Review: Laughter Reigns Supreme in Signature Theatre’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum tells you straight away that it’s going to bring the laughs, and Signature Theatre’s current staging offers a zany good time thanks to a cast that is game for anything.

The musical romp is led by Erin Weaver, a Signature favorite who wowed in last February’s Private Jones. She is pure delight as Pseudolus, the clever and cunning slave who seeks to gain his freedom by helping his young master win the love of a beautiful courtesan. Bursting with energy and a smile that lights up the stage, Weaver makes an ideal narrator as she sings about the players in the show in the charming “Comedy Tonight,” and from that point on, the show is hers.

The central love story involves her master, Hero (an affable Zachary Keller) and the courtesan Philia (an enchanting Kuhoo Verma). The two have palpable chemistry, and their amusing kissing scenes get belly laughs galore. Keller plays the naïve, lovestruck boy to a tee, while Verma mines plenty of laughs with her asides and exaggerated facial expressions.

Cameron Loyal is pitch-perfect as Captain Miles Gloriosus, a charismatic and physically flawless figure whose impressive muscles would make even Gaston envious. Mike Millan steals several scenes as Hysterium, and he and Weaver engage in plenty of banter and riffing back and forth, some of it spontaneous, heightening their comic chemistry.

The show brims with laughs, from Christopher Bloch’s Senex constant quarrelling with his wife, Domina (a terrific Tracy Lynn Olivera), to Sherri L. Edelen milking every bit of Erronius’s stage time, to the uproarious talents of the courtesans (especially Nolan Montgomery’s larger-than-life Gymnasia) in the house of Marcus Lycus (an underused Lawrence Redmond). Ryan Sellers, Harrison Smith, and Hank von Kolnitz deserve mention for tirelessly playing many different characters and switching roles seamlessly throughout.

Forum, which originally ran on Broadway in 1962, features Stephen Sondheim’s fabulous songs and Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart’s humorous book, all of which remain strong today. Helping it stay current is the fact that Weaver has given the cast the freedom to adlib with sharp-witted, topical jokes and to have hilarious interactions with the audience. At the performance I attended, a stage malfunction resulted in muffled laughs from some of the actors. But in a show like this, something like that only adds to the fun.

Director and choreographer Matthew Gardiner keeps things lively and fast-paced. While Jimmy Stubbs’ set design, featuring three Roman houses, is minimalistic, it does allow for some creative entrances and exits that bring on some big laughs. Erik Teague’s costumes were similarly understated in some cases, but the courtesans looked gorgeous. A lot of the show’s humor comes from misinterpretations and a cascade of confusion, and the costumes lend themselves to this.

Thanks to a delightful cast and a wondrous blend of sharp wit and flamboyant antics, Signature Theatre’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum proves that laughter truly is the best remedy for ancient woes.