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Pseudolus wants out of the Roman slave business. As would
any slave. So much so that he’s willing to risk his life for freedom (though
he’s very motivated not to die trying). And with the arrival of Philia, the
virginal courtesan next door, he’s finally got a  shot. Hero, the adult son of
his master’s house, wants to marry her. If Pseudolus can make that happen, Hero
has promised Pseudolus his freedom.
Just one problem. Philia is already on lay away to the Roman
military hero Miles Gloriosus.
Okay, that’s just one problem out of hundreds, and the
quick-thinking Pseudolus will have to solve them all in Sondheim’s A Funny
Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The role presents its actor with
one of the best opportunities in musical theatre, and Hamilton Academy’s Aaron
Albert is up to the task in this bawdy comedy. By the closing weekend,
Aaron was clearly having a lot of fun with the role, using body language, a
variety of sound effects, a Godfather/Marlon Brando impersonation, tons of
charisma, and the hem of his shirt in a pulling-out-all-stops effort to offer
the crowd a Comedy Tonight.
He’s backed up by a host of strong actors and singers.
Sophomore Sean Eads sports some surprising vocals as young, naïve Hero. Arianna
Neikrug is a riot as the very blonde Philia whose one talent is to be Lovely,
posing in hilarious ways to  attract a mate (or whenever she wants to attract
attention away from her lack of intelligence). Pseudolus, Hero, and Philia team
up for a great Pretty Little Picture number with some help from the
ensemble and choreographer Stacy Valentino in creating pictures of them
sailing through the ocean waves.
Ben Shipley plays Senex, Hero’s father who thinks
he’s about to get lucky with Philia, leading to his amusing father-and-son duet
Impossible as both of them consider the unlikely likelihood of Philia
being attracted to the other. Ben makes a great team with his wife Domina, with
Melissa Shulman turning in a hilarious performance as the shrewish wife
married to That Dirty Old Man. Melissa uses her voice with great skill,
from a venomously angry wife to a beautiful operatic voice, and she can kill
with her eyes (and does so often).
Elsewhere, Joe Faragher is fellow slave Hysterium who
shares a great reprise of Lovely with Pseudolus. Saul R. Priever
gives a memorable performance as Roman warrior Miles Gloriosus with a high,
squeaky voice when overcome with emotion.  Benjy Howard is Philia’s pimp
Marcus Lycus who dresses as a monk outside and turns into an Elvis impersonator
when selling his magnificent wares, with his talented courtesans dancing up a
storm in some magnificent costumes (Kim Overton) guaranteed to generate
quick sales. Not so quick is Cooper Sweeney as old Erronius – the other
next-door neighbor who draws a big fan base every time he makes a lap around
the hills of Rome.
Director Wendell Stevenson and his cast and
crew have put together a show that hits well on the acting, singing, dancing
and presentation, with lots of imaginative touches thrown in. Vance Miller’s
orchestra does excellent work with the score with musical direction by John
Hamilton, Kim Overton’s costumes look great and work perfectly for
each of the characters, and JP Luckenbach has designed a remarkable
Roman set in which so many funny things happened.
Performs December 4 - 13, 2008.
Rob Hopper
National Youth Theatre
~ Cast ~
 Pseudolus: Aaron Albert
Senex: Ben Shipley
Domina: Melissa Shulman
Hero: Sean Eads
Hysterium: Joe Faragher
Marcus Lycus: Benjy Howard
Tintinabula: Ilze Mattson
Panacea: Katie Hume
The Geminae: Nika Allahverdi and Natalie Stevei
Vibrata: Sasha Rivero
Gymnasia: Nina Kasuya
Philia: Arianna Nekrug
Erronius: Cooper Sweeney
Miles Gloriosus: Saul R. Priever
The Proteans:
Chris Delgado
Ryan Haberfeld
Bryce Roos
The Eunuchs:
Allisen Beall
Ivy Beech
Maggie Randolph
The Soldiers:
Mia Bruner
Maggie Dougherty
Tim Dougherty
Harel Fedida
Director: Wendell Stevenson
Musical Director: John Hamilton
Choreographer: Stacy Valentino
Conductor: Vance Miller
Technical Director/Set Designer: JP Luckenbach
Lighting Designer: Rob Fritz
Sound Designer: Alex Aronoff
Costume Designer: Kim Overton
Stage Manager: Amy Levier
Photographer: John Ong
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