JAY MIRAMONTES (at center) with cast of WCP’s “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (WCP photo).

By Thom deMartino
Orange County Tribune

It’s hard out here for a … procurer of concubines, shall we say?

Westminster Community Playhouse is staging its annual musical, the classic “A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum”. Directed by Gregory Cohen, the story begins with an introduction: the audience is welcomed to this “ancient” Roman theater by the players, promising the viewer “tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!”

The lighthearted farce revolves around Pseudolus (Jay Miramontes), a clever slave to the household of Senex (Eric Schiffer) and his imposing wife Domina (Megan Cherry). The couple’s lovelorn son Hero (Adriano Brown) has recently become smitten with a lovely resident of the House of Lycus, Philia (Rachel Girardet).

However, this is complicated by the fact that this house of Marcus Lycus (the always engaging Bobby D. Lux, complete with gaudy, over-sized gold chain) provides high-end courtesans to the wealthy — unlike the still-living-at-home-with-his-parents Hero. Worse still, she has already been promised to the vainglorious military captain Miles Gloriosus (Scott Ruiz). With Hero in despair, the wily Pseudolus offers a solution: he will assist the beguiled young man in acquiring Philia, in return for his freedom.

What follows is an array of hijinx, including mistaken identities, the antics of the histrionic slave Hysterium (Grant Thackray), a confused elderly neighbor Erronius (Bob Baumsten) still searching for his long-lost children, and the married Senex finding himself drawn to a woman he only spied in a window -— of course, it’s Hero’s desired one that his father finds himself longing for.

Can Pseudolus navigate these myriad obstacles before him to earn his freedom, or is he destined to remain a witty (if illiterate) man in lifelong bondage?

This newest production features a number of new faces to the WCP theater — including Miramontes, with a solid debut and excellent comedic timing, and local favorite Cherry with her formidable Domina. Returning cast member Girardet demonstrates her sonorous vocal talents as Philia, doing a masterful number in her duet “Lovely” with Brown’s Hero, and Brown himself is marvelous with his physical comedy.

Other stand-outs include the variety of colorful concubines that Lycus introduces early on in the story, as well as the three “Proteans” that inhabit multiple roles throughout the show. Musical numbers such as “I’m Calm” by Thackray’s Hysterium and “Everybody Ought to Have A Maid” are fun, as is “That Dirty Old Man” performed by Ms. Cherry.

Though this 1960s musical comedy’s schticks can feel a little passé for a modern audience, the cast does excellent work with the material, creating a lively and entertaining show well worth seeing.

With classic gags, snappy musical numbers and fantastic physical comedy, “A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum” is a spirited end-of-summer diversion that will keep audiences laughing throughout.

“A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum”, Jay Miramontes, Adriano Brown and Rachel Girardet star in this vintage slapstick comedy. Playing through September 27 at the Westminster Community Playhouse, 7272 Maple St, Westminster. Ticketing information available online at http://www.wcpstage.com , or call (714) 893-8626. Some light bawdy humor.