A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - It was a "Comedy Tonight" at the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre

This farce is so wonderful - so clever and joyful.  It was great fun to introduce my partner in life to this delightful musical play, which I will abbreviate to AFTH. Originally a Broadway show and then later a 1966 film, this comedy was inspired by the stories of a real Roman playwright, Plautus, who was born in 254 BC.  The story centers around three adjacent Roman houses and their occupants.  In one house, a young man, Hero, falls in love with a beautiful, innocent courtesan next door. She, however, has been promised by the brothel's owner to a returning soldier.  Hero's own clever slave Pseudolus then creates a ruse to win the girl away for his master and buy his own freedom in the process.

The show is fast-paced, with many plot twists and madcap stage choreography.  The opening and slamming of doors and windows, characters coming in and out of same, and running all over the place, is charmingly vaudevillian.  No wonder Plautus himself was a great success as a writer - he's said to have written 120 or more plays, of which 20 still survive in their entirety.

As a child I saw the movie AFTH, starring Zero Mostel, Buster Keaton, Phil Silvers, and Michael Crawford.  I love the pratfalls and physical comedy.  AFTH was the legendary Buster Keaton's last role - the actor from silent film days.    The musical score is wonderful - written by the brilliant Stephen Sondheim.  The song "Comedy Tonight" is so catchy; my friend, who had never heard it before, began singing it spontaneously over the next few days.  In the great tradition of Greek and eventually Roman theater - "tragedy tomorrow - comedy tonight!" - is alive and well downtown in 'The Fort' as we call it.

The cast of this current production at the Civic Theatre is spot on.  When the actor portraying the soldier Gloriosus pounds out the song "Bring Me My Bride" in his deep baritone, I am simultaneously thrilled and terrified. I need to remind myself, "this is just a play!" When the talented actor who plays the slave Hysterium disguises himself as a girl and reprises the number "Lovely," mooning about himself that "I'm lovely," I'm completely convinced he is!  Truly lovely, in his short tunic, hairy legs and sandals, he is: shrouded in a white gown.  I don't want to give too much of the story away here, but it gets funnier.

The story is sexist - I can't change that.  It is what it is.  The female parts are rather stereotypical of the patriarchal times then in Rome - a shrewish wife, the sexpotly concubines, the dimwitted but luscious virgin.  It all had all of the early-1960s take on gender roles at that time, when the AFTH book was written by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gilbert. Sexist though it is, the actors in Fort Wayne portraying the "working women" of the sex trade are delightful.  They filled their obligations on stage with vim and relish.  

Characters including twins, an S/M dominatrix, a graceful feline, a flexible gymnast, and other actresses and actors were fantastic at the choreography and stunts they had to perform.  I loved their bright costumes and the classic sets.  Fort Wayne Civic Theatre is doing a great job. These have been a couple of extremely challenging years for all performers.  It's so good to see them back on stage in person.

There are three more performances of AFTH at the Arts United Center in downtown Fort Wayne:  this Friday evening August 6 at 7:30 pm, Saturday the 7th (same), and Sunday August 8 at 2 pm.  The Arts United Center is a grand place to see a play or musical performance.  The 660-seat auditorium is one of Fort Wayne's most important landmarks.  It was designed by the renowned architect Louis Kahn, and is the only Kahn building in the Midwest.  Born in Estonia, Kahn immigrated to the US with his family at a young age, and studied at the University of Pennsylvania and worked at Yale and in private practice.  Built in 1973, the building has a brick exterior, with tons of light and shadows in the sparse yet grand staircases and common areas.  Seating is accessible and comfortable, even roomy, in the modern, technically updated, inner shell.  Referencing a violin in a case as Kahn's inspiration, the auditorium itself is an inner compartment, with folded concrete walls making up its carapace. The box office is offering "socially distanced" seating in the back half of the theater, meaning every other row is occupied, and seats are blocked off between groups.  There isn't a bad seat in the house, and tech and sound were so good I could hear every word the actors said.

 

Go see AFTH this weekend if you're free.  Plautus's works are some of the earliest surviving comedies and dramas in Latin literature.  Plautus's epitaph reads, translated:

Since Platus is dead, Comedy mourns,

The stage is deserted; then Laughter, Jest and Wit, and all Melody's countless numbers wept together.

RIP, Plautus, Buster Keaton, and all: we are truly grateful for your gifts.

Arts United Center box office:(260)422-4226

Fort Wayne's Civic Theatre, holding court for 90 years, gives performances at the city's Arts United Center

There's quite a history to Fort Wayne's Civic Theatre. For over 90 years, it's been the home for local, volunteer talent to perform. Singers, dancers and actors have a showcase for their takes on Broadway musicals and plays, performing for community audiences. In 1927, Fort Wayne established a Community Theatre Guild. By 1931, it was called the "Old Fort Players" and was housed at the Majestic Theatre, 220 E. Berry Street. It must have been quite grand - a website describes a Ben Hur production with live horses in a chariot race on a treadmill.

