About This Show
Get ready for a comedy tonight! East West Players moves the setting of this popular musical from Rome to ancient Polynesia, while still maintaining the infectious energy of classic vaudeville. A crafty slave struggles to win the hand of a beautiful but slow-witted courtesan for his young master, in exchange for freedom. This show is the wacky collaboration between Plautus (a playwright of ancient Rome), Larry Gelbart (the guy who brought us M*A*S*H), and master songwriter Stephen Sondheim. It’s a simple little love story, complicated by mixed identities, bouts of the plague, kicks in the posterior, double takes, prat falls and courtesans next door. Songs include “Comedy Tonight,” “Pretty Little Picture” and “The House of Marcus Lycus.” Tim Dang directs.