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Dubbed Broadway’s greatest farce, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” is the first of two productions at Robsham Theater Arts Center this fall.
Set in ancient Rome, the fast-paced, witty and irreverent musical — regarded as one of the funniest ever written — will be performed Oct. 22-26.
In exchange for his freedom, a crafty slave named Pseudolus struggles to win the hand of the beautiful but slow-witted courtesan Philia, for his young master, Hero. The plot unfolds with twists and turns, cases of mistaken identity and physical comedy and showcases the talents of an ensemble of comedic actors.
Taking humor back to its roots, the musical – with classic songs like “Comedy Tonight” and “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid” – combines situations from the time-tested comedies of Roman playwright Plautus (254-184 BC) with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville. Stephen Sondheim composed the music and lyrics and Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart wrote the book.
The following month, the tone shifts to tragedy when “The Trojan Women” takes the stage, Nov. 20-23.
Written by Euripides (480-406 BC), one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the play follows the fates of the women of Troy after the city has been sacked and ruined, and taken over by the Greeks. Their husbands killed, their remaining families about to be taken away and enslaved, the women are informed that lots have been drawn for them and each will be taken to the man who drew for her. What follows shows the intense suffering of Trojan women, their grief compounded when the Greeks dole out additional deaths and divide their shares of women.
Admission for these Theatre Department/Robsham Theater Arts Center productions is $15 for adults, $10 for students with valid ID, seniors, and BC faculty/staff (one ticket per ID). For ticket information, see www.bc.edu/Robsham or contact the Robsham ticket office at ext.2-4002.
Details on production teams, cast members and performance schedules are available at http://bit.ly/1mxMXUL. For other information, contact the Theatre Department at Theatre@bc.edu or ext.2-4012.