This is one of my favorite summer venues. I have been reviewing their productions for 15 years and have never been disappointed. The price is right (FREE) and it’s a great way to introduce kids and teens to theater (and to remind adults why they love it so much). Bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating. Mark your calendars so you don’t miss this hysterical show:
FORUM, directed by Jaye Barre of Basking Ridge, with musical direction by Marion Hagovsky Drew of Bernardsville, tells the story of the inhabitants of three houses in ancient Rome.
In the central house, we find Pseudolus (David Rittenhouse), a cunning Roman slave who tries anything and everything to win his freedom from his masters, including the philandering Senex (Mark Hewitt), his exacting wife Domina (Joanna Hoty Russell), their not-so-clever son Hero (Tyler Barnick), and head slave Hysterium (Bill Corson).
Complicating matters and adding to the fun are the residents of the brothel next door, run by Lycus (Michael Littman).
A third house remains empty while its owner Erronius (Ed Shroeder) searches for his long-lost children, but the house is well-used in the slave’s plots.
Pseudolus’ schemes, which include magic potions, a soothsayer, disguises, escapes, and the classic chase, are devised to help Hero woo and win Philia (Lauren Doyle), the virgin who lives in the brothel and is promised to Miles Gloriosus (Brian Herrie), a famed Roman warrior.
Other citizens are played by Lizzy Buckley, Kailyn Cavaluzzo, Luke Chiafullo, Angie Cocuzza, Sophie Dewli, Rachel Estrada, Lauren Farnell, James Ford, Michael Giangreco, Mia Kissil Hewitt, Sophia Kinder, Lisa Littman, Max Littman, Molly Littman, Germaine McGrath, Catherin Pankow, Corey Pankow, Jillian Petersen, Kathie Schuster and Emily Vaias.
This classic farce promises a night of great laughs, and theatergoers will enjoy themselves from the opening number, “Comedy Tonight,” through the “Finale.”
The partnership of Trilogy Repertory and Bernards Township has produced over twenty-five years of family entertainment and achieved several awards for both groups for excellence in theater programming. Most prominent are the awards from ACT (Achievement in Community Theater) and the prestigious “Excellence in Cultural Arts Programming.” A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is made possible, in part, by support from New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
