy
• Frankie Epps: Bennett Clarkson
• Mary Phagan: Katie Friedgen
• Iola Stover: Caroline Wolfson
• Jim Conley: Michael Kuhn
• J.N. Starnes: Ariel Messeca
• Officer Ivey: Jonathan Loewy
• Newt Lee: Kristopher Owens
• Mrs. Phagan: Cara Pellegrino
• Lizzie Phagan: Lori Craley
• Floyd McDaniel/prison Guard/Foreman: Danny Park
• Britt Craig: Mikey Cafarelli
• Tom Watson: Sean Finan
• Angela: Jenay McNeiel
• Riley: Nikki Duong
• Luther Rosser: Matt Glenn
• Fiddlin John Carson: Jonathan Loewy
• Judge Roan/ Mr. Peavey: Christopher Haller
• Nurse: Katie Perry
• Monteen: Sherry Benedek
• Essie: Amanda Kaplan
• Helen: Erin Branigan
• Ensemble: Maddie Brown, Laura Cole, Stephanie Helwig, Corriane Oster, Melinda Paul, Jordan Smilan-Goldstein

Orchestra

• Conductor: Ian Stuart
• Violin: Catie Bartlett, Alice Hawfield, Lisa Silverman
• Cello: Jen Larson
• Bass: Sara Korpeck
• Woodwinds: Alisha Bhore, Melissa Ludwig, Max Morawski, Ashley Sharper
• Trumpet: Richard Gray, Ethan Marks, Joe Silver, Itai Yasur
• French Horn: Matt Eisenberg, Tori Randall
• Trombone: William Ardanuy, Glenn Daniels
• Piano: Jeremy Lent
• Percussion: Andrew Bort, Collin Sommers

Crew

• Producer: Ian Stuart
• Director & Dramaturg: Kristina Friedgen
• Assistant Director: Tori Randall
• Dialect Coach: David Olson
• Stage Manager: Matti Dickinson
• Assistant Stage Manager: Alice Forehand
• Choreographers: Joanna Higbee & Christina Freidgen
• Dance Captains: Amanda Kaplan & Ariel Messeca
• Fight Captain: will Lockhart
• Music Director: Juliana Marin
• Conductor: Ian Stuart
• Assistant Conductor: Matt Eisenberg
• Director of Fundraising: Bridget Woodbury
• Box Office/House Managers: Juliana Marin & Lisa Ohanian
• Technical Director: Peter Gambardella
• Assistant Technical Director: Harry Sherman
• Scenic Designer: Nicole De Pedro
• Projections Artist/Fly Operator: Ray Durbin
• Lighting Designer: Max Flicker
• Lighting Board Operator: Russell Blair
• Sound Designer: Matt Glen
• Sound Board Operator: Colin Cranford
• Properties Designers: Alice Hawfield & Mandy Yu
• Costume Designer: Erin Branigan
• Hair and Makeup Designer: Brittany Graham
• Running Crew: Jose Abraham, Danny Green, Jason Austria, Alice Hawfield, Russell Blair, Paul Johnson, Colin Cranford, Jay Koby, Ray Durbin, David Marin, Max Fickler, Nicole De Pedro, Peter Gambardella, Harry Sherman, Matt Glenn, Mandy Yu

Laura: Saturday evening we saw Wildwood Summer Theatre‘s production of Thoroughly Modern Millie in Bethesda, Maryland.

Mike: Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical. Music by Jeanine Tesori. Lyrics by Dick Scanlon. Book by Richard Morris and Dick Scanlan. It is based on the 1967 film Thoroughly Modern Millie. It tells the story of a small town girl, Millie Dilmount, who comes to New York City to marry for money, not love, which was a thoroughly modern aim in 1922 when women were just entering the work force. Millie really enjoys the flapper lifestyle, but problems arise when she checks into a hotel owned by the leader of a white slavery ring in China.

Laura: There was lots of really good dancing in this show, also good singing. There were some sound problems in the second act. I don’t know if something happened at intermission, but there were a few times when some of the actors started talking and then their microphones would come on. Other than that everything went smoothly. The set was good and I just really liked the high energy. These kids just looked like they were really having a good time.

Mike: Wildwood Summer Theatre is made up of people only up to age 25. It’s a pretty good group effort that goes into the show. The group works together the whole year to come up with one summer production for three weekends. I think they’ve done a good job with Thoroughly Modern Millie. There were some minor lighting issues as well, but the set was gorgeous, the dancing was really good, and everything else worked out to be a great show.

