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A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum

A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum
A-Funny-Thing-Happened-on-the-Way-to-the-Forum.jpg
Revival Cast Recording
Music Stephen Sondheim
Lyrics Stephen Sondheim
Book Burt Shevelove
Larry Gelbart
Productions 1962 Broadway
1963 West End
1966 film
1972 Broadway
1986 West End
1996 Broadway
2004 Royal National Theatre
2009 Hong Kong
2009 Stratford Shakespeare Festival
2012 Melbourne
Awards Tony Award for Best Musical
Tony Award for Best Author (Musical)

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart.

Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (251–183 BC), specifically Pseudolus, Miles Gloriosus, and Mostellaria, the musical 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, the slamming of doors, cases of mistaken identity (frequently involving characters disguising themselves as one another), and satirical comments on social class. The title derives from a line often used by vaudeville comedians to begin a story: "A funny thing happened on the way to the theater".

The musical's original 1962 Broadway run won several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Author (Musical). A Funny Thing has enjoyed several Broadway and West End revivals and was made into a successful film starring the original lead of the musical, Zero Mostel.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opened on Broadway on May 8, 1962, at the Alvin Theatre, and then transferred to the Mark Hellinger Theatre and the Majestic Theatre, where the show closed on August 29, 1964, after 964 performances and 8 previews.


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