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'''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart.
Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (251-183 B.C.), it tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. The plot displays many classic elements of farce, including puns, a two-tiered set with many doors, cases of mistaken identity (frequently involving characters disguising themselves as one another), and satirical comments on social class.

Contents

Productions

Original Broadway Production

Motion Picture

Broadway Revivals

West End Productions

Plot

Characters

Songs

References

External links

Productions

Original Broadway Production

''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' opened on Broadway May 8 1962 at the Alvin Theatre. Directed by Broadway legend George Abbott and produced by Harold Prince, it ran 964 performances.
The show's creators originally wanted Phil Silvers in the lead role of Pseudolus, but he turned them down. So did Milton Berle. Eventually, Zero Mostel was cast.
Out of town during pre-Broadway tryouts, the show was attracting little business and not playing well. Director and choreographer Jerome Robbins was called in by Abbott and Prince to give advice and make changes. The biggest change Robbins demanded was a new opening number to introduce the show as a bawdy, wild comedy; Stephen Sondheim complied, creating the song "Comedy Tonight." From that point on, the show was a success.
Along with Mostel, the musical featured a cast of seasoned performers, including Jack Gilford (Mostel's friend and fellow blacklist member), David Burns, John Carradine, Ruth Kobart and Raymond Walburn. The young lovers were played by Brian Davies and Preshy Marker. Karen Black, originally cast as the ingenue, was replaced out of town.
The show won several Tony Awards: best musical, best actor, best supporting actor (Burns), best book, and best director. The score, Sondheim's first time on Broadway writing both words and music, was coolly received, however, not even garnering a nomination.

Motion Picture

Main articles: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (film)

''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' was made into a film in 1966, directed by Richard Lester, with Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford recreating their stage roles.

Broadway Revivals

In 1972 there was a critically well-received Broadway revival, directed by co-author Burt Shevelove and finally starring Phil Silvers. Larry Blyden, who played Hysterium, the role created by Jack Gilford, also co-produced. Two songs were dropped from the show, and two new Sondheim songs were added. The new songs included in this production had been added during a 1971 Los Angeles production: "Echo Song" (sung by Hero and Philia), "Farewell" (sung by Domina).
The production ran 156 performances, but had to close soon after Phil Silvers suffered a stroke. The show won Tonys for Silvers and Blyden.
The musical was also revived with great success in 1996, starring Nathan Lane as Pseudolus; he was replaced later in the run by Whoopi Goldberg and also by David Alan Grier. The production, directed by Jerry Zaks, ran 715 performances. Lane won the Best Actor Tony for his work.
Every actor who has opened in the role of Pseudolus on Broadway--Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers and Nathan Lane--won a Best Actor Tony. In addition, Jason Alexander, who performed as Pseudolus in one scene in Jerome Robbins' Broadway, also won a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical.

West End Productions

The show was presented thrice in London's West End. The 1963 production and its 1986 revival were staged at the Strand Theatre and the Piccadilly Theatre respectively, and featured Frankie Howerd starring as Pseudolus. In 2004 there was a limited-run revival at the Royal National Theatre starring Desmond Barrit as Pseudolus, Philip Quast as Miles Gloriosus, and Isla Blair as Domina (who had previously played Philia in the 1963 production.)

Plot

Pseudolus, a slave in ancient Rome, wishes to buy, win, or steal his freedom. He is the slave of young Hero, son of Senex and Domina. The chief household slave is the nervous Hysterium. Erroneous, an elderly neighbor, is searching for his long-lost children. One day, Senex and Domina go on a trip and leave Pseudolus in charge of Hero. Hero confides in Pseudolus that he is in love with the lovely Philia, one of the courtesans in the brothel next door. Hero promises Pseudolus his freedom if he can help him to win Philia's love. Pseudolus is friends with the brothel owner, Marcus Lycus, but Lycus won't help because Philia has been promised to an egotistical soldier, Captain Miles Gloriosus, who is on his way to pick up his prize. Hysterium also refuses to help because he just wants to maintain the status quo and not upset his masters. Events quickly accumulate: Hero and Philia fall in love, Miles arrives and Philia refuses to go with him, Senex and Domina return from their trip early, and Pseudolus convinces Hysterium to help him by dressing in drag. As things go wrong with Pseudolus's plans, he is forced to hatch increasingly complicated and ludicrous plans. Eventually, it is discovered that Philia is the long-lost daughter of Erronius and Miles the long-lost son - brother and sister - leaving Philia free to wed Hero and Pseudolus a free man.

