Asian take on play helps make funny things happen
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 11, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 East West Players Gedde Watanabe,
Yumi Iwama and Michael K. Lee
perform in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," which
is now set in the South Pacific.
By Howard Ho
Daily Bruin Contributor
The East West Players, a group of Asian American actors, are
known for taking mainstream theater and giving it an Asian
twist.
With their most recent production, the company has turned
songwriter and lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s popular Rome-based
musical, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the
Forum,” into something more Polynesian. Similar to the way
Shakespearean plays are made fresh with new interpretations,
“A Funny Thing,” showing at the David Henry Hwang
Theatre through April 15, comes alive with creative staging and
innovative choreography.
The story is that of Pseudolus (Watanabe), a conniving slave who
bargains with his master, Hero (Michael Lee), for freedom, on the
condition that Hero be united with a courtesan, Philia (Yumi
Iwama), with whom he has fallen in love. The only problem is that
Philia has already been sold to a Roman general, Miles Gloriosus
(Anthony Begonia).
Like Sondheim’s other musicals, the songs capitalize on
the ambivalence of human emotion. Domina (Kerry Carnahan),
Hero’s mother, sings about her love for her scoundrel of a
husband in “That Dirty Old Man”.
Hysterium (Radmar Agana Jao) sings “I’m Calm”
about his frustration in covering Pseudolus’ lies when his
name clearly shows that he is anything but calm.
Hero and his father, Senex (Michael Hagiwara), sing
“Impossible” about their love for the same woman.
Sondheim’s winning lyrics and melodies combined with Larry
Gelbart and Burt Shevelove’s script never fail to please,
even though the quick one-liners sometimes fall flat as many of the
actors seem reluctant to deadpan, maintaining smiles when a frown
is necessary. This is largely excusable, however, in the face of
Tim Dang’s expert direction and Casey Kono’s
choreography.
An example of this direction is seen through the three Protean
characters, who morph hilariously into eunuchs (castrated men who
oversee the courtesans), soldiers and slaves, from scene to
scene.
The Proteans as eunuchs are especially comical, as they don
tight white robes while thrusting their hips around like runway
models.
As soldiers, the Proteans introduce themselves with a
ridiculously complicated sword twirling act. While lesser companies
would neglect the comedy in these small moments, the East West
Players thrive on them.
The cast, composed mostly of established Asian actors, all seem
to fit their roles. It would be hard to imagine anyone but Begonia,
with his tall stature, piercing eyes and bellowing voice, playing
Miles Gloriosus. Carnahan’s Domina has the right maternal
attitude, while Iwama is the paragon of beauty.
Furthermore, the courtesans all embody the silly characteristics
of their own names, such as the voluptuous Vibrata, the docile
Panacea, and the aggressively monstrous Gymnasia (played by Kurt
Kuniyoshi).
Perhaps most interesting about the production is the change of
setting from ancient Rome to somewhere in the South Pacific.
Victoria Petrovich’s set design of three homes looks more
like Easter Island statues than stately Roman mansions. Many of the
actors also have elaborate tribal tattoos painted on them.
Kono’s choreography mirrors the shift of setting. As
Philia sings, her arms gently caress the air as in a Polynesian
dance. When Pseudolus is chased by two obnoxious soldiers, he
escapes by doing the Filipino tinikling dance, where two poles on
the ground close and open as the dancer must avoid getting his feet
caught. This is a Polynesian jump rope, so to speak.
With the small stage of the theater, a former church in downtown
Los Angeles, the performance is intimate. Actors seem to pop up
from all four corners of the 240-person auditorium, making it seem
larger than it really is.
At one point in the play, a cranky Erronius purposely mistakes
an audience member for his slave and yells at him to hurry up with
his luggage.
Despite not having a full orchestra, even the minimalist band of
drums, keyboards and bass is endearing, with its own charm.
The only disturbing thing about the musical is the sexist
ideology of some of the dialogue and numbers, including
“Everybody Ought to Have a Maid” and
“Lovely.”
Though the times since Sondheim and friends first wrote the
musical in 1962 have changed, the East West Players pull off the
offensive material because of the charm and “Don’t take
it seriously” attitude of the musical. Indeed, it seems to
transcend the sexist cultural artifacts and create one of the most
innovative productions of “Forum” that audiences may
ever see.
MUSICAL: “A Funny Thing Happened on the
Way to the Forum” is now showing at the David Henry Hwang
Theatre, 120 Judge John Aiso St., Thursday through Saturdays at 8
p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m., through April 15. Ticket
prices range from $25 to $35 and can be purchased by calling (800)
233-3123. For more information, visit www.eastwestplayers.org.
