Musical twist on ancient Rome wraps ESU summer theatre season

ESU Summer Theatre will close its summer season with "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," a much-revived 1962 Stephen Sondheim farce set in ancient Rome.

A young man named Hero has fallen in love with Philia, a lovely, but empty-headed, courtesan. But Philia is owned by a greedy, spineless procurer named Marcus Lycus who has sold her to the egotistical warrior Miles Gloriosus. At the center of the swirling subplots is Pseudolus, a slave owned by Hero's father Senex, who promises to find a way for Hero to be with his love forever in exchange for the slave's freedom.

"I think it's one of the funniest, most perfectly constructed plays ever written and I have wanted to do it in Emporia for a long time," said director Harry Parker. "The show has characters and situation taken right out of classic Roman comedy, but it is mixed with this 20th century vaudeville showbiz mentality."

The cast includes John Hennington, Ben Thomas, Paul Arnold, Nathan Magee, Steve Knight, Phil Yoder, J. J. Reed, Chris Birdsall, Marco Polo Hernandez-Reisner, Jason Smith, Cori Kelland, Beth Nickerson, Amy Wilson, Dru Rutledge, Whitney Smith, Elizabeth Sullivan, Tiffany Garrison-Schweigert and Kristy Koelsch.

The play opens June 11 Wednesday night at 8 p.m. at the ESU Bruder Theater in King Hall. Performances run through Saturday at 8 p.m. each night.

Tickets are $8 for the general public; $7 for senior citizens and $5 for students and youth. Reservations are available through the King Hall Box Office at (620) 342-5374. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and one hour before each performance.

"Forum" is Harry Parker's last play at ESU before he moves on to chair the theater department at Texas Christian University. "It has been a privilege to work her the last 11 years with such terrific students, colleagues and audiences," he said.

Last Updated July 2, 2007>