A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Streams Free Now

The 1966 musical, starring Zero Mostel and Jack Gilford who reprise their roles from the Broadway stage, has music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart.

Here's all you need to know on how to stream the musical this weekend:

The plot for the musical was inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus, and tells the story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master get the girl next door.

Zero Mostel, Buster Keaton, Phil Silvers, and an all-star cast scam their way through a boisterous romp, filled with gorgeous girls, mistaken identities, cunning disguises, and an unforgettable collection of Sondheim songs.

The musical is now available to stream for free for a limited time through Pluto. The film has been added to our updating list of free musicals and plays. 

Upon opening, the film received mostly positive reviews. A Variety review from December 1965 mentioned "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum – after the [1962 Stephen Sondheim] stage musicomedy of the same name – will probably stand out as one of the few originals of two repetition-weary genres, the film musical comedy and the toga-cum-sandal ‘epic’. Flip, glib and sophisticated, yet rump-slappingly bawdy and fast-paced, Forum is a capricious look at the seamy underside of classical Rome through a 20th-century hipster’s shades."

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opened on Broadway in May 1962 at the Alvin Theatre, and closed more than two years later in August 1964, playing nearly 1000 performances. The film adaptation, directed by Richard Lester, started production shortly after.

Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Phil Silvers, Buster Keaton, Michael Crawford, and Michael Hordern. Screenplay by Melvin Frank and Michael Pertwee. Cinematography by Nicolas Roeg. Music by Ken Throne and Songs by Stephen Sondheim.