'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum' opens March 12 at Burrell High School
It’s toga time as Burrell High School presents its spring musical, “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.”
Set in ancient Roman times, the show is comedic, fast paced, full of twists and turns as it follows the antics of Pseudolus, a slave attempting to win his freedom by playing matchmaker.
The musical was composed by Stephen Sondheim in 1962 and went on to garner numerous Broadway awards.
“There’s a lot of mistaken identities, high jinks ensue and there’s silliness,” says musical director Martin Connolly.
“I love being in theater and I love it more here with the kids. They are so vibrant and so excited about it and the arts teach skills that nothing else teaches them,” Connolly says.
Lead roles include the following students: Nick Grabigel as Pseudolus, Hannah Koziarski as Philia, Cade Montgomery as Senex, Nick Klukaszewski as Marcus Lycus, Christian Litterio as Hysterium, James Murphy as Miles Gloriosus, Katie Armstrong as Domina and Zack Jones as Erroneous.
Senior Nick Grabigel is happy to wrap up his high school musical career with a comedy.
“Doing a comedy is actually harder than dramatic roles. It’s the comedic timing, the delivery and you have to be funny. For me personally, making someone laugh, I can feed off of that,” Grabigel says.
Junior Trianna Armstrong is in her third season on stage crew. She says painting is her go-to job.
“I love to paint and this is a creative space to do that and I make friends here at musical,” Armstrong says.
The show will be performed at 7:30 p.m. March 12-15 at the high school auditorium.
Details: onthestage.com
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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