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'Forum 9 Makes a Big Hit At its Four Performances sentence them to a lifetime of slavery in the galleys. Such Roman justice would Eb* Emrn&mn Statesman BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16. 1983 Anna Blake and Vic Goad ham it up during dress rehearsal not be inappropriate for creators of a work which has so few good parts for members of the female sex. The male actors enjoy a variety of roles. There is a lovesick youth, a scheming slave, a swaggering military officer, and a henpecked husband, husband, to name just a few of the major members of the cast. But when it comes to the distaff side, we find a limited range of characters. The entire female cast is limited to a large gaggle of courtesans, a domineering wife, and a "sweet young thing." _ You might note that each of these female roles ' represents a stereotype about as old as the seven hills of Rome. In all fairness, the Bow- manville Drama Workshop cannot be faulted for the chauvinism of their latest production staged last week at Bowmanville High School. After all, their job is only to produce the play as it is written; written; the Drama Workshop cannot be blamed for the script. And aside from the aforementioned aforementioned dearth of female roles, the Drama Workshop's finished product is an energetic, energetic, colorful, musical, kneeslapping kneeslapping comedy. With its numerous male characters, the production gives actors of the Drama Workshop plenty of opportunity opportunity to showcase their talent. John Amesbury portrays Pseudolus, a scheming slave, with confidence, humor, and a good singing voice. Vic Goad was equally convincing in his portrayal of Senex, head of a household in which he wears the toga and his wife wears the pants. John Crookshank was perfectly . overbearing, bombastic, and unlikeable in his role of Miles Gloriosus, a warrior. Norm Smith did a good job of worrying and hand-wringing as Hysterium, a slave. It is, perhaps, Judy Bag-.' shaw who has the best role among the actresses. She plays Domina, a nagging wife who is the albatross around, the neck of Senex. A three-man team called "The Proteans" provided added comic touches along the lines of the Keystone Cops. The threesome, which consisted consisted of Don Chard, Kevin Rose, and Brad Reid added a touch of slapstick in their roles as bumbling slaves and slow- witted soldiers. Slapstick might be one way to describe the production as a whole. There is little evidence of Neil Simon style wit in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The play goes for the all-out belly laugh by using every device in the comic writer's bag of tricks. The only thing missing is the custard pie in the face. Other elements of a comedy are certainly there. We have thwarted love, the reconciliation reconciliation of long-lost relatives, and an epidemic of mistaken identities. The plot of the story is not a weighty one. It revolves around the tale of Hero (played (played by Chris Kelly), a youth who falls in love with Philia, portrayed by Shelley Gray. The plot thickens as we find that poor Philia has been sold to the swaggering warrior, Miles Gloriosus, as a bride. The plot thickens some more when the slave, Pseudolus promises to win the bride away from the Roman captain and give her to Hero in return for his freedom. The plot thickens to downright downright jello when we discover that the swaggering warrior is coming to claim his bride and that time is running out for Hero and Philia. Other characters include: Erronius, an old man, portrayed portrayed by Peter Sobil; and Lycus, a buyer and seller of courtesans, played by Gerry Brooks. The roles of various courtesans went to Cathy Haick, Lana Rickard, Carol Hancock, Anna Blake, Doreen Cripps, and Betty Smith. Jonathan Goad was Cupid and litter-bearers were Scott Irvin and Jonathan Locke. In total, the production represents an ambitious effort, complete with tasteful musical accompaniment by a three piece trio. The staging also required choreography, elaborate costumes and an eye-catching set. Since this is, after all, a comedy, we know the story will have a happy ending. The lovesick youth does win the hand of his beloved and they all live happily ever after. On the way to this happy conclusion, conclusion, funny things do happen. And audience reaction to each of the sold-our performances indicates that the jokes were delivered right on target. Ancient Rome may have been a "man's world" and perhaps that explains the shortage of female roles. But, surely a modern comedy set in this time period could have given the ladies just a few more funny lines. Drama club member Norm Smith bones up on his lines before the play. Nancy Shaw applies body make-up to young player Jonathan Goad. i A Vic Goad's part called for curls. He is shown above reduced to perm rods. Ellen Logan creates a cosmetic transformation on drama club actress Judy Drama club helper Bev Martin styles the hair of Cathy Haick to fulfill the Bagshaw. image to be projected in the play. Drama club actresses Lana Rickard (left) and Carol Hancock help one another get costumed for the play.