Forum at the Barrow

Here's a special blogging invitation to come see Franklin Civic Operetta's production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" this weekend.

If you're not familiar with the show-- it's a bit of Roman vaudeville. The show doesn't have a single moment of seriousness, high art, deep feeling, or moving sentiment. It's just relentlessly silly.

It's the early work of two guys who went on to do plenty of interesting work. Larry Gelbart wrote the book years before he went on to become one of the guiding writers of M*A*S*H. The score is by Steven Sondheim, and it has just enough tang to make some well-worn musical-theater traditions interesting; the later Sondheim who can be very, um, challenging to audiences, is not yet on display.

Jodi Hoover is directing the production, and it's long past time that Civic got her to helm one of their major productions. I am handling the music chores-- you can see my little flesh-toned yamulke poking up over the edge of the orchestra pit. It is a particularly eclectic cast; I can guarantee that just about every audience member will see one performer that they've never seen on stage before. Ted Smith is doing what I consider to be, by far, his best stage work. Ed Ramage is hilarious. Lots of folks have seen Bill Trimble on stage before, but rarely singing and dancing. The cast includes weathered veterans like Rob Hoover and students from Franklin, R0cky Grove and Oil City.

It's a fun cast, fun music, and a fun show. You can find more info about the theater here.
(Though it only likes to deal with internet explorer-- boo, hiss). Civic has also started a blog of its own which you can find here.