Latest / The BSB Podcast / Exclusive Interview: Jeffrey Weiner and Edmond Guay of 'A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'

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Exclusive Interview: Jeffrey Weiner and Edmond Guay of 'A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the Forum' · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  about the countdown.
• 0:02
  Thank you so much Edmund and Jeffrey for being with me today.
• 0:05
  How are you two doing?
• 0:06
  Doing great!
• 0:09
  So you're currently in rehearsal process for A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the forum.
• 0:12
  How's that been so far?
• 0:14
  we've been having a riot.
• 0:15
  think it's we always say that it's an illegal amount of fun.
• 0:18
  We've done numerous shows together.
• 0:20
  And a year ago, when this show was announced, we were working on Romeo and Juliet together and looked at each other.
• 0:27
  We said, this would be so great if we could work on the show together.
• 0:31
  And so in the parts we wanted, we talked about we actually got.
• 0:36
  So we were very, very excited about this.
• 0:38
  So now we get to finally.
• 0:40
  after how many shows have we done together, we finally actually get to play directly off of each other many times throughout the show, so we're very excited.
• 0:46
  And we're having a lot of fun.
• 0:48
  So you were both very familiar with this show before being cast in it.
• 0:52
  Actually, I wasn't.
• 0:54
  I mean, I knew with the music, I had heard the music several times.
• 1:00
  I knew of the show, but I actually borrowed a copy of the script about four days before auditions.
• 1:07
  And I actually did the show 20 years ago in Grosse Pointe, and I played Hero who's like the young male Ingénue right?
• 1:17
  He's not a young male Ingénue anymore.
• 1:19
  So now I'm playing another part, which is...
• 1:22
  a part I remember saying to have been such a great part to play in the future.
• 1:25
  And here we are.
• 1:29
  So I guess I'll start with you, Jeff.
• 1:31
  Who are you playing?
• 1:32
  And what's kind of the show about?
• 1:34
  how do you factor into that?
• 1:36
  Well, should start.
• 1:38
  Okay.
• 1:38
  Because Ed's...
• 1:40
  We're actually both slaves in the show.
• 1:42
  Yes, we're both.
• 1:44
  He's the boss slave.
• 1:45
  I actually work for him.
• 1:48
  funny thing happened on the way to the forum.
• 1:50
  I play Pseudolus Hysterium.
• 1:53
  And obviously you play on both words there because he's kind of crazy and I'm kind of, you know, trying to always be, you know, psychologically ahead of everybody else.
• 2:01
  Always faking.
• 2:02
  So I'm Pseudolus Hysterical.
• 2:05
  And...
• 2:06
  It's a genuine, I guess we can call it American musical classic farce.
• 2:12
  It's one of those old style musicals where you just kick back your feet.
• 2:18
  I don't want to say turn off your brain because you got to listen.
• 2:21
  Yes.
• 2:22
  But it's just pure fun entertainment, broad characters, crazy plot lines and, you know, pratfalls, slapstick comedy, know, puns.
• 2:35
  all that good old fashioned comedy.
• 2:37
  It's an evening of riotous laughter for the audience, definitely for us while we're rehearsing.
• 2:44
  That, I was gonna say shutting off your mind for something like a Steven Sondheim play, a musical, you can't really do that.
• 2:52
  Well, it's early Sondheim.
• 2:54
  This is the first show that he ever did both the music and the lyrics for.
• 2:59
  He did the lyrics for Gypsy and West Side Story.
• 3:05
  Yeah, Gypsy and West Side Story before this.
• 3:08
  But this is the first one that he did both music and lyrics for.
• 3:11
  you could hear Sondheim in it at times, but it's got a more old school...
• 3:21
  musical comedy structure to it.
• 3:24
  So what is your two characters kind of like, without spoiling too much, but like what's the journey through the show for the two of you?
• 3:30
  Wait, the journey for us as actors or for the characters?
• 3:34
  Well, my goal as the character, the whole plot revolves around the fact that I am a slave and I'm trying to buy my freedom.
