BRAD GODA / COURTESY OF DIAMOND HEAD THEATRE Innocent young Hero (Brent Yoshikami, center) doesn't know what to make of Panacea, (Kelsey Kaneshiro). She's one of the courtesans who attempts to win his heart thanks to the effort of Hero's slave Pseudolus (Bill Ogilvie), who's the ringmaster for Diamond Head Theatre production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."

‘Forum’ delivers
promised laughs

"Comedy tonight" is the ambitious promise made and kept by Diamond Head Theatre's colorful revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." Bill Ogilvie is the show's comic spark plug as Pseudolus, a cunning and resourceful slave whose freedom hinges on his success on obtaining a beautiful but dim-witted woman for his naïve young master.

"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" Presented by Diamond Head Theatre at 520 Makapuu Ave. Repeats 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, and 4 p.m. Sundays, through June 5. Tickets $12 to $42. Call: 733-0274 or visit www.diamondheadtheatre.com

Ogilvie's energetic performance would make him a front-runner for a Po'okela Award if the popular awards were not "on hiatus." Oh well!

Kirsten Dixon (Philia), Brian Gilhooly (Hysterium), Tom Holowach (Marcus Lycus), Brent Yoshikami (Hero) and Jerry Altwies (Senex) add nicely nuanced comic performances in the major supporting roles.

The characters and the comic situations are as ancient as Rome itself. Hero falls in love at first sight with Philia, one of the courtesans kept by Lycus in the mansion next door. Hero promises to emancipate Pseudolus if the slave can win Philia for him.

Alas for young love, she's been sold for an exorbitant price to Miles Gloriosus and the famed war hero is expected to arrive that very day to claim her. What's a slave to do?

Director/choreographer John Rampage's talented cast brings "A Funny Thing..." to life in great style. The opening number works a bit too hard for laughs, but the story's trajectory moves forward naturally thereafter to the frenetic finale.

The show is Yoshikami's first musical, but the two-time Po'okela Award winner looks and sounds like a veteran. He establishes Hero's gawky innocence with "Love I Hear" and illuminates other facets of the character in duets with Ogilvie, Dixon and Altweis. He and Dixon, as a stereotypical "dumb blonde," click quickly.

Dixon evokes memories of her fine comic work in DHT's "Ragtime" with her portrayal of a woman who cheerfully confesses that "lovely" is all she knows how to do, and who attempts to console Hero by promising that each time she's intimate with Gloriosus she'll be thinking of him! Dixon's biggest number, "That'll Show Him," shows her comedic abilities.

Gilhooly (Hysterium) becomes as a major player as Pseudolus blackmails the aptly named chief slave into participating in the increasingly complicated plot. Hysterium is eventually required to disguise himself as a dead Philia. Gilhooly gives an outstanding performance as a man suddenly taken by his own loveliness.

Altwies contributes as singer, dancer and comic actor, and is the first to join Ogilvie in "Everybody Ought to Have A Maid," a nicely executed song-and-dance number that grows into a pivotal segment as Gilhooly and Holowach join in. Altwies also brings a gentle introspective element to his portrayal of an "older man" of uncertain virility.

Pennaz proves a perfect choice for the role of self-absorbed sword-wielding Miles Gloriosus from the moment he steps on stage. He's got the look, the voice, and the attitude! Act II gives him room to stretch out as a comic actor.

Roxanne Fay (Domina) debuts at DHT with a well-rounded performance as Senex's domineering wife. "That Dirty Old Man" is one of Sondheim's deeper songs, and Fay makes a smooth break from her work as a stereotypical shrew in bringing out the poignancy of the lyrics.

Elizabeth Ananij Harrison and Ted Galaty catch the eye in smaller roles. Harrison's scene-stealing performance as Gymnasia, the most seductive of Lycus's courtesans, is enhanced by the high blonde wig created by Jess Aki and a barely-there costume designed by Karen G. Wolfe. Galaty has several good bits as a eunuch.

Set designer Patrick M. Kelly's Rome has the look of city intended to stand for millennia; there's even a working fountain.

Musical director Alethea Train and sound designer Mikel J. Humerickhouse were working in perfect balance on opening night. The small orchestra was tight. The vocalists could always be heard.

Director/choreographer Rampage's staging of the courtesans' big dance number makes that potentially problematic segment welcome as well.

And so, the ambitious promise is honored: "Tragedy tomorrow ... comedy tonight!"