A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 1962 - Articles Page 9

Bay Street Theatre presents the final production of the 2013 Mainstage Season with A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, beginning August 6 and running through September 1. The show stars Peter Scolari with Conrad John Schuck and Jackie Hoffman. The book is by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim; music direction by Ethyl Will; and directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge.

Bay Street Theatre presents the final production of the 2013 Mainstage Season with A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, beginning tonight, August 6 and running through September 1. The show stars Peter Scolari with Conrad John Schuck and Jackie Hoffman. The book is by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim; music direction by Ethyl Will; and directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge.

The MacDowell Colony will award composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim with its 54th Edward MacDowell Medal on Sunday, August 11. The MacDowell Colony, the nation's first artist residency program, has awarded the medal annually since 1960 to an individual artist who has made an outstanding contribution to his or her field. This year marks the first time a luminary has been chosen from the realm of musical theatre and Sondheim's generous offering of his talents to the stage made him a clear choice.

In a break from playing Eric Beale on the CBS television series "NCIS: Los Angeles," Barrett Foa is spending part of his summer charming audiences and a certain librarian as The Music Man, which wraps up CT Repertory Theatre's Nutmeg Series on the UConn campus.

About halfway through Jim Brochu's Saturday, June 29 performance at the Metropolitan Room of his new show Character Man, I realized I was witnessing what was probably the best cabaret show I'd seen this year, and perhaps was one of the best in my almost three years of reviewing cabaret. By the time the show ended, I had changed my mind. Not because the show fell apart in the second half, but because what Jim Brochu had created (and is opening tonight at the Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs, Florida, where it will be performed until August 11) was more than a cabaret show. Character Man is a delightful, extremely well-crafted Off-Broadway theater piece that is destined for a run that might rival his critically-acclaimed one-man Zero Mostel tribute show, Zero Hour, which played throughout the country between 2006-2012 and earned Brochu 2010 Drama Desk and Helen Hayes Awards.

Bay Street Theatre presents the final production of the 2013 Mainstage Season with A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, beginning August 6 and running through September 1. The show stars Peter Scolari with Conrad John Schuck and Jackie Hoffman. The book is by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart with lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim; music direction by Ethyl Will; and directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge.

With its sexist plot, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM is one of those shows that probably was a riot in 1962, but seems like something is lacking when presented a half century later - until the CT Repertory version running as part of the Nutmeg Summer Series. This one, thanks to some solid performances, is funny again.

Even though Colorado summers boast gorgeous weather and plenty to do outdoors, there are still several excellent productions to take advantage of that are fun for friends, family or a date night. Below is a listing of some of the highlights of for a fun-filled Colorado summer...

Today in 1962, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opened at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre), where it ran for 964 performances. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus, specifically Pseudolus, Miles Gloriosus and Mostellaria, the musical tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. The musical's original 1963 Broadway run won several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Book. A Funny Thing has enjoyed several Broadway and West End revivals and was made into a successful film starring the original lead of the musical, Zero Mostel.

Stephen Sondheim and Wynton Marsalis will collaborate on A BED AND A CHAIR: A New York Love Story, a new musical event featuring Sondheim's music arranged and performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, announced Arlene Shuler, President & CEO of New York City Center. This Encores! Special Event, directed by frequent Sondheim collaborator John Doyle, and conceived by Peter Gethers, Jack Viertel and John Doyle, will run for seven performances, November 13 - 17 at City Center. City Center's annual Gala Benefit will take place on Thursday, November 14 and will include a post-performance dinner at the Plaza Hotel.

Finks is playwright Joe Gilford's fictionalized account of his parents, Jack Gilford and Madeline Lee Gilford, and their real life experience of the blacklist. It is a tale of a scoundrel time, a time of paranoia, loyalty and betrayal, show business and show trials, told from the life of two young entertainers who, at the birth of their careers, had to confront the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). This play is about names, the naming of names, career-determining choices and finks.

Finks is playwright Joe Gilford's fictionalized account of his parents, Jack Gilford and Madeline Lee Gilford, and their real life experience of the blacklist. It is a tale of a scoundrel time, a time of paranoia, loyalty and betrayal, show business and show trials, told from the life of two young entertainers who, at the birth of their careers, had to confront the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). This play is about names, the naming of names, career-determining choices and finks.