• 3:40
  And in order to buy my freedom from my master, who is a young, dreamy young man who has madly fallen in love with the girl next door, in order for me to buy my freedom, I have to
• 3:53
  promise that I will get them together.
• 3:56
  In the meantime,
• 3:58
  Right, and my character, Hysterium he runs the house, so he's the servant of Dominia and Senex who are the owners of the house.
• 4:08
  And Hero is the son.
• 4:10
  And Pseudolus is Hero's servant, I guess, best way to put it.
• 4:14
  And he's always outsmarting my character, who likes to run a tight ship, and I'm always anxious and I want things a certain way.
• 4:23
  And Pseudolus is just always conniving and...
• 4:28
  Hysterium is going along with it at times not knowing what's happening.
• 4:32
  and definitely gets mixed up far more than he ever wanted to in the scheme to make it all work out.
• 4:40
  I have a really fun song in the show called I'm Calm.
• 4:43
  And it's all about how Hysterium is trying to stay calm, but then he just freaks out and it's, like a roller coaster.
• 4:49
  It's very excited and hyper and then calm.
• 4:52
  And it's really just pure silliness.
• 4:54
  It's fun.
• 4:56
  I was gonna say that fits with the Hysterium, know, as a psychologist, these are terms that I hear frequently, you know, so that's kind of cool to see that being kind of fed
• 5:05
  into the show and become part of these characters, you know, getting to play on those words, but also getting to play on those personality types.
• 5:12
  So, is it?
• 5:15
  puns, lot of know double entendre and triple entendres and quadruple entendres in the show.
• 5:22
  And the lyrics are very difficult to keep straight.
• 5:25
  Yes.
• 5:25
  Because they're like very similar and repeat but like maybe one word's different and a lot of rhyming.
• 5:33
  Okay, so is this song some of the most challenging part to learn for the show?
• 5:37
  absolutely.
• 5:38
  Yeah, I mean, I've got five songs.
• 5:42
  I think I've got five songs, five or six songs on the show.
• 5:45
  And they are all very different in style.
• 5:49
  And they have verses that build on each other.
• 5:54
  And then when you come back to the refrain, the words are slightly different.
• 5:57
  So it's like, you know, like memorization for the show.
• 6:02
  Yes.
• 6:02
  I've been doing theater a long, long time and I have to tell you that this is one of the most challenging shows I've ever had with regard to memorization.
• 6:10
  And you come to any rehearsal and I'll prove that, that it's very hard because I'm still messing up and we're two weeks away.
• 6:18
  we're, well, I'll get there.
• 6:19
  I will.
• 6:20
  So you gotta come see us.
• 6:22
  Everything comes together in the last two weeks.
• 6:23
  I remember that from being in band camp.
• 6:26
  Always came together in last two weeks.
• 6:30
  But like you said, even though this is early Sondheim, has such a way with words.
• 6:36
  I can understand how hard it would be to kind of, some of these songs, I've seen quite a few Sondheim plays.
• 6:41
  He's one of my musicals.
• 6:42
  He's one of my favorites.
• 6:45
  they're quick-witted, they're fast-paced, they're...
• 6:47
  Yes.
• 6:48
  He does a lot with alliteration.
• 6:50
  Yes, lot.
• 6:51
  There's a lot where, you know, the letter S is repeated in seven or eight consecutive words.
• 6:58
  And it's very, it's a challenge, but it's a fun challenge because the songs are wrapped around, you know, chaotic, fun characters with crazy situations.
• 7:12
  So it's fun to learn them because.
• 7:15
  the storyline is such a delight to tell.
• 7:20
  So ultimately, what kind of drew you both to this project?
• 7:22
  You both sounded very excited to kind of do this.
• 7:24
  You wanted to do this together.
• 7:25
  But like, what drew you to a funny thing happened on the way to the forum?
• 7:30
  Well, for me, I knew the show really well and I loved doing it the first time and I had my heart set on Hysterium Because I, you know, like I said before, I knew in the future it
• 7:41
  had to be such a great part for me to play.
