Gad, Parsons to Star in Broadway Revival of Sondheim's A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM?

By: Aug. 08, 2014
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As BWW reported earlier this week, James Corden appears to be the frontrunner to replace exiting LATE LATE SHOW host Craig Ferguson on CBS. Network bigwig Les Moonves confirmed that the Tony winner is indeed one of the names in strong contention for the gig.

While that means good news for late night television audiences, it strikes a blow to the producers of the planned Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," in which Corden was to star.

According to The New York Post's Michael Riedel, Corden was given the proverbial "offer he couldn't refuse" from CBS, and will receive a hefty $28 million over four years as host of the late night talker. Backing out of the 'Forum' deal could be a sticky situation for the UK comic, who just recently worked closely with Sondheim on the highly anticipated big screen adaptation of the composer's 'Into the Woods,' in which he takes on the role of 'The Baker'.

The question now remains, who will take over the starring role of Roman slave 'Pseudolus' in the Broadway-bound production, to be helmed by Rocky's Alex Timbers next spring?

According to Riedel's report, it appears that the powers that be may be looking to well-known TV stars, including 'Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons (who just committed to staying with the CBS comedy through the 2016-17 season for a whopping $1 million per episode!) and 'Modern Family' star Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Also on the list is 'Book of Mormon' star and Tony nominee Josh Gad, who may open the show in April before passing the paton on to Parsons or Ferguson for the summer months.

A source reveals, "Everything's up in the air. The good thing is that a lot of great people would love to play the role because it's so much fun. We might end up doing three-month stints with a lot of different actors."

Who would you like to see in the lead? Tell us in the comments below!

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos



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