In 1962, the original production of A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum was struggling in its off broadway try out. Audiences were not turning up and so producer Hal Prince hired director Jerome Robbins to come in and offer some advice to the creative team. Robbins biggest influence in the piece was to scrap the opening number 'Love is in the Air' and commission Stephen Sondheim to write a new uptempo tune that introduced the piece as a wild bawdy comedy. 'Comedy tonight'was born and so to the show which went on to win a number of Tony Awards including Best Musical.

Geoffrey Rush will lead John Frost's production of Sondheim's A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, which opens in Melbourne Saturday, October 27 at Her Majesty's Theatre and runs for twelve weeks. The show is directed by Simon Phillips.

According to a feature about the new UK arena touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar in the Sydney Morning Herald, Andrew Lloyd Webber reveals he would like to collaborate with Stephen Sondheim.

Ultimísimo tramo de la recta final de Follies en el Teatro Español. Dos únicas funciones para llegar a la gran (y doble) despedida. La última representación del musical, que se celebrará el próximo sábado, será el punto culminante, definitivo y definitorio, de la era de Mario Gas como máximo responsable artístico de las cuatro salas en las que se enmarca la sede cultural. Nadie dudaba del talento de los nombres que acreditan el espectáculo.

Geoffrey Rush will lead John Frost's production of Sondheim's A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM when it opens in Melbourne Saturday, October 27 at Her Majesty's Theatre. The show will be directed by Simon Phillips and will feature a cast of Australian comedy actors, according to funnything.com.au.

The Public Theater announced today that Tony Award winner Denis O'Hare has been cast as The Baker in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's beloved musical INTO THE WOODS, directed by Timothy Sheader with co-direction by Liam Steel. INTO THE WOODS will be O'Hare's Shakespeare in the Park debut. Previews begin on Monday, July 23 at the Delacorte Theater and continue for five weeks through Saturday, August 25, with an official press opening on Thursday, August 9.

Today in 1962, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opened at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre), where it ran for 964 performances. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus, specifically Pseudolus, Miles Gloriosus and Mostellaria, the musical tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. The musical's original 1963 Broadway run won several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Book. A Funny Thing has enjoyed several Broadway and West End revivals and was made into a successful film starring the original lead of the musical, Zero Mostel.

A 25th anniversary production of the imaginative, fractured-fairy tale musical "Into the Woods" by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim will be staged at the theater where Sondheim was an apprentice in 1950, Westport Country Playhouse, in Westport, CT, May 1 through May 26. Directed by Mark Lamos, the Playhouse's artistic director, the musical will open the historic theater's 82nd season. It is co-produced with Baltimore's CENTERSTAGE.

The Public Theater has announced additional casting today for the 50th Anniversary season of free Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte. David Furr (Orlando) and Stephen Spinella (Jaques) join the previously announced MacIntyre Dixon (Adam), Renee Elise Goldsberry (Celia), Omar Metwally (Oliver), and Lily Rabe (Rosalind) in Shakespeare's comedy AS YOU LIKE IT, directed by Daniel Sullivan.

The Dramatists Guild of America presents its In the Room series, broadcasting archived audio, unheard by the public since their original recording. In the Room features some of the most influential and celebrated playwrights, composers and lyricists in American theatre, sharing their insight to craft, process and personal stories behind creating some of their most celebrated work. Featured this week is a vintage interview with theatre legend Stephen Sondheim as he chats about lyrics back in 1971.

BroadwayWorld.com reported the news exclusively on January 9, 2012 and now the The Public Theater has officially announced the line-up for the 50th Anniversary Shakespeare in the Park season at the Delacorte. Daniel Sullivan, who directed acclaimed productions of All's Well That Ends Well, The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night in the Park, will return to direct AS YOU LIKE IT in June with Lily Rabe as Rosalind. The second show of the 50th Anniversary summer season will be Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's beloved musical INTO THE WOODS, directed by Timothy Sheader with co-direction by Liam Steel. Based on the Olivier Award-winning Regent's Park Open Air Theatre London production in 2010, The Public Theater's INTO THE WOODS will be an all new production with an American cast and designers and will be staged in one of the most beautiful outdoor venues in the world-the Delacorte Theater. INTO THE WOODS will begin performances at the end of July.

Mesa Community College's Act I Musical Productions to open its 12th season with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, opening on October 20th in Mesa, AZ.

'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,' the widely acclaimed, multiple Tony Award-winning musical, will open at the Miami Beach Stage Door Theatre at the Byron Carlyle on Friday, October 14, with matinee and evening performances through November 13.