Here's something you might be interested in.
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Something about vulnerability
No second takes, no do-overs.
When I saw A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, I was reminded me how much I prefer anything live to anything recorded. As in, I might really enjoy a live music event and yet have no desire to buy the CD.
It’s funny because I grew up on TV. In our house, it went on when the first person got up in the morning and didn’t go off until the last person went to bed.
I don’t think I saw a live performance of anything until my dad took me to see George Carlin’s “Seven Dirty Words” when I was about 10. (If you’re going to corrupt your child, you might as well do it with a comedic master such as Carlin.)
I’ve seen bits of the film version of AFTHOTWTTF over the years, and I sat down and watched the whole thing before seeing it on stage. I thought it was a big meh.
But on stage? It was hilarious.
Why the difference? I think it has something to do with the vulnerability. There are no second takes, no do-overs. There’s so much more at stake, and that makes comedy funnier and tragedy scarier. In a good production, the audience is rooting for the actors, willing them to succeed. They’re invested in the outcome, and that creates a dynamism that’s lost on film.
Live performances also require a scaling down which, when done well, intensifies the action. In the film, some of the funniest parts were the elaborate film tropes that couldn’t be approached in a theater.
I also think the difference has to do with genre. A Funny Thing Happened is one part farce, one part Vaudeville, and three parts Plautus. I’ve never read a whole Plautus play, because they didn’t seem funny to me. But maybe they're funny on stage. At this point, I think I’d go see something Vaudevillian if it were possible.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum runs at North Coast Rep through August 12.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Something about vulnerability
No second takes, no do-overs.
Something about vulnerability
No second takes, no do-overs.
When I saw A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, I was reminded me how much I prefer anything live to anything recorded. As in, I might really enjoy a live music event and yet have no desire to buy the CD.
It’s funny because I grew up on TV. In our house, it went on when the first person got up in the morning and didn’t go off until the last person went to bed.
I don’t think I saw a live performance of anything until my dad took me to see George Carlin’s “Seven Dirty Words” when I was about 10. (If you’re going to corrupt your child, you might as well do it with a comedic master such as Carlin.)
I’ve seen bits of the film version of AFTHOTWTTF over the years, and I sat down and watched the whole thing before seeing it on stage. I thought it was a big meh.
But on stage? It was hilarious.
Why the difference? I think it has something to do with the vulnerability. There are no second takes, no do-overs. There’s so much more at stake, and that makes comedy funnier and tragedy scarier. In a good production, the audience is rooting for the actors, willing them to succeed. They’re invested in the outcome, and that creates a dynamism that’s lost on film.
Live performances also require a scaling down which, when done well, intensifies the action. In the film, some of the funniest parts were the elaborate film tropes that couldn’t be approached in a theater.
I also think the difference has to do with genre. A Funny Thing Happened is one part farce, one part Vaudeville, and three parts Plautus. I’ve never read a whole Plautus play, because they didn’t seem funny to me. But maybe they're funny on stage. At this point, I think I’d go see something Vaudevillian if it were possible.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum runs at North Coast Rep through August 12.
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