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
Productions3 on Broadway
| 1962 | Alvin Theatre Original. May 8, 1962 · George Abbott | 964 performances · 6 Tony wins |
| 1972 | Lunt Fontanne Theatre Revival. March 30, 1972 · Stephen Sondheim | 156 performances |
| 1996 | St James Theatre Revival. April 18, 1996 · Jerry Zaks | 715 performances |
Every Broadway staging held in broadway-data, sourced to IBDB. West End runs are not yet held.
5 passages naming A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, found by keyword across 178 books. It's where this show turns up in the literature, not curated trivia about it.
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
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