The Re-opening of Theatre By The Sea

The play is the thing, except when it is not.  On Friday night, any play could have opened at Theatre By The Sea (TBTS) and it would have been no less exciting.   That the re-opening was a bang-up production of Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum was the icing on the cake.

This was my first visit to TBTS.  I moved to Providence, from Boston 7 years ago. During my first few summers in Rhode Island I was aware of the theater, but never made it down to Matunuck.  In our tiny state, Matunuck is about as far away from Providence as you can get.  If you go any further, you are in the Atlantic Ocean.

As I milled around the lobby, I watched old friends get re-acquainted: theatergoers with the theater and each other.  It swelled my heart to be in the midst of folks who have had a decades-long love affair with "their" theater.

After an emotional welcome and a host of well-deserved acknowledgements and thank-yous by TBTS's Producing Artistic Director, Amiee Turner, the curtain went up.  (With apologies to theaters that don't have curtains…I love watching the curtain go up.)

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum originally open on Broadway in 1962, with Zero Mostel in the lead role of Pseudolus.  It has had two Broadway revivals.  One in 1972 with Phil Silvers in the lead and one in 1996 with Nathan Lane (and later, Whoopi Goldberg) in the lead.

There is not a role in Forum that can be over-acted.  Not a line reading that is too broad.  Not a sight gag, too obvious.  It is great, campy, corny, way over-the-top fun.

In the TBTS production, Pseudolus (Jean-Pierre Ferragamo) is a slave in pre-Christian Rome who wants, more than anything, his freedom.  His master, Senex (Bob Del Pazzo), wants a more libidinous sort of freedom.  Senex's son Hero (William Nash Broyles) wants Philia (Evy Ortiz), the courtesan next door. Pseudolus' fellow house-slave, Hysterium (Christopher Swan), wants calm.  It is, he finds, too much to ask.

There are strong performances by all of the leads, Ferragamo does most of the heavy lifting during the play, but he is ably assisted by equally strong performances throughout the cast.

Broyles and Ortiz have a sweet, believable chemistry. Gail Yudain as Domina is a walking sight gag. I had no problem believing that Yudain and Bob Del Pazzo were married for eons. Bruce Warren as Marcus Lycus and Zachary James as Miles Gloriousus are just as they should be:  Bigger-than Life and broad-stroke funny.


Brian Baily, Tyler Fish and Jeremy Jonet as the Proteans are three actors doing the work of thirty. The trio brilliantly rushes from minor character to minor character.

The Courtesans, Rachel Brown as Panacea, Kendal Hartse and Rebecca MacDougall as Gemini, Rachel Lomax as Gymnasia, Michelle Petruccia as Vibrata and Lauren Sprance as Tintinabula are seen (I mean, you can't miss them) and not heard.  Each of these actors is delightfully over-the top.

Harold Ashton has a small, but charming turn as Erronius, the addle-brained neighbor.

As a whole, the cast was stong, musically.  Not perfect, but any vocal weakness was easily overcome in the large production numbers.

The set, lights, sound, costumes, and music are all more than I expected.  Having no experience with TBTS, I was not sure that the actors or musicians would be mic'ed in the 550-seat converted barn.

Musical Theater lovers owe a tremendous "Thank You" to TBTS's new owner, Bill Hanney.  There has recently been a dearth of locally produced musical theater in Rhode Island.  It seems that the re-opening of TBTS will remedy that.

Forum at TBTS has been extended through September 2.

Performances are scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings at 8pm, Wednesdays at 2pm, Saturdays at 5 & 9pm, and Sunday evenings at 5pm, with special performance times on Sunday, August 12 at 3 & 8pm.  

Tickets are $39-$49 and are on sale at the box office, via telephone and online. Visit www.theatrebythesea.com for more information.

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