OCCC’s Theater Department and Music Department are holding auditions for the musical, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”

Auditions will take place at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 and 7 in the Bruce Owen Theater.

“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” is a comedic musical written by Stephen Sondheim, and is based off of Roman comedy, said Theater Professor Brent Noel.

“The plot involves a lot of intrigue and deception, and long-lost daughters and stuff like that,” Noel said. “It’s a very complex plot.”

The musical will be staged at 7:30 p.m. on April 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, and 14 in the Bruce Owen Theater.

Auditions are open to anyone who is interested, though applicants will need to prepare a short musical sample roughly 16 bars long to sing on Monday, and a one- to two-minute long comedic monologue for Tuesday.

“Be prepared to dance,” Noel said.

Noel said there will be an accompanist available on Monday if needed for the audition.

He said the musical is like a two-hour long sitcom, that feels like a combination of “Married with Children,” “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “The Jeffersons.”

The musical resembles “Fawlty Towers,” — a British sitcom involving a man who runs everything and tries to keep everything under control athough it is falling apart around him, Noel said.

There are numerous characters in the musical with a large variety of personalities.

The main character Pseudolus is a Roman slave who is trying to earn his freedom by any means. By getting his master married to the girl next door, he will achieve his freedom, though everything has to happen in a certain way.

Hero is the young master of Pseudolus, and has fallen in love with Philia, a courtesan who lives next door.

Philia is a courtesan belonging to Marcus Lycus, who has been promised to Miles Gloriosus, though she falls in love with Hero.

Noel said that he is looking for high-energy people for the production.

For more information, email Noel at bnoel@occc.edu.

To contact Robert Bolton, email communitywriter@occc.edu.