A lot more happened in 200 B.C. than one might expect.

Picture the class couple- the sweethearts when you were in high school. Now picture them in their freshman year, still awkward and young, batting eyes and self-consciously flirting.

That’s how the main characters, Hero and Philia, are portrayed in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,”performed at The Village Theatre in Charleston.

The two are in love, but Hero can not have Philia because she’s a courtesan already sold to a warrior.

If Hero’s slave, Pseudolus, can help Hero get the girl, Pseudolus will earn his freedom.

Next, as they say, hilarity ensues.

The first half is somewhat long and slow. But watch Pseudolous, the slave in

gym shoes. He steals the show with his facial expressions, timing, actions

and well, the whole bit. Played by William C. Wiebler, Pseudolous is the stand-out character in the whole production. His tuxedo T-shirt, purple socks and spiky hair ooze “ham.” He was probably the class clown in high school and he has talent, too! Every scene he’s in guarantees the audience a laugh, as long as they keep their eyes on him.

Hero and Philia, played by Brian Aycock and Aubrey Wiggs, seem young and innocent, and the actors play their parts well. It is sometimes difficult to hear their singing over the too-loud sound system and sometimes-working fountain. But Aycock comes off as shy and somewhat pathetic- as the character calls for and tries to half-heartedly kill himself whenever

things go wrong (which happens often). Wiggs truly is lovely, even if her character doesn’t have two sticks in her brain to rub together.

High school sweethearts come to mind with the duo, even with the couples’ wardrobe. Aycock wears a yellow sweater vest with a large “H” embroidered on the chest. He wears tall socks and basketball shoes to match.

Wiggs is bright-eyed and perky. She wears a shiny megaphone on her dress with a big “V”- probably proclaiming her innocence. For luggage, she even uses a bright pink Barbie suitcase.

The downside is that the players don’t always play to all sides of the round

theater at all times. Some players ham up their parts more than others- a requirement to maximize the humor in the play.

The three protean actors are great. Played by Megan Gabor, Cyndi Golata and Leslie McGinnis, they take on multiple roles each including soldiers, slaves, and eunuchs who tend to the courtesans.

The production’s second half is fast-paced and has almost non-stop action. The few slow songs are performed with many people on stage or funny lyrics to keep the audience’s attention.

The final few scenes are lively and entertaining. The cast utilized the four entrances to cross multiple plot lines and characters.

The best scenes include Domina (Hero’s mother, played by Katy Hawley), Philia (the virgin courtesan, played by Wiggs), and Hysterium (the hysterical slave, played by Jake Senesac), all dressed in the same

ensemble, causing mass confusion for the warrior, Miles Gloriousus, played by

Scott Podraza, and Senex, played by David Wolski.

Senesac showcases his talent as Hysterium more in the second scene when he’s

forced to dress as Philia, the virgin, to try and fool the warrior.

Hysterium is even considered pretty in a dress and pony-tailed wig- if you

can ignore the mustache.

A few things about the production didn’t make sense.

A fountain in the middle of the stage was flowing for certain numbers and shut off for others. It could have been turned off to not drown out the quieter voices, but the point of the fountain at all was lost.

The almost-filled theater had one entire empty front row. Are the front-row seats not the first tickets to sell?

The cast was composed entirely of students- except David Wolski, who played Senex, Hero’s father. A student, Brendan Hughes, was cast as Erronius, another old man. Hughes did a great job as the scatterbrained man. Was it not possible to find another student to play the role of Senex?

And finally, the Coors Light lamp slightly in front of the director seemed out of place in 200 B.C.

The show should be for mature audiences only. Kids probably will not understand many of the sexual innuendos, the definition of a courtesan or pimp, or maybe the idea or appeal of a virgin.

The play is especially worth seeing if you know one of the cast members. It also serves as another reminder that theater is not dead. The fact that young people make up nearly the entire cast is proof. The play is light-hearted and fun, and the actors achieve what they set to do: a comedy tonight.

The title makes for a great story starter- You know, a funny thing happened

on the way to the (fill in the blank here). But with any luck, the story will not end anything like “a courtesan I purchased from a whore-house was actually the long-lost child of a crotchety old man, stolen by pirates and now sold into prostitution to a captain who turned out to be her long-lost

brother.”

But hey. That’s comedy.