Theatre Register
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Shows · A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

In ancient Rome, the cunning slave Pseudolus schemes to win his freedom by helping his young master Hero win the beautiful courtesan Philia, who has been promised to a braggart warrior. Through a series of increasingly frantic deceptions involving mistaken identities, a domineering wife, and a lecherous old neighbor, Pseudolus outwits everyone and earns his liberty.

Opened
1962
Performances
964
Type
Musical
Era
Golden Age
Music: Stephen SondheimLyrics: Stephen SondheimBook: Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart

Licensing 1 entry

US Music Theatre International A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum matched on title alone — a lead, not a confirmed licensor

Read from the licensor's own pages and catalogues. Rights move, and an empty row means we have not confirmed a publisher, not that the show cannot be licensed.

In the literature5 passages

This was the first Broadway show for which Sondheim wrote both music and lyrics. book:historical-dictionary-of-the-broadway-musical-volume-22-william-a-everett-paul-r#p159

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum returned to Broadway in 1996 with Nathan Lane as Pseudolus; Whoopi Goldberg took over the lead role during the run. book:cambridge-companion-to-the-musical-cambridge-companions-to-music-the-the-cambrid#p432

Abbott directed the musical farce, the first Broadway show with both music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. book:the-abbott-touch-thomas-hischak-2023-bloomsbury-publishing#p130

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM 964 performances Opened May 8, 1962; Closed August 29, 1964 book:theatre-world-2003-04-season-v-60-willis#p295

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (REVIVAL) 715 performances Opened April 18, 1996; Closed January 4, 1998 book:theatre-world-2003-04-season-v-60-willis#p299

Passages naming this show, found by keyword across 178 books. Where this show turns up in the literature, not curated trivia about it.

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