Peter Felicia (34:20)
This. Well, the reason I went is because of Erin Weaver, who I saw many, many times at Two River Theater Company in Red Bank, New Jersey. And she was sensational there. And here she is playing sudalis. Now, there is a history of a woman playing sudalist because of course, Whoopi Goldberg took over in that famous Nathan Lane production way back when. So this was not as bizarre as it might sound. But. But I, while watching this production, I had two significant observations. I insist they're significant. One, it's funny that we always hear that the person playing Pseudoist fools around with the material. And that happens because Ira Mostel, the original pseudo list, fooled around with the material as time went on and it's sort of gave license to. For sudalises to do that suit alive. Anyway. So it's funny that 0Mostell also was in Fiddler on the Roof and there he had a sequence where when things got really serious with his third daughter wanting to get involved with a Christian, he talks about what is happening to the tradition. One little time I pulled out a thread and where has it led? Where has it led? Well, what's happened is with Funny Thing is that now others in the cast have taken liberties and directors have taken liberties with material. So there were a lot of anachronisms in this production. There was a reference to cvs, the store, you know, so. Which I guarantee you was not happening in ancient Rome. But anyway, so you really do get a very long show as a result of all these ad libs and quips and what have you. Now, the other point I want to make is something that Stephen Sondheim himself said at the ASCAP workshop one night when he talked about vulgarity. And he said, vulgarity is a good thing. Don't be afraid to be vulgar. Well, in this production they haven't been afraid at all. So the Director Matthew Gardner certainly allowed a great deal or encouraged a great deal of vulgarity. There's a scene with Millais Gloriosis, the vain, glorious soldier captain uses his sword to indicate that he has an erect penis. The talk about the plague. There's a plague in Crete, allegedly. Well, there isn't really. But anyway, the way Aaron Weaver describes that plague is certainly vulgar as well. But, you know, one never knows what a creator would think of a work when it's replicated in a different way. But I'm going to guess that Sondheim would have approved this production because if indeed he was sincere when he talked about vulgarity as a good thing, then he would have really responded Here. Now, funny thing about Funny Thing, and that is the fact that the famous story about the opening number Love Is in the Air, was not the right number. And Jerome Robbins said, you got to let people know it's a comed. Hence we got Comedy Tonight, one of the great opening numbers of all time, no question. But I've always been so amazed about the overture, the funny thing, because after all, the overture is very conventional. You have the flourish of the notes from Free, but then you're going love, I hear, you know, the. And in those days, in the 60s especially, it wasn't long before you essentially said, here is the big romantic ballad in the show. And, you know, this would set up the fact that it's going to be a conventional musical comedy as opposed to a knock about farce, which is indeed what it was. And what indeed. Plautus, the original playwright on whom these. This script was based on many of his plays, not just one. So. And then you get Lovely, which has done this, a samba. It's just such a strange orchestration. So it takes a while before you get to Free, which is a comic number. But. So I always thought that for all the talk about setting the table incorrectly with Love Is in the Air, I think the overture gets the show off to a very strange start, too. And frankly, if I were directing a production of Funny Thing, I would drop the overture. Comedy Tonight is just so wonderful that you don't really need it. Okay, so out comes Erin Weaver as Sudalus, and I'm telling you, energetic grabs this role, certainly tremendous in doing so. The cast comes out, and by the way, she plays Medea, later this week is said to Domina, which makes a lot of sense, but as originally written, it was really Gymnasia, another courtesan who was referred to as playing Medea, later this week. But I always think of Certainly Domina being more apt for Medea. But anyway, so, you know, I. I have to say that the emotion. The emotion that Erin Weaver put in Free about wanting to be free was phenomenal. Phenomenal. And she really made you care tremendously about her situation. In comparison, everybody else I've ever seen was perfunctory. So that was really great. Now, of course, when we have the scene where Sudalis and Hero go to Marcus Lycus to. To get him with Philia, the girl that he's seen from afar, that he's fallen in love with at first sight. There is a problem there when you have a woman doing it because after all, she's supposed to be the one who's buying the. The courtesan. So here it's a little fudged, and it seems like she's buying the courtesan for him. Well, why she would spend her money on him is a problem. But neverth we go with it. The Gemini are men. They're not female impersonators. They are men. But of course, this is ancient Rome when homosexuality was par for the course. So I don't think that's a problem at all. At all. By the way, halfway through the show, I said, boy, this Aaron Weaver would make such a Peter Pan. I don't know if she's played it either in the play version or a musical version, but somebody do Peter Pan for this lady. I mean, she is ideal for it. One of the smartest directorial choices here was the way the Philia was drawn. Now, usually she's a cipher, and that's part of the point that she is somebody who is very bland and doesn't