A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

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Revival Cast Recording
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Image:A-Funny-Thing-Happened-on-the-Way-to-the-Forum.jpg
Music	Stephen Sondheim
Lyrics	Stephen Sondheim
Book	Burt Shevelove Larry Gelbart
Productions	1962 Broadway 1963 West End 1972 Broadway 1986 West End 1996 Broadway 2004 West End
Awards	Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award for Best Book

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.

1 Productions
2 Plot
3 Characters
4 Songs
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Productions

[edit] 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 (allegedly because he would have to perform onstage without his glasses, and his vision was so poor, he feared tripping into the orchestra pit). 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.

[edit] Motion Picture

Main article: 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.

[edit] 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), and "Farewell" (sung by Domina as she and Senex depart for the country).

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.

[edit] 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.)

[edit] Plot

The musical centers around the denizens of three adjacent houses in ancient Rome. In the center is the house of Senex, who lives there with wife Domina, son Hero and several slaves, including head slave Hysterium and the musical's main character Pseudolus, who wishes to buy, win, or steal his freedom. He is the slave of young Hero, son of Senex and Domina. One of the neighboring houses is a brothel run by Marcus Lycus; the other houses the ancient Erronius, who is searching for his long-lost children (stolen in infancy by pirates).

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. Pseudolus promises to help him win Philia's love in exchange for his freedom. Unfortunately (as the two find out when they visit the business), Philia has been promised to a pre-eminent soldier, Captain Miles Gloriosus, who is on his way to pick up his prize. Pseudolus, an excellent liar, uses her cheery disposition to convince Lycus that she has picked up a plague from Crete, which causes its victims to smile endlessly in its terminal stages. By offering to isolate her in Senex's house, he is able to put Philia and Hero together, and the two fall in love. Erronius also makes one of his sporadic appearances, revealing that his children both wear a ring depicting a gaggle of geese.

Events quickly accumulate: Philia falls in love with Hero, Miles arrives, Pseudolus hides Philia to prevent her from going with her new master, Senex and Domina return from their trip early, Pseudolus pretends to be Lycus to Miles Gloriosus, and finally convinces Hysterium to help him by dressing in drag and pretending to be Philia, now "dead" from the plague. Unfortunately, Miles Gloriosus has been stationed in Crete, and—with the ruse revealed—the main characters run for their lives, resulting in a madcap chase across the stage. Unfortunately, Miles' troops are able to round up everyone, but Erronius returns bearing a deus ex machina: both Miles and Philia are wearing the gaggle-of-geese rings, making them not only his children but siblings. Philia weds Hero, Pseudolus gets his freedom, Erronius gets his children, and a general happy ending prevails.

[edit] 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 jingling, bell-wearing courtesan in the house of Lycus.
Vibrata – A wild, vibrant 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).

[edit] 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 "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.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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

Awards
Preceded by How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying	Tony Award for Best Musical 1963	Succeeded by Hello, Dolly!
Preceded by How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, Willie Gilbert	Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical 1963 by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart	Succeeded by Hello, Dolly! by Michael Stewart