Theater
August, 1962
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a soi-disant musical that is low on tunes, sets and a conventional chorus line, but high on lyrics (Stephen Sondheim's), gags, pratfalls, togas, tunics, eunuchs and houris on navel maneuvers. Authors Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart concede candidly that they copped their Roman rumpus from Plautus, a big-box-office playwright circa 200 B.C. They copped little else. There is no plot to speak of, which matters little since the laughs come too fast...
