It’s a tale about love, scheming, and the secrets lying beneath every toga.
The Kelowna Actors Studio is bringing to life one of Broadway’s greatest farces, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
“There are some great musical numbers, some amazing dancing and the biggest musical number in the show is Comedy Tonight,” said artistic managing director Randy Leslie.
“I think a comedy is always the hardest to do because the comedy has to be able to hit home and that punchline has to hit home.”
The Tony award-winning play, which first opened on Broadway in 1962, is set in Ancient Rome and promises to be hilarious. For the cast, however, learning to deliver their punchlines was their biggest feat.
“Comedic timing is really difficult because it’s a collaboration between everyone if one pin falls then the rest will fall afterwards,” said Stephen Keppler, who plays the role of Pseudolus.
The plot is filled with puns, slamming doors and cases of mistaken identity, all the while poking fun at social classes.
“Pseudolus is a very low-class slave and eventually he brokers a deal with his master,” Keppler explained. “And his master says, ‘If you get this girl for me you will get your freedom,’ and after that, it’s a series of roadblocks for Pseudolus to earn his freedom.”
The play was designed to sweep the audience away from any troubles and worries they may have outside of the theatre and deliver a healthy dose of laughter.
“This is my first comedic role with the studio but I see a lot of myself in Hysterium. He is very hysterical as his name implies,” said Tayler Harrison, who plays the role of Hysterium.
“He doesn’t know how to stay calm; he likes to freak out. It’s made me branch out and grow and figure out who I am.”
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum runs Feb.12 to March 1 and tickets are available at www.kelownatickets.com