By AARON KRAUSE

For years, Plays of Wilton (POW) has wanted to produce free outdoor theater for South Florida residents and visitors. That dream by POW, a Wilton Manors-based nonprofit organization, has become a reality thanks to funding from the Warten Foundation and support from the City of Wilton Manors.

POW! in the Park’s inaugural production of the uproarious Stephen Sondheim/Burt Shevelove/Larry Gelbart musical classic, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, will open at 7 p.m. Friday, March 7. The production will take place at Mickel Park, 2675 N.W. 7^th Ave. in Wilton Manors. Performances will start at 7 p.m. and run from March 7 to 9 and March 14-16. While admission is free, POW will welcome donations. In addition, people who wish to attend must register on Pow! In the Park’s website. You can find it at www.powinthepark.com. Concessions will be available and people are welcome to bring food. POW has 100 chairs available on a first come/first serve basis, but POW encourages patrons to bring their own lawn chairs or blankets. While there is no limit to the number of tickets available for each performance, POW is hoping for 300 people per performance.

“We have literally been working on this for years. We’re so excited,” said Chris Caputo. He is Wilton Manors’ vice mayor and a POW board member. “Thanks to the incredible generosity of The Warten Foundation and a strong partnership between the City of Wilton Manors and POW, this long-held dream of bringing free, outdoor theater to our community is finally happening. And what better way to launch this tradition than with the classic, ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’. It is “a show full of laughter, music, and the legendary work of Stephen Sondheim.”

The musical runs about two hours including a 15-minute intermission.

“I am proud to support live theater in our beautiful park,” Wilton Manors Mayor Scott Newton said. “The arts are a vital part of our community, bringing people together, enriching our culture, and providing a space for creativity to thrive.”

POW’s artistic director, Ronnie Larsen, who is directing the production, is excited as well.

“Wilton Manors is like no other city on Earth, with amazing public parks and venues just waiting for live theatrical productions,” says Larsen. He is a Wilton Manors-based producer, director, actor, and playwright. “This partnership with the City of Wilton Manors and The Warten Foundation is a dream team and we can’t wait to get started.”

Actually, they have already gotten started. Rehearsals are under way. And, as of late this week, patrons have reserved a little more than 800 tickets.

Forum is among the funniest musical comedies ever written. As a matter of fact, this family-oriented musical has been delighting audiences of all ages for many decades.

“Sondheim’s joyous, musical romp through Rome has desperate lovers, scheming neighbors, and secrets behind every Toga,” reads information on the show licensor’s website, https://www.mtishows.com. The musical “takes comedy back to its roots, combining situations from time-tested, 2,000-year-old comedies of Roman playwright, Plautus, with the infectious energy of classic vaudeville.” The musical is a “nonstop laughfest.” In it, Pseudolus, a crafty slave, struggles to win the hand of a beautiful, but slow-witted courtesan named Philia for his young master, Hero, in exchange for freedom. Expect plot twists and turns, mistaken identity, slamming doors and a showgirl or two.

The show’s musical numbers include the rousing opening song, “Comedy Tonight.” Well-known stars such as Zero Mostel (who played Pseudolus) have appeared in past productions of the musical.

POW’s cast stars four-time Carbonell Award winning South Florida performer Lourelene Snedeker as Pseudolus. In addition, the production will feature Ana Marie Calise as Marcus Lycus, Mark Erson as Erroneous, Michael Gillespie as Philia, Irma Gloria as Miles Gloriosus, Brian Piedra as Hero, Sharyn Peoples as Domina, Rick Prada as Senex, and Michael H. Small as Hysterium. Also, Krystal Bly, Gianni Palermo, Nicole Hulett, Scott Jordan, Lisa Lowe, and Lin Joy Luber are ensemble members.

POW! In the Park’s inspiration is theater icon Joe Papp’s Public Theater in New York City. For more than 60 years, it has operated on the principles that live theater is an essential cultural force and that art and culture belong to everyone.

Papp (1921-1991), founded the New York Shakespeare Festival (now called Shakespeare in the Park) in 1954 with the aim of making Shakespeare‘s works accessible to the public. In 1957 he was granted the use of Central Park for free productions of Shakespeare’s plays. These Shakespeare in the Park productions continue after his death at the open-air Delacorte Theatre every summer in Central Park. Papp spent much of his career promoting his idea of free Shakespeare in New York City.^[

Joseph M. Guidetti, associate producer of POW and POW! In the Park, said POW will not have to spend any of its own money to mount A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Indeed, the $100,000 from the Warten Foundation will cover things such as actors’ salary, sets, props, sound, lighting, and marketing. The Warten Foundation is a private foundation in Boca Raton. It primarily funds unrestricted performing arts and religious related donations and operating grants.

“It’s just amazing,” Guidetti said of the support POW has received from the foundation and City of Wilton Manors.

While the production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum marks the beginning of POW! In the Park, the project will not end there. In fact, POW is planning to mount three free outdoor productions a year in Wilton Manors. POW will explore future funding options. If you would like to help with future funding, send an email to RonnieLarsenPresents@gmail.com. For now, in addition to its production of Forum, POW is planning to produce the Rodgers and Hammerstein beloved classic The Sound of Music in Wilton Manors’ Richardson Park.

Since POW’s founding in 2020, the nonprofit organization (www.playsofwilton.com) has produced 13 world premiere productions. POW’s primary home is the Foundry. It is an intimate black box theater space on North Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. The Foundry is adjacent to Island City Stage (https://www.islandcitystage.org). ICS is a professional theater company. It is committed to sharing stories of universal interest engaging diverse audiences with entertaining, challenging, and inspiring productions and programs, often exploring the LGBTQ+ culture.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: POW! In the Park’s production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

WHEN: March 7-16, with 7 p.m. performances on March 7, 8, 9, 14,15 and 16.

WHERE: Mickel Park, 2675 N.W. 7^th Ave. in Wilton Manors

TICKETS: Admission is free, but you must register at www.powinthepark.com.