HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2001-10-10, Page 19WEDDI GS
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CHRISTENINGS
A funny thing
From left: A. Frank Ruffo as Marcus Lycus, Ed Sahely as Hysterium and Denis Simpson as
Pseudolus create a lot of fun at The Grand Theatre's production of A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum. The show runs until Oct. 14. (Off Broadway photo)
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THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2001 PAGE 19 .
Entertainment
Theatre review
Leisure
`Forum' gets troubles off mind Grand's
By Keith Roulston
Citizen pusblisher
Jayne and Mark Marquis have just
returned from Barcelona, Spain after
representing Canada at an interna-
tional ballroom dancing competi-
tion. The couple wasone of 36, cho-
There were 16 tables at the Ethel
euchre on Oct. 1, hosted by Alvin
McLellan.
Winners were: 50/50, Dorothy
Dilworth; high, Alice Shearer, Norm
Dobson; lone hands, Alda Worden,
Gertie Lambkin, Mac Smith; low,
Isabelle Craig, Grace Stewart; birth-
day,,Violet Smith; tally, Mary Craig,
Harald McNaughton, Helen Cullen,
Margaret. Long, Dorothy Martin,
Viola Adams, Jim McGillawee,
Isabelle Grey, Bob Bateman, Lois
McLean, Shirley Verstoep, Annie
McCourt.
The next euchre will be held on
Monday, Oct. 15 at 8:30 p.m.
Thing Happened On The Way To The
Forum for the opening production for
her first season as artistic director of
sen to represent their countries com-
peting in several categories. •
The event was hosted .by the
Spanish International Dance
Association and took place in the-
former Olympic facilities in the city.
Jayne Marquis said, "It's a moment I
won't forget" when describing her
first look at the dance floor from the
top of the stadium.
The couple, who has danced corn-
London, she was probably seeking a
big, bright show to get patrons back
in the seats.
After the terror and sadness of
petitively for eight years were repre-
senting Canada in the Latin Dancing
section of the competition. They
were required to perform jive,
samba, rhumba, paso doble and the
cha-cha.
The competition started at 1 p.m.
and lasted until 9:30 at night. They
survived three of the five rounds of
judging and finished 15th out of the
36 pairs.
recent weeks, however, she couldn't
choose a better play for helping peo-
ple get the troubles of the world off
their minds.
As Ferley mentioned in her speech
before the performance during a cel-
ebration of the 100th anniversary of
the opening of The Grand, and the
unveiling of a commemorative
stamp, the show's theme is "a come-
dy tonight" with tragedy put off until
another day. There's nothing even
remotely resembling a serious
moment, just lots of silliness, music
and song.
A Funny Thing Happened On The
Way To The Forum is a farce set in
ancient Rome. The narrator is a
clever slave, Pseudolis, scheming to
gain his freedom by helping Hero,
the son of his master to win the love
of a beautiftil virgin, Philia, who's
pledged to a heroic captain in the
Roman Legion.
It just gets crazier from there as
things go wrong and Pseudolis has to
improvise more to save his plot, snar-
ing his nervous fellow slave,
Hysterium, more and more deeply in
his plots.
The large cast includes the bom-
bastic captain,. Miles Gloriosus,
Hero's battling parents, a doughty
old man looking for his long-lost
children, the next door *neighbour
who happens to be a buyer and seller
of courtesans, and a parade of the
courtesans themselves, in all shapes
and sizes but with little material
wasted on any oT their costumes.
The music is clever and fun as
might be expected from composer
Stephen Sondheim with lots of hum-
mable tunes, most memorably A
Comedy Tonight, Everybody Ought
to Have a Maid and Pretty Little
Picture.
Key to a production of Forum is
the role of Pseudolis who animates
the action. Those who remember
Zero Mostel in ie movie version
may take a v, h I t, s to Dennis
Jayne Marquis said they had gone
without "any real expectations about
what it would be like" but that the
event was "very exciting".
They were chosen to represent
Canada at a competition held in
Toronto last March.
Simpson in the role. Where Mostel
was stalwart but clever, Simpson is a
bundle of energy and athleticism,
hurling himself around the stage.
Where Mostel did so much with the
twitch of an eyebrow, Simpson uses
his whole face; in fact every muscle
in his body.
Simpson's high-powered perform-
ance dominated the stage but Ed
Sahley as his reluctant co-conspirator
and fellow slave Hysterium, holds
his own, Mostly with a wonderfully
expressive face showing his terror at
being trapped into doing things he
just knows are going to go wrong.
Neil-Foster and Jayne Lewis as the
battling parents of Hero are a delight
to see coming on stage with each
entrance. Each of the other adult
characters adds to the insanity and
the resulting comedy.
Amid all this the young lovers are
the straight characters for the most
part. Callandra Dendias as Philia is a
revelation in her first professional
role. A local London girl, she
appeared on the Grand stage last
spring in the theatre's annual High
School Project play, where high
school students are directed and sur-
rounded by professionals. She dis-
played a beautiful voice which,
already at her young age, has seen
her sing for the prime minister as
well as at both the SkyDoine and Air
Canada Centre.
Hero is played by Jamie
McKnight, who performed Gilbert
Blythe at the Charlottetown Festival
this summer.
For many people looking for a
good laugh as an escape from the
current gloom in the world Forum is
just the ticket. But it's not for every-
one. There is plenty of sexual innu-
endo and scantily clAd dancing cour-
tesans that might be offensive to
some people. For most, however,
there's an opportunity for a lot of
laughter.
When Susan Ferley chose A Funny the troubled Grand Theatre in
Couple dances to 15th in Barcelona
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