Purdue News

October 2, 1998 'Forum' plays Elliott WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Broadway hit revival, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," starring classic comedian Rip Taylor, will play Purdue University's Elliott Hall of Music for one performance only at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25. The musical is presented by Purdue Convocations and Lectures and is supported in part by Insight Communications. Taylor entered show business with an appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," where he was seen by a Las Vegas producer who booked him for "The Eleanor Powell Show" at The Dunes Hotel. His act was held over for four weeks and led to tours with such headliners as Judy Garland, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Margaret and Sammy Davis Jr. He was nicknamed "The Crying Comedian" by Sullivan in 1969 because Sullivan forgot Taylor's name and introduced him as such. On television, he has made recent appearances on "Brotherly Love," "The Naked Truth," "Saturday Night Live," "The Kids in the Hall," "Santa Barbara" and "The Martin Short Show." Taylor also had his own series for four years, "The $1.98 Beauty Show." Over the years, he has appeared on all the major talk shows; most recently, he threw his signature bag of confetti over Rosie O'Donnell's head on her show. He has been a constant guest on the Jerry Lewis Telethons and holds the record for doing the most sketches on "The Tonight Show." Additional film credits include a dramatic role in "Indecent Proposal," where he played Demi Moore's boss, plus more traditional comic roles in "Home Alone 2" and "Wayne's World II." In this production, Taylor plays the lead role of Pseudolus, a Roman slave who undergoes a journey filled with sexual temptations and limitless obstacles in order to obtain freedom from his master. With a musical score by Stephen Sondheim, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" originally opened on Broadway in 1962, running 962 performances, breaking box office records, and launching Zero Mostel to stardom. The original production won six Tony Awards including Best Musical. "Forum" has since experienced two highly successful revivals, the first in 1972 starring Phil Silvers and the most recent in 1996, which starred Nathan Lane. Both Silvers and Lane won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. "Forum" represents firsts for both lyricist/composer Sondheim and producer Hal Prince. It was Prince's first solo producing effort and Sondheim's first offering on Broadway. Larry Gelbart, who went on to create the hit television series "M*A*S*H" and the recent Broadway show "City of Angels," co-wrote the book with Burt Shevelove. Four-time Tony Award-winner Jerry Zaks directs this production of "Forum." His other recent Broadway successes are "Anything Goes," "Guys and Dolls" and "Smokey Joe's Cafe." A pre-show luncheon featuring light commentary on the musical by Dick Jaeger and Karl Brandt will be held in the North Ballroom of Purdue Memorial Union. For more information and reservations, call Purdue Convocations at (765) 494-9712. Tickets to the Oct. 25 performance are $28, $24 and $14 for the public, $18 or $14 for Purdue students. Charge by phone at (765) 494-3933 or 1-800-914-SHOW. CONTACT: Sue Stevens, Convocations publicist, (765) 494-9712; e-mail, snstevens@convos.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page