Characters

★ Pseudolus – A Roman slave, owned by Hero, who seeks to win his/her freedom by helping his/her young master win the heart of Philia. While originally written as a male role, it has been performed by female cast as well.

★ Hero – Young son of Senex who falls in love with the virgin, Philia.

★ Philia – (Filia - Latin for "daughter"; also calls to mind the Greek word for "love") A virgin in the house of Marcus Lycus, and Hero's love interest.

★ Senex – (Latin for "old man," or "senile") A Roman Senator living in a less fashionable suburb of Rome.

★ Marcus Lycus – A purveyor of courtesans, who operates from the house to the left of Senex. (Since he is a con man, his name is very likely based on "likes a mark".)

★ Domina – (Latin for "mistress") The wife of Senex. A manipulative, shrewish woman who is loathed by even her husband.

★ Erronius – Senex's elderly neighbor who has spent the past twenty years searching for his two children, kidnapped in infancy by pirates.

★ Gymnasia – A courtesan from the house of Lycus with whom Pseudolus falls in love. (portrayed in the film as mute, as she hails from "the Island of Silent Women")

★ Miles Gloriosus – (Latin for "glorious soldier") A captain in the Roman army to whom Marcus Lycus has promised Philia.

★ Hysterium – The chief slave in the house of Senex.

★ Fertilla the Populator – A female "breeder slave" purchased by Senex and Domina. (film only)

★ Crassus – A merchant at the docks. (film only)

★ Tintinabula – A courtesan in the house of Lycus.

★ Vibrata – A courtesan in the house of Lycus.

★ Geminae – Twin courtesans in the house of Lycus.

★ Panacea – A courtesan in the house of Lycus.

★ Domina's Mother – Senex's overweening mother-in-law. (briefly mentioned in the play; only actually seen by the audience in the film)

★ Proteans- Literally the chorus, they play multiple roles in the play (Slaves, Citizens, Soldiers, & Eunuchs), and they accompany Pseudolus in "Comedy Tonight" (in the play, three people played all of these roles; in the movie, these parts were played by extras).

Songs

★ "Comedy Tonight" — Pseudolus and Company

★ "Love, I Hear" — Hero

★ "Free" — Pseudolus and Hero

★ "The House of Marcus Lycus" — Lycus and Pseudolus

★ "Lovely" — Philia and Hero

★ "Pretty Little Picture" — Pseudolus, Hero, and Philia

★ "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" — Pseudolus, Senex, Lycus, and Hysterium

★ "I'm Calm" — Hysterium

★ "Impossible" — Senex and Hero

★ "Bring Me My Bride" — Miles Gloriosus and Company

★ "That Dirty Old Man" — Domina

★ "That'll Show Him" — Philia

★ "Lovely" (reprise) — Pseudolus and Hysterium

★ "Funeral Sequence" — Pseudolus, Miles Gloriosus and Company

★ "Finale" — Company
Note: The songs "Love, I Hear", "Free", "The House of Marcus Lycus", "Pretty Little Picture", "I'm Calm", "Impossible", "That Dirty Old Man" and "That'll Show Him" were cut from the film.

References

★ A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum plot summary & character descriptions from StageAgent.com

★ Detailed listing of casts, cast albums and production information.

★ Information from the NODA site

External links

★ ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' at the Internet Broadway Database
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