A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Based on the comedies of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus, it tells the story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by encouraging the romance between his master's son Hero and a young virgin named Philia who is owned by Marcus Lycus, a dealer in courtesans, and promised to a swaggering soldier named Miles Gloriosus. The humor is broad and bawdy and fast-paced.

Sondheim's score was coolly received when "Forum" opened on Broadway on May 8, 1962 at the Alvin Theatre, and was not even nominated for a Tony Award even though the show won the award for Best Musical. Starring Zero Mostel[?], Jack Gilford[?], David Burns, Ruth Kobart, and John Carradine, the original production was directed by Broadway legend George Abbott.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum was made into a film in 1966 with Mostel, Gilford, Buster Keaton, and Phil Silvers[?] (who also starred in a critically well-received Broadway revival in 1972). It was also revived with great success in 1996 with Nathan Lane[?] as Pseudolus, replaced later in the run by Whoopi Goldberg.