Middlebury College Musical Players present

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Based on the plays of Plautus

Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Originally produced by Harold Prince (1962, Alvin Theatre, New York)

Presented through special arrangement with and all authorized performance materials

are supplied by Music Theatre International, 421 West 54^th St, New York, NY 10019

The Cast (in order of appearance in Act I)

Prologus/Pseudolus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Marks

Philia (Hero's love) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meg Morello

Hero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Kuykendall

Senex (Hero's father) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Raam Wong

Domina (Hero's mother) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elise Young

Hysterium (Senex & Domina's servant) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tim Brownell

Proteans, soldiers, citizens, eunuchs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chrissy Mahler

Drew Miller

Jason Vrooman

Marcus Lycus (owner of the House of Shame) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeremy Holiday

The Courtesans

Tintinabula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katharine Decker

Panacea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Bernstein

The Geminae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Holly Congdon

Becca Leaphart

Vibrata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meredith Bazirgan

Femina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Teri Chadbourne

Erronius (a Roman citizen in search of his children) . . . . . . . . . Fr. John McDermott

Miles Gloriosus (a Roman captain) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Apicelli

Orchestra

Strings . . . . . . . . . . Michelle Clasquin, Aaron Fine, Jenny Quinn, Jeff Rehbach

Woodwinds . . . . . . . . . . . . Christina Whitten, Stewart Perry, Michele Miers

Trumpets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bill Boykin-Morris, Katy Ott

Bass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rusty Gustavson

Piano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Pieplow

Production Staff

Director/Producer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Abi Butler

Technical Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Marks

Assistant Technical Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Vrooman

Lighting Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Ackley

Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hitoshi Yamaguchi

Musical Advisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeff Rehbach

Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anita Chavez

Choreography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michelle Clasquin, Abi Butler

Costume design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Abi Butler

Set construction and painting . . . . . . . Tim, Mike, Elise, Meg, Teri, Holly, Becca

Drew, Jeremy, Meredith, John, Raam, Abi, James

Costume and props construction . . . Anita, Holly, Elise, Teri, Sarah, Katharine, Chrissy

Lighting and sound operation . . . . James Ackley, Anna Benvenuto, Vinay Jawahar

Publicity Tom Marks, Tim Brownell, Abi Butler, and the cast

Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Barreda

The historical context

To the ancient Romans, Plautus (ca. 254-284 BCE) was the most popular and successful of all the comic playwrights, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, inspired by several of his plays (Pseudolus, Haunted House, Casina, and The Braggart Soldier), gives voice to what made Plautus so much fun.

Titus Maccius Plautus (probably a stage name meaning 'Titus, the Flat-Footed Fool') began writing comedies at the beginning of the Roman literary tradition in the late 3rd century BCE. He did not invent the comic genre. Instead he (and his contemporaries) developed it from the older Greek tradition. Plautus' comedies (21 are extant) were thus Latin reworkings of previous Greek plays, but this should not take away from his comic genius. Plautus displayed exuberant originality and creativity in these adaptations. He gave new life to a dying genre, and his influence has lived on in many of the great writers of the Western tradition: Ariosto, Shakespeare, Corneille, and Moliere.

Plautus' comedy (like the traditional Broadway musical) often employs simple storylines: boy loves girl; boy loses (or is forced to lose) girl; boy wins girl back. To tell his stories, Plautus draws on stock characters painted in exaggerated colors. There is the braggart soldier, the young man in love, the clueless old man and the clever slave (perhaps the defining character of Plautine drama). Together they create a topsy-turvy world of farce and deceit, where the clever slave manages to turn the tables on his master, and where the boy gets the girl. In Plautus the rules and conventions of the ancient world are stood on their heads, all in the name of fun. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum pays tribute to Plautine comedy, and shows us what made Plautus such a perennial hit.

—Randall Ganiban, Asst. Professor of Classics

The Plot and Musical Numbers

Comedy Tonight (what the show is all about!) . . . . . Company and Orchestra

Act I

Senex and Domina are off to the country to visit Domina's mother, leaving the servants Hysterium and Pseudolus behind to mind their house and their son, Hero. Hero can't take his eyes off Philia, a new occupant next door at the House of Lycus. Hero promises to give Pseudolus his freedom, if Pseudolus can arrange for the two lovers to be together.