Laura: Millie Dilmount, the young woman who is moving from Kansas to make her way in the high city life in New York City was played by Carolyn Walter. She did a good job. She started out with a real innocence and then just kind of threw herself into the New York City lifestyle. She had her goals in mind. She was going to marry her boss even though she hadn’t gotten a job yet or met the boss that she was going to marry. She had everything set out. Then, as does happen in life, things don’t go according to how you think they’re going to go and she ended up meeting someone else.

Mike: Shortly after arriving in New York City, Millie is robbed of her luggage and her shoe. She tries to get help. She trips Jimmy played by Timothy J. Crowley. He explains to her that you just don’t trip people and she should go back to where she came from. Their paths keep crossing as the show progresses. Jimmy is a paper clip salesman who is pleased with living life as it happens. He doesn’t really have a plan. Of course Millie has a plan. She wants to marry her boss so she’ll be rich and happy, love doesn’t really enter into it. As the two of them keep interacting, they gradually fall in love. That process worked really well. You could see the concern that Jimmy had for Millie as they got to know each other much better. Jimmy had a nice song, “What Do I Need With Love” where he was fighting with himself about how he should feel about Millie. I think he did a good job.

Laura: Millie’s next door neighbor, Miss Dorothy Brown, was played by Erin Branigan. She did a good job. She had a real innocence about her when she came to New York. She was kind of starry eyed and wanting to experience everything. She had some nice dance numbers. She also had a nice strong voice. I enjoyed her performance.

Mike: The entire cast worked very well together. It was a large cast with a lot of dancing. A lot of different scene changes. It was a pretty complex show to put together. I think it worked out very well.

Laura: The choreography was very nice. The Choreographer was Kristina Friedgen. It had some pretty complex show numbers. The only thing that was kind of funny was several of the dancers kept losing their hats throughout the show. There was one scene early on where I kept waiting for the hat to go flying into the orchestra. That was kind of funny, but they all did a good job.

Mike: The set was very nice. There were a lot of different piece that would spin around and would open up to reveal different sets. It was very flexible and very nicely done. The Scenic Designer was Kathryn Pong. She did a great job. I liked especially how one unit could be turned around 180 degrees and you would have an entirely different scene, then you could open it up and you would have another scene. That was a great use of resources and space.

Laura: Thoroughly Modern Millie was approximately two hours and forty minutes with one intermission.

Mike: It’s playing at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland through August 4. Friday and Saturday at 8 and Sunday the 29th at 2.

Laura: This was a show that’s suitable for families and children. I think you’ll really enjoy it if you go see this show.

Mike: And now, on with the show.

Laura: Last night we saw the opening night performance of Wildwood Summer Theatre‘s production of Cabaret in Bethesda, Maryland.

Mike: Cabaret is set in Berlin in 1930. The main story revolves around an American writer who is having trouble writing so he is traveling around Europe. He decides to move to Berlin so he can write his novel. He meets up with a night club singer, Sally Bowles, who is a singer at the Kit Kat Klub, a decadent night club in Berlin. We get to see how she sees the world and we also get to see how the people of the club see the world.

Laura: This was a well performed show. I came away feeling rather unsettled. I guess because you had what was going on inside the Kit Kat Klub. The immorality that was going on there and how that paralleled what was going on outside the Kit Kat Klub.

Mike: This was a really well performed show. The singing was good. The acting was good. I did come away feeling rather disturbed. Mainly because I know what’s going to happen in the next fifteen years after the end of this show. World War II, Europe plunged into darkness, millions of people murdered, all these people thinking life is ok, it doesn’t matter what goes on in the world. I just do what I want to do. It was disturbing. Definitely a thinking show.

Laura: The main character was Cliff Bradshaw. He was the American writer who came to Berlin to write the great novel. He was played by Greg Magee. I liked his performance. He had a nice singing voice in the few numbers where he sang. I liked the makeup job they did on him. In a scene towards the end he got into a fight and got rather roughed up. In the next scene he came out and it did look like he had run into a wall. They did a really good job with that detail. I felt like he was confused. He wasn’t quite sure, not only about his sexuality, but about his place in life, his role in Berlin, and beginning to understand what was going on around him.

Mike: The night club in Berlin was called the Kit Kat Klub. It was very decadent. There was a lot of drug usage and there was a lot of open sexuality from both the men and the women. The opening number was called “Welcome,” in German, Willkommen. The Emcee introduced the Kit Kat Girls to us. They were very scantilly clad and very suggestive and open in their sexuality.

