A funny thing happened ...

John Command confided that he had only one worry about "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."

He wasn't worried about the pressure of staging the first true book musical ever at the Jungle Theater; for that matter, this is his first time directing at the Jungle. Even the idea of fitting more than 20 actors on the Jungle's stage didn't faze him. As artistic director Bain Boehlke noted, "We had 43 on the stage with the Scottish play in 1999; so nothing holds the Jungle back."

No, what had Command fretting was that the Stephen Sondheim musical that opens Friday at the Jungle "might be too funny." Each line in the script by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart is funnier than the last, he said. Nonstop mayhem, wall-to-wall.

"Bea Arthur always told me," said Command, dropping his voice an octave, "'You can't be funny all the time, or the audience will get tired.'"

Still, in a recent pre- rehearsal interview, Command and Boehlke said they have no plans to rein in the pratfalls and cream pies. Let fly the double entendres, the slamming doors and comedy of errors borrowed from the farces that had Roman audiences howling in the days of Plautus. Should the high jinks leave Jungle audiences gasping for breath, a defibrillator is standing by.

"Forum" has struck more than one observer as a tad askew for the Jungle's aesthetic. Boehlke admits as much, but doesn't apologize. He saw the show at Rochester Civic Theater three years ago and laughed so hard that he said he just had to do it at the Jungle.

"We're expanding our repertoire so we don't just do shows with three or four people in the cast," Boehlke said. "I love the American theater book musicals, but how the hell can I afford them? John knows every nonprofessional actor in town, so that's why I called him."

"It was the best phone call that I've ever had in my life," he said. "I feel like I've died and gone to heaven."

He continued the hyperbole as he praised his cast. Richard Ooms, he said, is like "a mixture of Edith Bunker and Groucho Marx -- so funny and gentle." Bradley Greenwald "is such a genius." Christopher Teipner, who plays the lead role of Pseudolus, "reminds me of Zero Mostel."

And the rehearsals? One big party. Someone new brings in snacks every night.

"It's like rehearsing at a Sizzler!" Command said. "I'm beyond honored."

First time together

"What does that feel like?" Boehlke wondered. "Is it right on the knee?"

"It's under the bone," Command said.

"Oh, it's under the bone," Boehlke nodded. "I see."

They have never worked together, though Command frequently takes in Jungle productions. He mentioned "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," "Glass Menagerie" and "The Mystery of Irma Vep" as recent favorites. The Jungle produced "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" in 2008, although that is more a staged concert than a true book musical.

"Forum" has not had a fully professional production since the Ordway hoisted it in 1999. A Tony winner in 1962, "Forum" marked the first time Sondheim wrote lyrics and music. For "West Side Story" and "Gypsy," he had written lyrics only. "Forum" was made into a 1966 movie and has been revived twice on Broadway -- most recently in 1996. Shevelove and Gelbart based their story loosely on a couple of farces written by Plautus, the Roman playwright. It involves slaves, soldiers, eunuchs, courtesans and noblemen in a farce of mistaken identities, unfortunate timing and competing love interests. The number "Comedy Tonight" is among the more emblematic show openers in musical-theater history.

Boehlke watched a few minutes of rehearsal, chuckling like a proud grandpa.

"It's so absurd," he said.