• 7:44
  And I've worked with the director, Debbie, twice before.
• 7:47
  And I love working with her, her style.
• 7:49
  You know, she's got a great sense of humor.
• 7:51
  She knows what she wants.
• 7:53
  And, you know, it's always just a real pleasure.
• 7:56
  So that's where I was.
• 7:57
  And for me, it was kind of the opposite.
• 7:59
  mean, I've always known of the show and I've always known of the role.
• 8:04
  And when you look at the fact that the two most famous actors who've ever played the role, Zero Mostel and Nathan Lane, I think it's safe to say that any musical theater performer
• 8:15
  would look at those two icons of Broadway musicals and say, OK, this is a pathway that I would love to be able to follow.
• 8:21
  So what I did is the opposite of Jeff.
• 8:24
  with Jeff having such familiarity with the script and wanting then to have another go at it.
• 8:29
  With me, was like, geez, I don't know this show that much.
• 8:32
  So I would love to be able to challenge myself to do something new, to do something that's really outside my comfort zone.
• 8:38
  And then to work with a lot of the cast members that we've worked with before, who we've had such thoroughly enjoyable opportunities with and working with Debbie as, as, as, you
• 8:49
  know, Jeff said, working with Debbie is just, it's, a
• 8:54
  It's a confidence builder in the actor when you can work with a director who knows what she wants, but also trusts the choices that you're making, but then is confident enough in
• 9:05
  both you and her vision to make sure that those two things work together.
• 9:09
  So it's, I'm learning as well as enjoying the process.
• 9:15
  It sounds like it's a real collaborative approach between actor and director for this one.
• 9:21
  you know, I've never acted in my life.
• 9:24
  you know, I've always liked to learn kind of like the pr-
• 9:26
  come down, be a part of the show.
• 9:29
  If I had talent, I would, no.
• 9:33
  But you kind of mentioned that you have two different approaches to the show, one being very familiar and one not being so familiar with it.
• 9:40
  Do you think that there is advantages and disadvantages to being familiar with the show or going into it blindly?
• 9:48
  Well, for me, it's kind of like the senior in high school who tries out for his first play, you know, and then gets kept.
• 9:58
  So you've got the maturity of a senior in the enthusiasm and craziness of a raw, almost like a freshman.
• 10:07
  So that kind of idea, like, you know, I got a lot of experience, but I've never done this show.
• 10:11
  So I can bring the experience to the process, but then...
• 10:14
  stumbling over the memorization and learning a new character and learning a new show has given me kind of a rejuvenation from my own desire.
• 10:24
  For me, I was really, I constantly, how do I word this the right way?
• 10:31
  I just know what we did before 20 years ago and I don't want to compare myself to the other actors, especially the one that played my part because he's a very different person.
• 10:41
  And so I'm kind of leaning into my strengths.
• 10:44
  And, you know, of course some of the songs I'm like, I remember.
• 10:47
  But everyone in this cast is really, really strong.
• 10:51
  And we have a bunch of new people as well.
• 10:54
  That's what's really exciting.
• 10:55
  The two young ingenues are both brand new to our theater.
• 11:01
  yes, which is great.
• 11:02
  that nice mixture of that.
• 11:05
  When it comes to developing the characters, I know you have your guidebook, your script.
• 11:11
  How do you take that and kind of make it your own?
• 11:15
  Is there a process that you specifically have for that?
• 11:19
  Well, I mean, due to the fact that the show is just a knockdown drag out farce, there's not a lot of subtlety to any of the character development, to say the least.
• 11:32
  So what's fun is the idea of making the character as broad, as big, and as brash as possible, but then shaping it so that whatever my choices of broad and brash are,
• 11:48
  they're equaling Jeff's, they're equaling everybody else's in the show.
• 11:51
  Because if one person is too far into the world of farce, even if this is where the director wants you to go, if one person gets there but nobody else is there, then this
• 12:01
  person looks out of place, even though that might be the ideal.
