April 25, 2006
'Forum' will close McLeod Theater's season
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois University Carbondale theater department will present the hilarious musical comedy "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" as the closing production for McLeod Theater's 2005-2006 40th anniversary season.
This musical by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart (M.A.S.H) combines plots from the plays of Plautus with music from Stephen Sondheim in a burlesque style romp through Rome. Under the direction of J. Thomas Kidd, the production, sprinkled liberally with the glitz of Las Vegas, will be a tour-de-force-de-farce.
The production tells the story of the efforts of a Roman slave to win his freedom by arranging the elopement of his young master with a beautiful and innocent courtesan from the neighboring "house of pleasure." Adding complications are the young master's parents, the owner of the "house of pleasure," the war hero for whom the courtesan is intended and everyone else in Rome.
Musical director is Tim Fink, with set designs by Ken Ellis, costumes by Kathryn Wagner and lighting by Craig Ogg. Mike Boyle conducts the orchestra for the performances.
The production is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 28 and 29. A lecture is set for 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 30, prior to 2 p.m. curtain time that day.
It plays twice more at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $6 for students and are available by calling the box office at 618/453-3001.
Coordinating and expanding major cultural outreach programs is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint the University is following as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2019.
Lots of fans – Pseudolus,
played by Nick Wenzel of
Pecatonica, is fanned by
courtesans (bottom to top)
Ellen Conn of Toledo;
Aiesha Dukes of Glen
Carbon; Maureen Conway
of Aurora; Andrea Wallace
of Trilla; Casey Levan of
Wood River and Danielle
Bailey in the Southern
Illinois University
Carbondale theater
department production of
“A Funny Thing Happened
on the way to the Forum.”
Download Photo Here
No escape – Pseudolus, played
by Nick Wenzel of Pecatonica,
dreams of a life of freedom
in the Southern Illinois
University Carbondale theater
department production of
“A Funny Thing Happened on
the way to the Forum.”
Download Photo Here
Tickle, tickle – Pseudolus,
played by Nick Wenzel of
Pecatonica, at center, is
tickled by the courtesans
(bottom left to right clockwise),
Danielle Bailey, Andrea Wallace
of Trilla; Ellen Conn of Toledo;
Maureen Conway of Aurora; Aiesha
Dukes of Glen Carbon and Casey
Levan of Wood River in the
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale theater department
production of “A Funny Thing
Happened on the way to the Forum.”
Download Photo Here