"A FUNNY THING HAPPENED
ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM"
at NJ's Paper Mill Playhouse
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The new production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, directed by Mark Waldrop, at the Paper Mill Playhouse (in Millbrook, New Jersey) is pretty good. But if you ask me, that's just not good enough. It should be hilarious. The show certainly was hilarious the last time I saw it, with Whoopi Goldberg running wild in the leading role, on Broadway.
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The script by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, is filled with laughs; the opening number in Stephen Sondheim's score, "Comedy Tonight," tells you exactly what you'll soon be enjoying. And I loved the brightly colored set that Ray Klausen has concocted for the Paper Mill Playhouse production. The houses are tilted at improbable angles; you imagine the whole production will just have to be good, zany fun. But it turns out to be, alas, a bit on the tame side.
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| (Pictured: John Scherer Stephen Berger, Greg Vinkler and Paul C. Vogt. Photo by T. Charles Erickson). |
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| Paul Vogt |
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| It's a light, breezy production. But it is not a first-rate production. One important thing that's missing is the air of improv that's needed to make this farce fully realize its potential. Another important thing that's missing is a larger-than-life comic star—a great clown who doesn't just read the amusing lines that the authors have written, but is funny in and of himself. From the original Broadway production to the most recent Broadway revivals, this show has had great stars—Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Nathan Lane, Whoopi Goldberg—who've felt free to add shtick and to ad lib, and create an air of spontaneity.
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Paul Vogt, in the starring role of this production, feels like just another player in a solid ensemble. He's likeable, and agreeable, but not a standout. I paid as much attention to others with much smaller roles (like the well-cast Chet Carlin and John Scherer) as I did to him. I've enjoyed Vogt on "Mad TV." But here he seems like just another journeyman actor, hitting his marks and reciting his lines. But not having a ball with the role. And that makes quite a difference.
-- Chip Deffaa
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