A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart
Based on plays by Titus Maccius Plautus
The Notion
"The time: Two hundred years before the Christian era, on a day in spring. The place: A street in Rome in front of the houses of Lycus, a venal brothel-keeper; Senex, a lecherous patrician; and Erronius, a befuddled old man. The plot revolves around the efforts of Pseudolus, a conniving slave, to gain his freedom by solving his young master's love life, and the complications that ensue."
- Stephen Sondheim in Finishing the Hat -Â
Songs
Act One
Overture
Comedy Tonight
Love, I Hear
Free
Lovely
Pretty Little Picture
Everybody Ought to Have a Maid
I'm Calm
Impossible
Bring Me My Bride
Act Two
That Dirty Old Man
That'll Show Him
Lovely (Reprise)
Funeral Sequence
Finale
Cut Songs
Invocation / Forget War (replaced with "Love Is in the Air")
Love Is in the Air (replaced with Comedy Tonight)
The Window Across the Way (replaced with "Love, I Hear")
Free [first version] (replaced with new version)
The House of Marcus Lycus (restored for 1996 Broadway revival)
Your Eyes Are Blue (replaced with "Lovely")
I Do Like You
There's Something About a War (replaced with "Bring Me My Bride")
Miles Gloriosus
Echo Song (replaced with "That'll Show Him")
The Gaggle of Geese
Take the Acorn
What Do You Do with a Woman?
Other Songs
Farewell (written for the 1971 production in Los Angeles)
Albums
Non-English Albums
1962 Mexican Cast
Unavailable to stream
Video
The following are unofficial video recordings, and as such, they are subject to being taken down at any time. Not all videos are the complete show.
Productions & Casts
Awards
1962 Original Broadway Production
Other winners:
Anna Quayle: Tony Award for Featured Actress (Stop the World - I Want to Get Off)
Richard Rodgers: Grammy Award for Best Original Cast Show Album (No Strings)
Tony Awards
8 Nominations
6 Wins
1966 Movie
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming won the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture
Academy Awards
1 Nomination
1 Wins
1972 Broadway Revival
Harold Prince & Michael Bennett won the Tony Award for Direction (Follies)
Tony Awards
3 Nominations
2 Wins
1991 Off-Broadway Revival
Bruce Adler won the Drama Desk Award for Featured Actor (Those Were the Days)
1996 Broadway Revival
Other winners:
The King and I: Tony & Drama Desk Awards for Best Revival of a Musical
A Delicate Balance: Drama League Award for Best Revival
George C. Wolfe: Tony Award for Direction (Bring In 'da Noise, Bring In 'da Funk)
Wilson Jermaine Heredia: Tony Award for Featured Actor (Rent)
Bill Whelan: Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album (Riverdance)
Tony Awards
4 Nominations
1 Win
2004 London Revival
Other winners:
Grand Hotel: Olivier Award for Best Revival of a Musical
The Producers: Evening Standard Award for Best Musical
Olivier Awards
1 Nomination
0 Wins
Awards from All Productions
Tony Awards: 9 wins from 15 nominations
Laurence Olivier Awards: 0 wins from 1 nomination
Drama Desk Awards: 1 win from 3 nominations
Drama League Awards: 0 wins from 1 nomination
Evening Standard Awards: 0 wins from 1 nomination
Outer Critics Circle Awards: 3 wins from 3 nominations
Academy Awards: 1 win from 1 nomination
Golden Globe Awards: 0 wins from 1 nomination
Grammy Awards: 0 wins from 2 nominations