Cast chosen for Southeastern Opera Workshop's “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University’s Opera/Music Theatre Workshop will
present the Broadway musical, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” on
Thursday and Friday, Sept. 24 and 25, at 7:30 p.m. at the Columbia Theatre for the
Performing Arts in downtown Hammond.
“Stephen Sondheim is a living Broadway legend; for the last 50 years his musicals
have continually expanded the boundaries of what a Broadway musical can – and should
– be,” said Charles Effler, director of the Opera/Music Theatre Workshop.
Sondheim started his Broadway career as a lyricist for Leonard Bernstein’s “West
Side Story” and Jule Styne’s “Gypsy,” which was a star vehicle for the famed Broadway
belter, Ethel Merman. “Forum” was the first show where he was both lyricist and composer.
Described in “Time” magazine as “a good, clean, dirty show,” “Forum” premiered
in 1962 with a script inspired by the farces of ancient Roman playwright Plautus.
“While the plot of ‘Forum’ displays many classic elements of farce - puns, mistaken
identities, and satirical comments on social class, it also has a healthy dose of
vaudeville and a smattering of burlesque thrown in for good measure,” Effler said.
“The original Broadway production won five Tony awards, including Best Musical.”
Opera Workshop welcomes back guest stage director Alton Geno for this production.
In addition to a long career as a performer, choreographer, and director in New Orleans
and around the country, Geno directed Opera Workshop’s sold out-performances of “Sweeney
Todd” last fall, as well as productions of “The Light in the Piazza,” “South Pacific,”
“The Wizard of Oz” and “The Music Man.”
The cast includes Benjamin Vollentine (Covington) as Pseudolus, Nicholas Smith
(Ponchatoula) as Hysterium, Terelle Bibbins (Slidell) as Hero, Randi Gaspard (Covington)
as Philia, Brennan Simmons (Walker) as Senex, Rachel Denton (Jena) as Domina, Rob
Roy (Lacombe) as Miles Gloriosus, and Ned Kelsey (Abita Springs) as Erronius. As the
Proteans: Matt Jays (Kenner), Cody Sires (Chalmette), Wesley Newton (Bourg) and Dustin
Forsberg (Hammond) playing Marcus Lycus. As the Courtesans: Faith Entrekin (Luling)
and Lauren Gibson (Walker) as the Geminae Twins, Morgan Curole (Larose) as Tintinabula,
Cheyenne Moore (Slidell) as Vibrato, and Katy Prostman (Fraser, CO), as Panacea. Recent
music student graduate Allison Joiner (Ponchatoula) will appear as Gymnasia.
Effler will serve as musical director and conductor, Department of Fine and Performing
Arts (FPA) faculty member Mignon Charvet will design the costumes, and FPA staff member
Amanda Klipsch will design the lighting. New Orleans based designer Dave Raphel will
design the sets. Southeastern alumna Jane Rownd will serve as stage manager.
Advance tickets are available at the Columbia Theatre box office Monday through
Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will also be available one hour prior to each performance.
Ticket prices are $21 for adults; $16 for seniors, Southeastern faculty/staff and
non-Southeastern students. Southeastern students are admitted free of charge with
their ID.
For more information about the Opera/Music Theatre Workshop contact Effler at
ceffler@southeastern.edu.
“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” book by Burt Shevelove and
Larry Gelbart, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, originally produced on Broadway
by Harold S. Prince, is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International
(MTI) and all authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI, 421 West
54th Street, New York, NY, 10019, www.MTIShows.com.
