Rip Taylor, the king of confetti comedy, will be replacing Jo Anne Worley (of "Laugh In" fame) as Pseudolus in the Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum tour -- the role he was scheduled to play in the first place.
Worley and the tour producers, Park Avenue Theatrical Group, recently decided to mutually terminate her contract due to travel complications for Worley's pets. According to a press release from the State Theatre of New Brunswick [NJ], Worley's contract for the tour specified that travel arrangements for her two small dogs were to be made, so they could accompany her for the national tour.
Due to airline policies, the producers were unable to secure two seats, in the passenger section next to Worley, for her finicky canines. The portable kennels wouldn't fit under the seats in front of Worley, and she was unwilling to have the dogs fly in the animal cargo section of the airplane. After attempting to make arrangements with several airlines, with the producers investigating the costs of chartering a flight for Worley and her canine entourage, the only solution possible was to terminate the contract.
It seems a strange twist of fate for the Forum tour, considering that in July it was announced Worley was replacing Taylor, who was originally announced as the tour's star. Michael Vergoff of Big League Theatricals, which is handling the tour, said Taylor had opted for another offer a few months ago.
Following are the Forum tour dates through the end of the year. All dates are subject to change. Oct. 11, 1998: Bloomsburg, PA
Oct. 13: Erie, PA
Oct 14-15: Penn State University, State College, PA
Oct. 16: Schenectady, NY
Oct. 17: New London, CT
Oct. 18: Binghamton, NY
Oct. 20-21: Utica, NY
Oct. 22: Wilkes-Barre, PA
Oct. 23: Akron, OH
Oct. 24: Tiffin, OH
Oct. 25: West Lafayette, IN
Oct. 27-Nov. 1: East Lansing, MI
Nov. 4-5: Elkhart, IN
Nov. 6-8: Kalamazoo, MI
Nov. 10: Owensboro, KY
Nov. 12-13: Clinton Township, MI
Nov. 14: Sandusky, OH
Nov. 15: Benton Harbor, MI
Nov. 17-22: Green Bay, WI
Nov. 23: Whitewater, WI
Nov. 27-29: Fayetteville, AR
Dec. 1: Baton Rouge, LA
Dec. 2: Cleveland, MS
Dec. 3: Mobile, AL
Dec. 4-6: Birmingham, AL
Dec. 8: Roanoke, VA
Dec. 10: Savannah, GA
Dec. 11: Charleston, SC
Dec. 12-13: Myrtle Beach, SC
The Broadway revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum closed Jan. 4, 1998 after 36 previews and 715 performances at the St. James Theatre. The revival, which saw Nathan Lane's return to Broadway, went on to star Goldberg, David Alan Grier and Bob Amaral. Jerry Zaks directed.
