A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1962 Original Broadway Cast) [Cast Recording]

Stephen Sondheim (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 11, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Cast Recording
• Label: Angel Records
• ASIN: B000002SOA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,084 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Overture

2. Comedy Tonight

3. Love, I Hear

4. Free

5. Lovely

6. Pretty Little Picture

7. Everybody Ought to Have a Maid

8. I'm Calm

9. Impossible

10. Bring Me My Bride

11. That Dirty Old Man

12. That'll Show Him

13. Lovely (Reprise)

14. Funeral Sequence

15. Finale

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"Tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!" With that song, one of the most famous opening numbers ever, the brilliant career of Stephen Sondheim as a Broadway composer and lyricist was born. Sondheim had written lyrics for the classics West Side Story and Gypsy, but he wanted to compose as well, and after 1954's Saturday Night was derailed, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962) gave him his first Broadway show. Based on the Roman comedies of Plautus, it's a light frothy entertainment (as promised in the opening) led by the outrageous Zero Mostel as the scheming slave Pseudolus. The Gordian knot of a plot also involves Jack Gilford as fellow slave Hysterium, Preshy Marker as the vacant Philia, Brian Davies as the young hero, Hero, and Ron Holgate as the testosterone-oozing soldier Miles Glorious. Sondheim the composer proves an ideal match for Sondheim the lyricist: you can hear halting uncertainty and not-yet-blossomed passion in "Love, I Hear," "I'm Calm" perfectly captures Hysterium's hysteria, and "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" is pure vaudeville genius. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect...Absolutely Perfect..., June 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1962 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

Innitially, when i first listened to this recording after buying it, i was slightly dissapointed. I certainly enjoyed the different music styles and clever lyrics, but i felt that the stars, and Zero Mostel in particular, were not as great as i had been led to believe they were. Comedy Tonight proved something of a dissapointment, and i winced several times during Free, where it seemed to me that Mostel had stopped singing and had started yowling. The only numbers that immediately made a favorable impression upon me were Lovely and Impossible, and these are still my favorite moments in the CD. What i didnt realize was that i had been listening to the recording with the ears of someone who expected to find the classic,overwhelming style of the period, full of showstoppers and sweeping romantic moments. This piece is none of those things. Indeed, in many ways, it is not like any musical i had ever heard before, and i have heard quite a few. It is...I suppose the only way to describe it is to call it a phenomenon that occured purely by chance when three men came together with a vision of a musical that would mesh the comic style of the Roman playwright Plautus with classic American vaudeville and do it so effectively that it would become a timeless classic of musical theater that would continue to delight audiences for over fourty years. This piece has been performed so often, and is such a well known favorite that it is a wonder to me that i, devoted musical fan that i am, could have gone so long without having any knowledge of it. I now know how deprived i was, and how deprived you will be if you do not buy this recording. And whatever you do,dont buy a different one until you own this one. While i have only heard extracts from other recordings, i can safely say that no musical collection is complete without THIS recording of the material. It isn't only because there is a freshness, a tentative bubble of excitement hanging over this recording, or because the orchestrations and the quality of the CD are very good. After you have bought it, and listened to it several times, ask yourself, honestly if you could imagine A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum without Zero Mostel, or indeed without any of the other stars. The cast are so superbly suited to the piece that it is little wonder that it became an immediate hit, and they have a lot to do with the fact that this musical has made its mark in an industry that is one of the most popular forms of live entertainment the world has ever known. The whole thing is wonderful...there is not one song in it that does not grow on, or appeal instantly to the listener. How i could have ever been less than overwhelmed with Comedy Tonight is beyond me, and there are many other memorable moments on this CD. Do not hesitate over this one. Just buy it. You can always give it away if you find it less than satisfactory, but i seriously doubt that you will. Sorry for taking up so much of your time, but when i am passionate about something, i want the whole world to share it with me.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A first yet already one of his bests!, June 3, 2000

By 

Albert M. Molina (Pearland, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1962 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

Being the first musical wherein Stephen Sondheim did both music and lyrics, it was not expected to be a hit. Many of the critics of the musical in its 1962 run were proven wrong when this smashing musical has endeared itself, musically or otherwise, with the theater-going public. Even to this day, the revival run continues to fascinate audiences, who are not too easy to believe that this is (still not was, eh George) Sondheim's full first.

The recording itself is quite a masterpiece. It really captures every bit of the emotions exhibited on stage. Listening to it, even if you don't know the storyline behind the show, will give you the imagination-aid to see and hear the musical in your mind. Compared to the original London cast (Frankie Howerd et al) and 1996 Broadway revival cast (Nathan Lane et al), this recording is the best. Buy this CD. Also, if you are into jazz, try the Varese Sarabande release of The Trotter Trio's instrumental version.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First and Still the Best Recording, July 30, 2001

By 

Bradley Cooper - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1962 Original Broadway Cast) (Audio CD)

I have very little doubt that this original cast album will always be the best recording of this show. Who else but Zero Mostel could make this role/show so memorable? This show also has the distinction of being the first with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. While his craft would grow considerably in the years following this effort, the work here is solid and enjoyable. "Comedy Tonight" is a classic and "Pretty Little Picture" gives us our first glance into Sondheim's future. While the comedy of the script may overshadow the comedy of the songs, they are funny in their own right. "Lovely" and "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" are both very funny. Still, the historical relevance of this work is more of a reason to buy it than the score itself. If you're Sondheim fan, this CD is a must.