• 12:06
  it's fun because the lyrics are so well written, the characters are so developed with such humor, yet as well as frankly affection.
• 12:15
  I mean, all the characters are fun.
• 12:16
  and they're fun people and they're interesting people.
• 12:21
  you it's a you got to walk that fine line between creating real interesting people and throwing it off the deep end because it's a farce.
• 12:29
  But I think the lyric, I think the music, those really help shape at least what I'm trying to do with it.
• 12:35
  That and bringing as much crazy manic energy as I can to the process.
• 12:40
  Right.
• 12:40
  And for me, it's funny because I always put myself into these characters.
• 12:46
  We both do.
• 12:47
  And there is a lot of Jeff in Hysterium.
• 12:51
  Like, it's quite similar.
• 12:53
  So I was actually talking to the directors about it and I'm like, it just feels natural to go with what I would do as Jeff, and I feel like, should I lean into it?
• 13:05
  And they go, absolutely.
• 13:07
  Lean into it, it'll be more authentic.
• 13:09
  So yeah, it's fun.
• 13:11
  I hope I'm not too much like Pseudolus I hope maybe in my insanity I am.
• 13:15
  But he's a little on the crazy side.
• 13:18
  Yes, no you're not.
• 13:19
  I mean, isn't there just always that little bit of you in every character you play?
• 13:23
  there should be always.
• 13:25
  This one there's just like a lot of me in it.
• 13:29
  And that's what's going to make it so appealing to the people who come and see it.
• 13:32
  They're going be like, wow, look at how natural that feels.
• 13:35
  Right, no, no.
• 13:36
  Yeah.
• 13:37
  Definitely.
• 13:39
  Now for, know, Jeff, you kind of mentioned that you're kind of there.
• 13:42
  There's a lot of maybe you in this character, but for both of you, is there something you specifically have to do to get into the mindset of your character?
• 13:49
  Like, do you have a ritual to like, as you're getting ready to go on stage to become this person?
• 13:55
  I'm rather obnoxious.
• 13:57
  Pre-show, I have a vocal warm-up routine, a stretching routine that for the last year that we've done a lot of shows together over the last year, people are always thinking, there
• 14:11
  goes Ed, he's warming up again.
• 14:13
  Because it's a pattern of a warm-up that I've taught my students for many, many years and that I'm finally getting the opportunity to apply for myself.
• 14:22
  But one of the things that's helping is just being more physically active because this show is really taxing.
• 14:31
  I mean, like at the end of the night, I think I've lost like seven pounds of sweat.
• 14:35
  It's crazy.
• 14:36
  But so being very physically active during like the day and, you know, walking on a treadmill and going for walks and things like that.
• 14:43
  But just in terms of coming to the theater, there's definitely a ritual of my stretching, my vocal warmup, running lines.
• 14:50
  If we have to run a scene, we'll do.
• 14:52
  quick things on the stage before the audience comes in.
• 14:55
  I mean, for me, yes, I, you know, I have my stretching.
• 14:58
  I've got to get into the mindset when the show is about to start and then I can right back into it.
• 15:04
  But I know with this show, I need all my concentration so I can't have anyone backstage like, you know, yapping with me or talking to me.
• 15:12
  It's like just I got to stay super focused because, you know, the parts are are pretty big.
• 15:18
  I mean, Ed, his character is on stage.
• 15:22
  I think in the 122 pages of the script, think I'm not on stage for maybe 12 or 15 pages.
• 15:30
  it's.
• 15:32
  Yes, it's yeah.
• 15:34
  Yeah.
• 15:34
  And he's the focal point for a lot of the stories and the characters.
• 15:37
  So it's definitely a challenge.
• 15:39
  Yes, but he's doing it.
• 15:43
  Thank you.
• 15:44
  Yeah.
• 15:47
  Um, so with the show being both a farce and a musical, which I haven't seen many of those.
• 15:52
  this is where, you know, I need to broaden my horizons here.
• 15:56
  How do you feel like it balances those two things?
• 15:58
  Like, or how, like, what is, what is that balance?
• 16:02
  Well, I think I talk about Farce and Musical because, okay, sorry.
• 16:07
  Well, the thing is, that the show's been around for over 50 years.
• 16:14
  I think that's actually 60 years.
• 16:17
  If you think about came out in early 60s.
• 16:19
  I'm like, so did I.
• 16:22
  I came out in the early 60s.
• 16:25
  I mean, like being born.
• 16:26
  But the...
• 16:30
  I was gonna make the joke and then I was like, no, don't make the joke.
• 16:34
  no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
• 17:02
  But since the music is as frenetic and the lyrics are as frantic as the storyline and the characters, I think it's that wonderful, that beautiful blend of all the different manic
• 17:16
  elements of creating a very entertaining evening of theater.
• 17:20
  Sure.
• 17:23
  What are the themes then of a funny thing happened on the way to the forum that resonate with you the most?
• 17:28
  You the actor.
• 17:30
  Themes.
• 17:32
  Themes.
• 17:35
  The honesty for you.
• 17:38
  I'm trying to think.
• 17:39
  Geez.
• 17:41
  Well, never stop working for what you want to get.
• 17:44
  Perseverance.
• 17:45
  Perseverance.
• 17:48
  You know, if you see something and you want it, go for it.
• 17:53
  All, you know, all safety.
• 17:59
  I don't want to say safety aside, it's like, you know, don't grab for the gusto, gusto, the body stancher.
• 18:05
  You know, grab for the gusto.
• 18:07
  Go for every, every character in the show has a, a big or a mini quest.
• 18:16
  and that everybody is reaching for those craziness.
• 18:20
  when they finally hit that Venn diagram where they get her lock is where, where, where the good stuff happens.
• 18:25
  So I don't know.
• 18:27
  What's the theme?
• 18:28
  Have fun, laugh, entertain.
• 18:32
  Pure silliness.
• 18:34
  I say, that's what we want audiences to take away from this.
• 18:37
  That's what we want.
• 18:38
  Hopefully the actors are having fun with this.
• 18:40
  my gosh, yes.
• 18:41
  It is a lot of fun.
• 18:44
  I appreciate your time so much for both of you.
• 18:46
  Thank you so much for being here.
• 18:48
  We are so excited to see the show.
• 18:53
  So Stagecrafter.
• 18:54
  as you can see behind us, we have our set and we've got some workers who are there doing all their backstage wizardry that allows us the opportunity to be even stronger and be
• 19:05
  even more interactive with the audience.
• 19:07
  If it's not for these people back here, we're just talking heads.
• 19:12
  Right.
• 19:13
  really is a team effort to bring this all together.
• 19:17
  Absolutely.
• 19:17
  And a couple of our actors have been building the set as well.
• 19:23
  right.
• 19:24
  We were able to get in here a little earlier.
• 19:26
  little earlier.
• 19:27
  We've been very, very lucky.
• 19:28
  Most of the shows, except for the first show of every season, most of the shows here at the Baldwin, the actors are maybe here for two weeks before opening.
• 19:37
  We were able to increase that by at least a week because two of the actors in the show, as Jeff was saying,
• 19:44
  are both retired as well and they came here and applied their wonderful carpentry talents to get at least the foundation of what we could, doors that open and close, the stairs
• 19:57
  that we can use so that all of the rehearsal studio stuff can finally be applied to the stage.
• 20:04
  And it has to be a totally different experience once you're up there and actually need to kind of play with it.
• 20:08
  Right.
• 20:08
  mean, near the end of the show, I won't ruin anything, but this is big chase scene.
• 20:12
  And I mean, doors, one door is opening, one door is closing, and people are running all over the place in different directions.
• 20:19
  in the rehearsal space, we pretended we didn't have any doors, and then we had the doors and then it's just a whole new element.
• 20:26
  And then we forgot the fact that like when we're behind those doors.
• 20:30
  wait a minute.
• 20:31
  What did he say?
