UNION CITY – It could be taken as an omen of some sort if you’re Joseph Conklin. To everyone else, May 8 was just another day, but to Conklin, who plays Pseudolus in the Park Players’ upcoming production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum,” it was a sure sign of the play’s predetermined success. Besides being the date of his birthday, May 8 was when “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” opened on Broadway back in 1962. It also was the day a reporter from The Union City Reporter visited Conklin to talk about his role as Pseudolus. “It’s meant to be,” said Conklin. “Everything seems to be falling into place.” The comedy takes place in ancient Rome and revolves around its central character, Pseudolus, a reputed idle who is looking to purchase his freedom. He eventually learns that his young master has fallen in love with a virgin in the house of Lycus, a dealer who offers a variety of beautiful women. Pseudolus enters into an agreement that allows him his freedom on the condition that he is able to procure the girl for his master. The only problem is that everyone falls for the same girl and everything begins to go wrong. It’s hard to go wrong with a production of “Forum.” Audiences always have flocked to its showing. The original Broadway production ran for 964 performances and picked up six Tony Awards. It featured 19 actors and 15 original songs written by Stephen Sondheim. The play was such a success that it spawned a film version and has been revised several times, most recently five years ago with Whoopie Goldberg playing the part of Pseudolus. Conklin said he once met Sondheim, and that starring in such a successful play is ideal for any actor. But he gives credit for the show’s sure success when it opens May 18 to a dedicated cast. The Park Players’ production of “Forum” features 20 non-paid actors from New York, Union Hill High School students and Park Players. Marilyn Schilkie directs the play. Conklin said the formation of the Park Players began 17 years ago, after the Rev. Kevin Ashe of the Park Performing Arts Center suggested the creation of the group. Confident To illustrate his longevity with the group, Conklin points to a Union Hill student sitting a few seats from him. “I was his kindergarten teacher. Now he’s here as an actor,” said Conklin about Julio Garcia Jr., a senior. Garcia recently played the part of Charlie Brown in his high school’s production of “You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown” and said he’s been a member of the Park Players’ back stage crew for a while, but “Forum” is just his second play. He plays the part of Miles Gloriosus, a pompous, self-absorbed captain of the Roman army in search of his bride. He tried out for the part after Conklin suggested he give the role of Gloriosus a shot. “I was never into acting or anything, I was into athletics like football and baseball. But I had a hidden talent,” Garcia said. He credits one of his teachers with encouraging him to act in his high school play and Conklin for inviting him to join the Park Players family. “They just heard my voice and said I had the part.” Garcia enjoys acting but will follow in his deceased father’s footsteps and pursue a career in law enforcement after high school. Conklin said the players have worked an average three to four nights a week at two hours each night for the past three months. He realizes that he has big shoes to fill in his role as Pseudolus, who has been played by several terrific actors in the past. But Conklin believes his natural comedic tendency should lend to another aspect of Pseudolus. “I got a lot of my comedic timing from my mom, who was very, very comedic,” Conklin said. “She passed away a few years ago, but that’s the reason I like this part. It allows me to be me because [Pseudolus] is so full of comedic energy.” John Fiorenza plays the part of Hysterium, Pseudolus’s sidekick who takes care of the home and chores. “He’s very nervous because he wants everything to be perfect,” Fiorenza said. “I’ve seen different versions of Hysterium and I want to make him a little more nervous, more excitable and a person with more feelings.” Garcia adds, “Everyone is coming to see this, the whole Garcia clan. I want to go out there and sing my head off.”
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