Musically Minded

A few weeks ago I was at Fry's Electronics and I saw a DVD for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Naturally, I had to buy it. This is one of my two most favorite musicals, the other being The Music Man.

Friday I started watching it, with Kelly. I'm often surprised what she'll find interesting. You might think I shouldn't let her watch it, since it has a rather dated sexist motif, but it is generally a classic farce, so I explain to her that the sexism is just part of that other era, and that she may encounter it in her own life, so better to see it now.

My two favorite roles from this show are Zero Mostel as Pseudolus, and Jack Gilford as Hysterium. Many other roles are cool, but these guys have most of the comic power. Phil Silvers has his moments as Lycus too.

We are about one third through the show, and I don't know if Kelly will sustain her interest. If not, I'll watch it myself, but I think she would enjoy most of the music. Funny, but though I've seen this show several times over the years, I never realized that the music and lyrics were by Stephen Sondheim. That would explain why the songs are so much fun.