• 20:32
  My cue line?
• 20:33
  Right.
• 20:33
  Right.
• 20:33
  You know, so we're trying to hear.
• 20:35
  So that, and thank goodness, our cast members who are the incredible stage builders have given us that opportunity to work out those details so that we can get the timing.
• 20:49
  As Jeff said, those last seven pages of the script, it's like a Marx Brothers crazy manic Keystone cop smashing into each other, running around.
• 20:59
  Mistaken identities.
• 21:01
  It's a lot of fun.
• 21:03
  a lot of that frantic energy.
• 21:05
  Yes, a lot of that energy.
• 21:08
  That has to, like I said, that has to be exciting to be able to do that, but it definitely adds more of that challenge as well because you're, now you have to learn all of the
• 21:17
  things that you know, you have to translate that to a stage where everything's different.
• 21:22
  Right, right.
• 21:23
  But the interesting thing, though, is once you start marrying movement to line, to note, to lyric, all of a sudden things get easier to memorize.
• 21:37
  you're realizing, wait a minute, I'm supposed to be on this side of the stage at this point.
• 21:40
  You know, and you're working all of those, know, working out that escape route because I got to be over here.
• 21:46
  And all of a sudden the line starts to click in as to when it's supposed to be.
• 21:51
  So it's no longer just like, wait a minute, I know what my line is, it's on this part of the page.
• 21:54
  No, now it's like, it's this part of the stage.
• 21:57
  So.
• 21:57
  And also like knowing as we're going through this, now we're adding props.
• 22:02
  And so I know exactly when I need to get the prop for the scene that I've got to go on.
• 22:06
  And some of the props I have to have.
• 22:08
  Oh gosh.
• 22:08
  Or the whole play doesn't go like it falls apart.
• 22:11
  Yeah.
• 22:12
  So I'm like, got to grab the chicken right before I go back on.
• 22:15
  And it just it's it's neat.
• 22:16
  It's like, like you said, it's all of a sudden the manic.
• 22:21
  insane slapstick farce becomes a very well choreographed ballet.
• 22:25
  Especially backstage too.
• 22:27
  Oh yes.
• 22:27
  You see like I'm gonna cross and then he or she's gonna come and you just see the pattern Move it out of the way or somebody's bolting through.
• 22:34
  Right.
• 22:34
  And there's like a pattern.
• 22:35
  It's awesome.
• 22:36
  I was going say that sounds anxiety inducing.
• 22:38
  I applaud both of you for taking that energy and running with it, that sounds like a lot of moving pieces.
• 22:45
  Yeah, it is, but we rehearse a lot.
• 22:48
  Yes.
• 22:49
  The whole idea, and Debbie said it really well, our director said it really well, that illusion of the first time, which is one of the greatest challenges for actors on stage,
• 22:58
  is like, hey, this has got to sound like it's coming out of your mouth for the very first time, and you're holding that prop for the very first time, and you're making that
• 23:03
  entrance for the very first time.
• 23:06
  And so we rehearse and rehearse and rehearse and rehearse so it looks totally spontaneous.
• 23:11
  Right.
• 23:12
  Go figure.
• 23:14
  and it's gonna look amazing.
• 23:15
  You still have two weeks of rehearsal and like I said, we're really excited to see this.
• 23:21
  I know a lot of people are excited to see this one.
• 23:24
  So it's gonna be great.
• 23:25
  Yes.
• 23:26
  Hopefully they will laugh as much as we're hoping they will.
• 23:28
  Yes.
• 23:30
  they should.
• 23:30
  should.
• 23:31
  I mean, if they watch this interview and they're going to laugh along with all of us here.
• 23:35
  So.
• 23:36
  Haha!
• 23:37
  Yes!
• 23:37
  Hopefully.
• 23:39
  So Stagecrafters, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, arrives on March 28th and runs through April 13th, so get your tickets now.
• 23:45
  Thank you so much for joining us.
• 23:46
  Thank you very much.
• 23:48
  Thank you.
• 23:48
  Thank you.