In 1940, the name changed to the Civic Theatre and the organization became tax-exempt. It's remained so to this day, and the Civic has performed in the same location since 1973. What was then called the Performing Arts Center is now Arts United Center, renamed in 2004. Some of the productions I have seen over the years have seemed a bit amateurish, and that's to be expected - these are volunteers, not professionals. Recently though, the Civic pulled off a very professional production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with local casting.

If you're not familiar with Rocky Horror, here's a bit of the story: two sweethearts are stuck in a storm, and they come upon an eerie mansion. There they meet unusual characters and break into song and dance. When they are introduced to a Frankenstein-like character, Rocky, lots of shenanigans ensue. The film digs into our moral codes, and also parodies many science fiction and B-horror movies of the 1930s-70s.

I fondly remember the Rocky Horror film from the 1970s. The movie featured stars including Susan Sarandon and singer Meat Loaf, among others. I just read that the writer of the whole show and who created this musical for theatre in Britain's West End, a man named Richard O'Brien, also portrayed the character Riff Raff on the big screen.

The show has always been famous for visitor participation, which helped spur a nearly cult-like following at midnight movie showings. Toilet paper, newspapers, water guns, flashlights, party hats, playing cards and other props all have their place in the story. At the old midnight showings of the film, audiences brought these things with them and some of the stuff would fly through the air.

The show is just fun. The music is catchy and and makes one want to sing along. It explores societal assumptions about sexuality and other cultural norms, blithely moving right on past these in its alternate reality. How can I describe it? The Civic's website called the work "kitschy rock 'n' roll," "sci-fi gothic," etc. It brings in lots of themes. O'Brien managed to tweak in and play off our ideas about language, authority figures, and notions about gender without seeming to get serious at all. Touché, Mr. O'Brien, and praise be to our local Civic Theatre and Arts United Center; and especially to the cast and crew of this production of the wonderful Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Cabaret at the Civic Theatre heats up a cold February

On a chilly Fort Wayne Valentine's Day night, it was very pleasing to go see a steamy live show. In fact, it was a delight to enjoy the Civic Theatre's performance of Cabaret, which will continue its run at the Arts United Center in downtown Fort Wayne on weekends through March 1, 2015.

The songs are so fun, and alternatingly cheerful and sad - they are the ones you remember from the movie version and the Broadway stage. Set in Berlin, Germany, it is the story of the rise of nationalism and Nazi power, and how it effected citizens around this particular setting: the people connected to the racy nightclub Kit Kat Club.

Evan Hart plays a fabulous Emcee, nearly stealing the show for himself with his portrayal of this role. Inviting, sexy, provocative, emotive - he does it all, struting confidently in his suspenders and lipstick. He sings well, and adds the dance elements neatly - I especially liked his hand work and boot steps. Bridget Pearson made a convincing Sally Bowles, and I was almost frustrated with how good I thought her English accent came across; maybe I found the assumedly intentional over-pronunciation distracting. I was pleased, though, with how well I could hear all the characters' lines.

I was also impressed with Maggie Kole Hunter, portraying Fräulein Schneider, on how powerfully she sang and played her role. And Gary Lanier was delightful as Herr Schultz, the Jewish fruit vendor who is the love interest of Fräulein Schneider. The beautiful high vibrato in his voice was thrilling to hear in his vocal solos.

This cast did a nice job with the dancing - I thought they tackled some difficult, seemingly Bob Fosse-inspired numbers. The cast was dancing on chairs in heels, doing handstands and splits, etc.: I'm sure much of that credit goes to choreographer Leslie Beauchamp. The show was sexy for conservative Fort Wayne, but not too sexy- just right. The set featured audience members seated at lounge tables on each side of the stage, and the orchestra is set up high on stage at loft level. It all works well and transitions easily with the story without fuss.

The Arts United Center, formerly known as the Performing Arts Center, is an impressive venue for local performances. Its modern, concrete architecture is a great fit next to the art museum in this downtown corner. Much of Fort Wayne's architecture is traditional and historic, so the moderness of this building is a nice complement for our town. I like the modern theatre, but I feel the seating must be updated, because the stark uniform rows of seats are, alas, not completely user-friendly. At the very least, the long rows desperately need a perpendicular aisle or two to make it easier for patrons to get to their seats. I also believe that the seats need to be angled to face the stage from the sides - sitting there requires turning at an awkward angle.

Tickets are available for Friday and Saturday evening performances at 8 p.m., and Sunday shows at 2 p.m. now through March 1. Inexpensive wine, beer, and other refreshments are available at the show. I think this is a perfect choice for date night. Welcome to the cabaret!