A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Description

SUMMER MUSICAL- Northwest Florida State College will present Broadway's greatest farce – the witty and irreverent “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” - as the college’s summer musical production at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center on July 13 to 16, 2016. 

With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” is a romp through ancient Rome and is replete with desperate lovers, scheming neighbors and secrets behind every toga. The fast-paced, bawdy comedy is considered one of funniest musicals ever written. “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum” takes comedy back to its roots, combining situations from time-tested, 2000 year old comedies of Roman playwright Plautus with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville.

“A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum” is a non-stop laugh-fest in which Pseudolus, a crafty slave, struggles to win the hand of a beautiful but slow-witted courtesan named Philia, for his young master, Hero, in exchange for his freedom. The plot twists and turns with cases of mistaken identity, slamming doors, and a showgirl or two. This hysterical musical will feature an ensemble cast of local actors in a show that is considered to be rated PG-13 for language and content.

 “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” will be the directorial debut in the Mainstage Theater for Christa Whittaker, an NWF State College adjunct theater professor, who is well known for her leadership of the award-winning dramatic arts program at Fort Walton Beach High School. Whittaker has directed productions for Fort Walton High for 19 years, leading her students to six state mainstage awards and building a nationally recognized program. While it will be her first time to lead a production in the college’s massive Mainstage Theater at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center, for the past 10 years she has co-directed the college’s popular summer musical theater workshop, which annually produces a mini-musical in the Sprint Theater at the arts complex.

“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” was a popular 1966 film, based on the Broadway stage musical of the same name. In the show, Pseudolus is the laziest slave in Rome and has but one wish, to purchase his freedom. When his master and mistress leave for the day he finds out that the young master has fallen in love with a virgin in the house of 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. Of course, it can't be that simple as everything begins to go wrong. And the moral? Best summed up as the cast sings, "Morals tomorrow! Comedy tonight!"

Featured songs include "Comedy Tonight", "Love, I Hear", "Free", "Lovely", "Pretty Little Picture”, “Everybody Ought To Have a Maid”, "Impossible”; "Bring Me My Bride", "Intermission" ,"That Dirty Old Man” ,"That'll Show Him" and more.