Final act ‘Funny Thing Happened’ goes on despite uncertain future of UMaine theater program

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Tom Mikotowicz is sitting in the back row of Hauck Auditorium at the University of Maine. He has on a tuxedo, a bow tie, his best watch. His eyes are darting through the faces filling the hall for a performance of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” the winter musical offering by the School of Performing Arts.

Supporters stroll by his seat to say “break a leg” – the theater world’s superstitious version of “good luck.” When the lights go down, Mikotowicz squirms in his seat. When the audience breaks into its first of many rounds of laughter, he leans forward to Jennifer Benson, the assistant director who is sitting in front of Mikotowicz, and titters: “They got it. They got it.”

Since autumn, Mikotowicz has been working with Lud Hallman of the music department and Ann Ross of the dance division, as well as more than 100 students to mount the annual musical. “Forum,” which was written by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, is a big production, a comedy based on the works of the Greek writer Platus and set in a modernized version of Rome. It opened in New York on 1962 with Zero Mostel and became a movie, also with Mostel, in 1966.

“Make like you are stooges,” was one of Mikotowicz’s directives to students during rehearsal. “It’s OK if you ad lib, bump here, bump there, bump on your way up the aisle. These jokes are so bad you can’t give the audience a chance to think about them. It’s like the Marx Brothers. It has to move fast.”

All of these cast members know something about timing. That is to say, they realize time may be waning for the entire theater program. Since autumn, the theater division has been under administrative review, a process that could result in the suspension or elimination of the program. It could also result in the improvement of the existing program.

According to university spokesman Joe Carr, the study, which is in response to an outside review that criticized the organization and management of the department, is complete. The report is in the final stages of preparation but the fate of the program is still in limbo. Carr gave no date for when the findings would be revealed but administrators previously said a decision might be made by spring.

“I am very hopeful,” said Mikotowicz, who has taught at UM for 14 years. “I think good things will come out of this report. We definitely need resources – a scenic designer and solid budgets. But it’s a good faculty.”

In another conversation, however, Mikotowicz revealed his own anxiety about the future. He was describing the process of choosing “Forum” and said he had originally wanted to do Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro.” But the budget, which had been sliced nearly in half, was not sufficient to fund a full-scale, opulent opera.

“We will definitely do it sometime,” said Mikotowicz and then he hesitated. “If we can. If we’re still here three months from now. ” He paused again and added, “That’s a delicate way to put it.”

Then he continued: “Personally, I have certainly had to deal with this. Professionally, I feel if they close the department, it’s a colossal mistake. I feel like I’ve transformed in my personal life and in my professional life. I’m in my prime now, and I think we have a strong department. In the scheme of New England theater departments, this faculty compares well. Maine needs the arts, and we certainly improve the environment of central Maine. If a solid academic program is removed, students will go with it.”

Last month before an evening rehearsal, cast members from “Forum” gathered in Hauck to discuss working vigorously, if not vociferously, on the show with the specter of collapse hovering in the wings. For some, who witnessed budget trims to arts education in the 1980s and 1990s, the situation at UM is reminiscent of muddied high school politics. For others, the state of affairs is a spur in their side, one that makes them work more fiercely than ever.

“I’m proud to be in this show,” said Brad Fillion, a senior theater major cast in the Mostel lead. “I don’t want to stick it in anyone’s face but I really want to put on a good show. And I’d like to see President Hoff at the show, too.”

President Hoff was not in the audience opening night, but Fillion, along with the rest of the cast, did put on a good show. Hauck was rowdy that night. Frat brothers were there. Parents were there. Classmates, neighbors, fans. The actors had a clear sense of mission and could sniff the aroma of success wafting their way. In time, they hoped, their talents and hard work would pay off.

The evening began early with the arrival of a camera crew to film a live plug on the evening news. As the actors applied layers of makeup and fitted tufty wigs in the dressing room, Mikotowicz gave notes, calling each student by his or her character’s name. “Soldiers, can you be more mechanical tonight?” he asked. “Hysterium, your veil is a mess. Eunichs, if you can get someone from the audience to go onstage with you, do it. And if they’ve got money, take it.” The cast cheered at the joke.

Mikotowicz consulted with several backstage hands and dashed to the front of the theater to check the box office. Was he getting nervous?

“Yes and no,” he said making his way through the empty auditorium. “I’ve been doing this for so many years. I don’t really get nervous. But I do have concerns.” He poked open the theater door and looked into the lobby where, 45 minutes before the show was to open, lines had already formed at the box office.

“There’s a crowd out there,” he said with a combination of pride and surprise. “I’m flabbergasted. They’re lined up for a musical.”

Then one of Mikotowicz’s assistants brought the news that the programs were nowhere to be found. Aghast, Mikotowicz sprinted to the school’s office, hoisted two boxes of programs, and delivered them to the lobby. It was time to open the house and Mikotowicz took his seat in the back row. “In they come,” he said, rubbing his hands together. He pointed out Laura Hicks, interim chair of the department and a last-minute helper with painting the set. He pointed out old friends, former students, his 15-year-old daughter, his former wife. Sandra Hardy, another professor in the department, shook his hand. “Who’s that handsome man?” she said amiably.

It was fifteen minutes before show time. Mikotowicz went backstage to the green room, where the cast was listening to the audience buzz on a PA system. The director climbed onto a chair.

“Everybody! We’re running out of time. Quiet, please!” Mikotowicz shouted. “All right. This is it. Opening night. You’ve got a great crowd out there. We don’t want anything fancy. Just go out there and do what we’ve been training to do. I’d like to say something witty and Latin to you. But I ended up fielding phone calls all day. So: Break a leg. Let’s give them one helluva show.”

As Mikotowicz walked away from the room shaking hands and patting backs, he said, “Wow, they are gung ho. This is why they do it.”

When the lights went down, Mikotowicz whispered: “Ah, here we go.” And there, in the spotlight, was Fillion, who opens the show. Mikotowicz’s chest was heaving.

“Playgoers, I bid you welcome!” Fillion began. “The theater is a temple and we are here to worship the gods of comedy and tragedy.”

At intermission, Mikotowicz zipped back to the green room. “Good work. Good solid work. Keep it up,” he said to the cast, which was hyper and smiling.

When the show ended, the audience rewarded the performance with giddy applause. Mikotowicz stood at the door and shook hands with grateful patrons. It was like a receiving line after an athletic match: “Excellent!” ” Bravo!” “Really fun!”

“I smell a hit,” Mikotowicz said when he finally made his way backstage. “You guys were awesome.” And he let out a bodacious breath: “I’m glad it’s over.”

But it’s not over, of course. Not the play (which runs through Sunday). Not the theater division (not yet anyway).

In the classroom, Mikotowicz likes to talk about theater as a mirror for the values and goals of a society. You can read a culture by the plays it puts on, he says. If that’s true, the cast for “Forum” is screaming that it wants this experience.

The same philosophy might apply to an educational system, as well. In the next months, the university will reflect the values and goals of its mission.

“Even Aristotle said performance is intrinsic to human behavior. It’s part of our psychology,” said Mikotowicz. “It’s difficult to be in this holding pattern. I just speak for myself, of course, but I want to know what the commitment is to the program. The arts may have to go temporarily but over all the arts are part of our being. We need to have that on campus or we become a meat and potatoes culture concerned only with commerce and not the basic necessities of life.”

The University of Maine School of Performing Arts and Maine Masque will present “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21-23, and 2 p.m. Feb. 24 at Hauck Auditorium. For information, call 581-1755.