know anything about herself. But here she was very awkward in expressing sexuality, and you could tell. And it makes sense that courtesans would be trained, that she would be trained to be sexual. She's lousy at it, purposely. Don't misunderstand that. What I mean is the actress was lousy. What I mean is the way she blinks, the way she tries to come across, the way she's moving her arms, the way she's saying, come get me. Yes, I'm doing my job. This is what I've been trained. Was a very, very, very, very smart thing. Also very smart in. And lovely. When he talks about Helen and her. When Heroes talks about Helen and her thousand ships, Philly looked say, what are you talking. I don't know what you mean. That makes sense too, you know, So I thought that was terr. Back to the vulgarity. Many might have been a little Grossed out by the fact that at one point Philia blows her nose into a handkerchief and gives it to Hero, who embraces this handkerchief in which we have just had some bodily fluid put in, but that's how much in love he is. But anyway, you have to think that Erin Weaver did not listen to the cast album. Maybe she did, but I'm telling you, her choices were nothing like anything that you've heard from Zero Mostel, Frankie Howard, if you know the London album on Nathan Lane. So I thought that was really terrific too. There was one moment that was so subtle, so subtle. Here I am talking about vulgarity and, you know, over the top type stuff. But there's a scene where Sudalus comes back and at that point, Philia, believing that Senex, the old man is the captain, is embracing him. And there's a throwaway line which she says to the audience. I'm talking about, Sudala says to the audience, looks more and more like his father every day because she assumes it's Hero. Okay? So suddenly Senex turns around and she says, sir, you're back. And to which he says, yeah, she almost broke it. And it was so interesting to see Erin Weaver saying, you've returned. As if to say, you should have known what I meant. I mean, yeah. And it really brought into focus the type of thing that we always hear from Moliere. The servants are smart people. They have street smarts because they have to deal with real life situations every day while rarefied. People with the money and the power just don't have common sense. And I'm telling you, it was a slight moment, but it was really, really terrific. I don't remember. I don't know if either of you do. I mean, suddenly that Nathan Lane, almost 30 years ago, but nevertheless, I don't know if the term eunuch was not used in that production because it wasn't used here. Yes, Courtesans in Eunuch in the opening number. Yes, but Servant was used. There's a line in which Marcus Leiker says to a eunuch, you'll be a eunuch all your life. Which of course is something that would have to happen if you're a eunuch. But the thing is, that line was dropped. And every time there was talk about hysteria being a eunuch, it was Servant. So. But I, you know, it had a familiar ring to me and I'm not sure if it was done. Nathan Lane production but. But anyway, this was a very overtly sexual production. There was plenty of feeling up of nipples and groins and what have you? So there's no question that it was low comedy, but, boy, was it flying high because of Aaron Weaver. Now, let me also point out that today, when I took out my playbill, in which I wrote notes, outfalls and understudies. At this performance, the role of Hysterium, usually played by Mike Millen, will be played by Harrison Smith. You'd never know it. My God, was he prepared? I don't know. For all I know, Mike Millen has been out for weeks. I don't know. But nevertheless, what a great performance as Hysterium. Everybody was great, though there was not one weak link in the cast. And I mean, especially, I really was tremendously taken with Lawrence Redmond as Lycus, who, by the way, sort of looks like an older Mark Lynn Baker, who, ironically enough, was cesarean in that Nathan Lane production. But they were all quite wonderful. And it was so great to see everybody respond to Sherry L. Edelin, who played Erroneous. Now, you may recall that Erroneous is told by Sudalus that he has to go around Rome seven times to break the curse. And in doing so, every now and then he shows up and says, first time around, second time around, third time. And it's a wonderful moment. I swear. I swear, though, when I saw the original production in 1962, that Raymond Wilburn, playing Erroneous, zoomed across the stage very, very quickly. It's never been done that way since. And it makes sense that it would be slow, but there was something wonderful about seeing him zoom across the stage for a second and everybody's saying, what the hell was that? And then remembering, you know, and here you don't get the chance to have that experience. And again, I've never seen it done that way. And it makes sense around. This is an old guy, so indeed, he wouldn't be able to put on the speed. But there are assets and liabilities to both choices. So, anyway, so terrific work from everybody. It's only lasting one more week. But I wish you would come here. I wish Aaron Weaver would come here. Why aren't you in New York? Nothing wrong with the regions, of course. And enough listeners have heard me say over the years about how great regional theater is, community theater is. But. But we need to see Aaron Weaver here, and maybe that'll be the next Peter Pan. And if she's going to do Peter Pan, do the new one by Druin Stiles. I am telling you, that is a great Peter Pan written by the guys who wrote the extra songs to Mary Poppins and wrote Honk, a musical that hasn't been seen in New York either. But I'm telling you, the. The new Peter Pan is so sensational. And I want Aaron Weaver to do it sooner rather than later. Later.
