Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Burt Shevelove
based on the comedies of Plautus
June 1-24, 2023
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED
ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM
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“A new Forum.” – Richard Green, Talkin’ Broadway
“Still dazzlingly funny!” – Steve Callahan, KDHX
“A crescendo of complete hilarity. . . downright madcap” – James Lindhorst, BroadwayWorld
“Hilarious and downright entertaining.”– Mark Bretz, Ladue News
“Goofy comedy and great singing.” – Michelle Kenyon, Snoop’s Theatre Thoughts
“Wild and crazy joy.” – Bob Wilcox, Two on the Aisle
“Still dazzlingly funny!” – Steve Callahan, KDHX
“A crescendo of complete hilarity. . . downright madcap” – James Lindhorst, BroadwayWorld
“Hilarious and downright entertaining.”– Mark Bretz, Ladue News
“Goofy comedy and great singing.” – Michelle Kenyon, Snoop’s Theatre Thoughts
“Wild and crazy joy.” – Bob Wilcox, Two on the Aisle
Something that's Naughty,
Something that's Bawdy,
Something for Everybawdy!
Master songwriter Stephen Sondheim at his wittiest and most playful!
To close New Line's 31st season, Sondheim and comic playwright and screenwriter Burt Shevelove take the classical Roman comedies of Plautus, mash them up with American vaudeville, and the result is one of the great musical farces of all time, every bit as smart and subversive as Sondheim’s later shows. Be a part of this next New Line adventure by becoming a Contributing Producer! Just click that huge button above!
In 1962, this show satirized America’s hang-ups about sex at the beginning of the Sexual Revolution; today, the show bumps up against lots of complicated questions we’ve all been asking lately, about sex, gender, and more.
FORUM was nominated for eight Tony Awards and won six, including Best Musical, Best Producer, Best Book, and Best Director. There have been multiple Broadway revivals, in 1972 with Phil Silvers, and 1996 with Nathan Lane, and later in that run, Whoopi Goldberg. All three actors who have opened in the role of Pseudolus on Broadway have won Best Actor Tony Awards. On top of that, Jason Alexander played the role in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, and he also won a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical.
The music critic for The New York Times, Anthony Tommasini, wrote about the show, “For all the talk of Forum harking back to the days of good, clean farce, theatrically it is an experimental work. It completely subverts the heritage of what is called the book show, handed down by Rodgers and Hammerstein, where the songs emerge from the plot. In Forum, the songs purposely interrupt the farcical plot, giving the audience a needed break from the madcap hysterics.”
The New Line cast will include Kent Coffel (Pseudolus), Chris Moore (Hysterium), Ian McCreary (Hero), Sarah Wilkinson (Philia), Robert Doyle (Senex), Ann Hier Brown (Domina), Jason Blackburn (Marcus Lycus), Danny Brown (Miles Gloriosus), and Nathan Hakenewerth, Brittany Kohl Hester, and Aarin Kamphoefner as the Proteans. The New Line production will be directed by Scott Miller and Chris Kernan, with choreography by Kernan, music direction by Joe Simpson, costume design by Eileen Engel, scenic design by Rob Lippert, lighting design by Matt Stuckel, and sound design by Ryan Day.
Stephen Sondheim was an honorary member of the New Line board for almost thirty years, and he was a regular New Line donor before his recent death. New Line has produced seven other Sondheim musicals over the years.
Forum is produced by arrangement with Music Theatre International, New York.
Want to explore more?
We recommend:
The 1962 Original Broadway cast recording, the published script, the piano-vocal selections, and the full piano score
Director Scott Miller's blog, "The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre" about New Line's creative process.
Two of Plautus' plays that Forum is based on, Pseudolus and Miles Gloriosus.
The book Sondheim used as a reference while he wrote the show, Daily Life in Ancient Rome: The People and the City at the Height of the Empire, by Jérôme Carcopino
The HBO series Rome, and the Netflix series Roman Empire
The excellent book Roman Laughter: The Comedy of Plautus by Erich Segal
And check out the Stephen Sondheim Reference Guide online for more info about Sondheim, Forum, and his other shows.
TICKET INFO
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM runs June 1-24, 2023, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, all at 8:00 p.m., at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, three blocks east of Grand, in the Grand Center Arts District. June 1 is a preview.
Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students/seniors on Thursdays; and $30 for adults and $25 for students/seniors on Fridays and Saturdays. To charge tickets by phone, call MetroTix at 314-534-1111 or visit the Fox Theatre box office or the MetroTix website.
DISCOUNTS: HIGH SCHOOL DISCOUNT: Any high school student with a valid school ID can get a $10 ticket for any performance, with the code word, posted only on New Line's Facebook page. COLLEGE FREE SEATS: Ten free seats for every performance, open to any college student with a valid student ID. EDUCATORS DISCOUNT: New Line offers all currently employed educators half price tickets on any Thursday night, with work ID or other proof of employment. MILITARY DISCOUNT: New Line offers all active duty military personnel half price tickets on any Thursday night, with ID or other proof of active duty status.
All offers not valid in connection with other discounts or offers, available only at the door, and subject to availability. All programs subject to change. New Line Theatre receives funding from the Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council.
