A Funny Thing...

Well, the show is going into closing weekend and I can modestly say that it has been a success. The audiences were a little lower than I would have liked, but that is partially due to it being an outdoor production. Because of this, we don't have a matinee on Sunday. This is traditionally when our older viewers come to see us. A lot of them don't like to go out at night, and all our shows are at night, for lighting purposes. Regardless, we've been putting out great energy every show and have avoided any major stumbles. The cast is top notch and we have a lot of fun together.

The reviewers like us, too. Here are three that I have seen.

• The North County Times
• The Pomerado Newspaper Group
• The Kids section of the San Diego Union Tribune

The Pomerado was probably the most accurate review with the kids pages coming in second. The North County mention came in third. The Pomerado reviewer picks my favorite scene in the show as hers:

Undoubtedly the best scene in the play is when Pseudolus and Hysterium conspired to trick Miles Gloriosus by disguising Hysterium as a woman, and a dead woman at that. That scene alone is worth the price of admission.

I diss the NCTimes review mostly because I'm not sure what she was watching. She claims Bruce's portrayal of Pseudolous was a refreshing change from other productions where he is played "over the top". Bruce was very over the top and very funny. He had frequent ad-libs and played to the audience often. she was right that his performance was good, but she cites all the wrong reasons. According to the review, Mia aka the young virgin Philia, is "sweet and youthful". Duh! She's fifteen. It's hard not to be youthful at that age. My favorite line of the review, though, is the commentary on Lycus, as played by my friend Craig. According to her, he "plays the flesh-peddler Marcus Lycus as a flamboyantly gay Gypsy". I guess you'll have to see for yourself whether or not that is true. His costume is flamboyant. But a gay gypsy?

We had a lot of fun with that review during the pickup rehearsal. There's an exchange between Pseudolous and Lycus. Lycus says, "You, Pseudolous, are a true friend." Pseudolous is supposed to respond with, "And you, Lycus, are a gentleman and a procurer". This being pickup rehearsal, we take a few liberties. "You, Lycus, are a flamboyantly gay gypsy". Raucous laughter was had by all. But Lycus got the last laugh. During the son "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid", he enters during the final encore and joins in. He came out in a sequined robe with a hot pink belt. The rest of us weer laughing so hard, we could barely sing or dance.

To sum up: an enjoyable run that will go down in the annals as one of my favorite shows to have been a part of.

Up next for me is a dinner theater comedy called "Haunting Melody" in which I play a security guard who can only speak in fortunes.