Love, I hear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hero

Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pseudolus, Hero

Pseudolus convinces Lycus to present the ladies of the house, so that Hero may point out the one with whom he is in love.

The House of Marcus Lycus . . . . . . . . . . Marcus Lycus, Courtesans

Yet, none of these is the one Hero desires. Finally, Philia appears, newly arrived from Crete. To get the girl away from Lycus, Pseudolus cunningly convinces him that there is a plague on Crete, and offers to watch Philia until the captain arrives. Pseudolus heads to the harbour to find a way out. Left alone, Philia tells Hero about the one thing she knows how to be:

Lovely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Philia, Hero

Pseudolus returns from the harbour with a plan for Philia and Hero to escape by way of the sea. They imagine how it will be, just like a …

Pretty Little Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pseudolus, Hero, Philia

But, alas! Philia reveals that she is promised to the great Roman captain, Miles Glorious. Pseudolus convinces her to wait inside Senex's house while he tries to come up with a new strategy. He steals Hysterium's book of potions, and hatches a plan to have Philia take a sleeping potion so that she will appear to have died from a plague, and hence will be of no interest to the captain. Pseudolus heads into town to find a key ingredient. Unexpectedly, Senex returns early from the country, and to his delight discovers young Philia in his house. Pseudolus, ever the quick thinker, tells Senex that Philia is their new maid, while Philia thinks that Senex is the captain! With collective chauvinism, they recount why…

Everybody Ought to Have a Maid . . . . Senex, Pseudolus, Hysterium, Lycus

Pseudolus persuades Senex to use Erronius' empty house for his bath. Hysterium, left behind to keep Senex and Philia (who is still in Senex's house) away from each other, consider Hysterium, left behind to keep Philia away from both Senex and Lycus, contemplates his responsibility.

I'm Calm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hysterium

Erronious returns to town after years of searching for his children, stolen in infancy by pirates, but who wear rings bearing the image of a gaggle of geese. To keep Erronious from entering his own house (where Senex is taking a bath), Hysterium and Pseudolus persuade him that the house is haunted. Pseudolus, disguised as a soothsayer, counsels Erronius to walk the seven hills of Rome seven times in order to break the spell.
Father and son—Senex and Hero—each spot Philia waving from the balcony. Each wonders why the other looked at her in a certain way, but decide what they think about the other's intentions must be…

Impossible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Senex, Hero

Lycus, afraid of what will happen upon delivering the plague-stricken Philia to the captain, entrusts Pseudolus to do his work for him. Roman soldiers appear to announce the arrival of Miles Gloriosus. He demands to see the maiden for whom he has contract.

Bring me my bride . . . . . . . . . . Miles Gloriosus, Soldiers, Courtesans

But, Philia refuses to take the potion and remains in hiding. Unable to meet his bride, Miles threatens to kill Pseudolus, whom he believes is Lycus.

Act II

Miles agrees to spare Pseudolus if he can produce Philia within an hour. Miles waits in Senex's house, while Senex enjoys his bath at Erronius' house. Domina returns from the country with suspicions that Senex is an unfaithful husband. Yet, as she confesses to Hysterium, she still loves…

That Dirty Old Man of Mine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Domina

Domina offers her hospitality to Miles, while Senex bids Philia to join him. Philia resolves to think only of Hero while she is with Senex.

That'll Show Him . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Philia

Philia agrees to go with Hero if he buys the contract from the captain. Pseudolus realizes that if only he can find a dead body to dress up as Philia, his original plan for freedom can still work. Who better than Hysterium for this role!

Lovely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pseudolus, Hysterium

Miles, weeping at the sight of the disguised Hysterium, demands a proper…

Funeral . . . . . . . . . . Miles Gloriosus, Pseudolus, Soldiers, Courtesans

Pseudolus tries to stop Miles from kissing the girl, because she died from the plague. Miles protests that there is no illness on Crete. Mass confusion ensues!

Finale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Company