Well, practice makes perfect. After three tries, I think this was the near perfect Stratford experience. Dinner started promptly at 5:15pm at Bijou. This is an excellent restaurant with fabulous service and sumptuous meals.
We were seated in our own private dining room with some low mood lighting (but not so dark you couldn't see what you were eating). The appetizers for arctic char and country vegetable soup and main courses of crispy duck, and quail (done four ways) were devoured with gusto and complemented delightfully with California Zinfandel, Niagara Pinot noir and the Bijou champagne cocktails.
The show was A funny thing happened on the way to the forum. To be fair, I was a bit skeptical about the material having see the 1966 movie which showcased such legendary comedians as Buster Keaton, Phil Silvers and Zero Mostel. I was a bit disappointed in the product as the jokes seem silly and comedy was flat.
To my very pleasant surprise, this was not so with the stage production. Perhaps the side gags perpetrated in this muscial comedy are indeed meant only to work before a live audience. The comedic timing was flawless. The lead role of Pseudolus was led by Sean Cullen as the original lead Bruce Dow had been injured. It was indeed fortuitous that he was available. All manner to comedy from word play, to slap stick to mistaken identity and even some bawdy bits worked perfectly as Cullen and the company danced, and sang their hearts out. The energy from this performance was infectious and by the end of the evening, the audience were humming Comedy Tonight as they made their way out of the theatre. Indeed many funny things happened in this forum.
