A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

From the book written by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum opened in May 1962. Featuring music written by Stephen Sondheim, his very first Broadway assignment, the show did little during its initial pre-Broadway run, but after making a number of subtle changes, most notably with a switch of opening song, the show became a major success, running for nearly 1000 appearances during its first run. The lead role of Pseudolus was originally offered to Phil Silvers and then Milton Berle before Zero Mostel took the role (Silvers would appear in a later revival), who would win the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance.