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Toga Toga Toga: Get ready for a Roman romp at ROH

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Odell Cureton as Marcus Lycus, Todd Fernald as Hysterium, Scott H Severance as Pseusolus, Michael Walsh as Senex (PerSeverance Productions photos)

ROCHESTER - Less than a week from today Rochester will be treated to its first Rochester Opera House summer theater production in decades in a bid to rejuvenate what had once been a staple of seasonal entertainment for the city.

Luckily, this hoped-for precursor of future summer performances at ROH is one of the funniest, most entertaining musicals of all time.

"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" begins its three-weekend run next Thursday, and PerSeverance Productions Executive Artistic Director Scott Severance said folks will be laughing at the hilarious sight gags, possibly groaning at some of the "dad jokes" and rolling their eyes at some of the best - and worst - puns of all time.

Some of the play's comely courtesans, clockwise from lower left, Kaitlyn Stasiak, Autumn Rivas, Krista Farrell, Mai Hartwich, Katelyn Parker center.

He calls it a "mixture of Marx Brothers, Three Stooges and Monty Python" with plenty of repartee that will remind theatergoers of Tim Conway and Harvey Korman on "The Carol Burnett Show" or Hawkeye and Trapper John of "M*A*S*H" fame.

The script is by Burt Shevelov and Larry Gelbart, who wrote much of the dialogue from the long-running sitcom about an Army hospital unit during the Korean War.

Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus, "Forum" tells the bawdy story of a cunning slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door.

Severance, who began his own production company two years ago and has brought his national tour of "A Christmas Carol" to ROH the past two years, said the comedic pace of "Forum" is going to be both "frenetic and relentless."

Referring to "laughs per square inch," he said there are some sections of the show where the jokes, slapstick and puns could come so fast the audience may have difficult absorbing it all.

But that's just part of the fun, Severance says.

While the show follows the script and plot of the 1960s production starring Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers and Buster Keaton, "it's our own version, so people who have seen "Forum" before will be seeing something different," Severance said. "We'll have old jokes with new twists."

He added that although this is old-fashioned vaudeville style, almost burlesque, "there's nothing naughty, just bad puns."

Severance admits the libretto is so funny, it sometimes overwhelms the fact this is a "musical" with music by famed composer Stephen Sondheim.

"The vocals in this show are just great," he said, noting that musical director William Asher had built a complete score on a laptop for the production.

"Forum" begins its run on Thursday and will play through Aug. 5. For more info or tickets go to www.rochesteroperahouse.com.

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