Later there’s a song,”Don’t Tell Mama” that introduces Sally Bowles to us. Sally was played by Katie McGuire. If anything, I felt like Katie’s character as Sally should have been more open. Instead she was very nicely dressed, but she wasn’t very suggestive in her songs. The lyrics of the song were suggestive, but her part really wasn’t. A little bit later she was very manipulative and throughout the show she was very simple minded, She didn’t want to know anything about the outer world. I really didn’t like her character too much. Yes, I wanted to slap her up side the head. Cliff kind of did the same thing when he got frustrated. She was easily able to manipulate him. I did like the acting and the singing Katie did as Sally. Just some of the emotions didn’t come out quite right and some of the costuming I disagreed with.

Laura: The landlady who rented a room to Cliff and Sally was Fraulein Schneider, played by Sherry Berg. I liked her very much. She gave a very powerful performance. She showed a lot of emotions. At one point she got involved with a gentleman and they consented to get married. But later she realized that with everything happening in Berlin and the Nazi’s coming that she couldn’t continue the relationship. That scene was very strong. She had a very powerful voice, too. I liked her performance.

Mike: The role of the Emcee at the Kit Kat Klub was played by Ben Lurye. He had a difficult role. He had to keep the show moving along. He started as the narrator of the show. He would appear in a few of the scenes as characters. Then he would either make comments or he would sing in an undertone for the scene. He also danced a few times. He had to be very free with himself. So we did get to see a lot about the Emcee. His decadence and his relaxed nature about how life works really played into the show quite well.

Laura: I really liked the set. It was very well done, very creative. It was one set, but it had three sides. When the show first opened you were at the Kit Kat Klub. Then the set turned and you were in the room of the boardinghouse where Sally and Cliff lived for a time. You turned it again you were in a store front. It was really well done. They were very smooth transitions. I’m sure there were a lot of rehearsals that went into that during tech week. I thought that was really good.

Mike: The costumes were very well done. Some of the costumes did not have a lot to. The women were wearing bikinis or short lingerie outfits. The men were wearing bikinis or short longerie outfits at times. The main characters were wearing regular clothing. Generally everyone was wearing blacks and whites. It was very plain for the most part. There were a few scenes with the women at the boardinghouse. The men were wearing suits and the women were wearing regular dresses or house frocks, that type of thing. There were a few men from the navy, they were wearing navy outfits. The costumes really fit the show quite well. They were very suggestive for the women and the men of the Kit Kat Klub. Sally’s outfit at the end was see through so you could see her undergarments or bikini or whatever it was. Also the performers at the Kit Kat Klub, including the emcee, the girls and the guys, they all were wearing whiteface and other really strong make up to emphasize their faces. That worked really well.

Laura: For the most part the lights were pretty good. They did have some rough spots where they had the lights turned on the wrong person. Sometimes the spotlight wasn’t quite right. You could see it sort of zooming around trying to find the person it was supposed to shine on. Overall I thought it was really good.

Mike: There was one point wheer I think they missed an opportunity with the lighting. The closing number that Sally sings is called “Cabaret.” At the end I think it would have been really effective if they could have lit up the entire stage area with lots of bright lights or even colored lights to show that “Life is a Cabaret.” It has lots of colors and variations. That might have worked, it might not have worked.

I felt like the closing number was a little too simple. In fact the entire closing of the show, the finale, nobody in the audience knew if it was over or not. The lights didn’t come up. The people came out to do their bows. It was kind of a weird ending to the show. Not sure what the deal with that was. The band also didn’t play a closing number. They weren’t sure if they were supposed to leave or not. That was a little rough.

The show does contain a lot of adult situations and adult themes. The show touches on the isue of abortion, homosexuality, bisexuality, multiple sex partners, drug usage, morality of the Nazi Party, discrimination based on religion, and prostitution. So you can see there are lots and lots and lots of things you can talk about with your kids. Really young kids do not need to see this show. There were some young children there, probably because they had a sibling in the show. Since this theater is made up of people between the ages of 14 – 25, I would think that a lot of them have siblings they would want to see perform. This is a show not for under high school, maybe middle school, but probably high school at the youngest. Even then you do need to have a good talk with your children about the themes of the show. I did overhear one parent last night after the show, the child asked a question about one of the parts of the show. She kind of shushed him down and said, “We’ll talk about it later.” You do need to be ready to talk with your child about these very adult situations that come up.

Laura: Cabaret is playing Fridays and Saturdays through August 5 at 8 PM with a Sunday matinee on July 30 at 2 PM, at the Bethesda – Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland.

Mike: Once you’ve seen the show, we’d love to have your comments because this was a complex show. There are a lot of interpretations and a lot of deep meanings in this show. So we would like to hear your comments. You can do that at ShowBizRadio.net. We’d also like to invite you to join our mailing list so that you can get all of our reviews and other information on theaters in the DC metro area.

Laura: And now, on with the show.