A Funny Thing... Forum REVIVAL?

I'm sure most of us can agree that it's time for a FORUM revival! We haven't seen one since the 90's, and what a star vehicle.

When James Corden was set to open a revival of it in Spring 2015, directed by Alex Timbers, it fell thru because he was offered the LATE LATE SHOW. How could he refuse? I remember them saying they were eyeing Josh Gad to take over - he even went on to make a joke about it at the Tonys this year - and said they were eyeing Jim Parsons and Jesse Tyler Ferguson as potential replacements. Saying, "Everything's up in the air. The good thing is that a lot of great people would love to play the role because it's so much fun. We might end up doing three-month stints with a lot of different actors."

I think Alex Timbers is the perfect director for the show, and I'm sure that Gad, Parsons, or Ferguson would all bring something wonderful to Pseudolus. It's a role that requires a strong comedian, it can be almost anybody! That being said, I would think Parsons and Ferguson are much better suited to play Hysterium.

As for other casting ideas - The Muny just had John Tartaglia as Hysterium and Mark Linn-Baker as Senex - both genius, especially Mark Linn-Baker who made Hysterium his own in the last revival.

There was also the All-Male production at Two River Theatre, back in 2015, starring Christopher Fitzgerald and Michael Urie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuxT-ZpqH4w - Again, perfect casting, and I LOVE the concept of an all-male Forum.

A part of me even wonders if Nathan Lane would be willing to pull an Alan Cumming and bring back his Tony Winning performance. He's grown as an actor and comedian since the 90s, I'm sure he could bring something fresh to it, as well. Seems like Mr. Lane is beyond musical theatre or repeating himself, though.

Who would you like to see in FORUM?

TBH, I would love to see James Monroe Iglehart play pseudolus.

Corden would bring in the $$$.

Even if they did move Corden's show to NYC, I can't imagine he'd really have time to do both, since it's an evening show.

I actually think it would be an ideal vehicle for Jack Black. I know a lot of people got over saturated years ago, but I think he's proven himself as a comedian, singer, and ability to own the stage. Plus, he's just a great modern comedian and certainly a big name.

Geoffrey Rush also did a production in Australia a few years back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpjOFQx7tzU

Wasn't there a rumor that Carol Burnett was interested in taking over the last revival after David Alan Grier, but it closed too soon?

^ I mean, there's no reason to NOT have an all-male production of anything. If it's a good concept and it makes sense, it should be done. A show is a show, a vision is a vision. It's not about taking work away from women, it's about presenting a concept based production. There will be many other productions, and many other opportunities for whatever woman doesn't make it into one all-male production. Not to mention, that all-male FORUM was directed by a woman, Jessica Stone. So, it was HER concept. Plus, the women in FORUM are mostly glorified strippers, unless you're Domina or Philia, in which case you're either a nagging shrew or a dumb virgin. It's not really the most woman-centric show to begin with.

I saw a regional all-female 1776 last year. No one complained that they were taking the opportunity from local men who'd been waiting their whole lives to do the show... We just complained that it sucked. lol

Of course, I'm not lobbying specifically for an all-male anything at the moment. I just think to say "we don't need it" is very dismissive and closed minded.

Also, let's not forget FORUM was one of the first (and last, to my knowledge) to change a major character's gender when Whoopi Goldberg took over for Nathan Lane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6twfrbUstA

Updated On: 8/10/17 at 10:26 PM

Bumping this out of curiosity and further dream casting.

Given that the show is such a star vehicle and wouldn't survive without star casting, it makes sense to line up a stars for short 3-5 month runs. They'd all play the role differently (having seen Lane and Goldberg in the last revival, I can tell you they were very different in their approaches) and you'd have the chance for a lot of repeat business that way. According to a Riedel article from years ago, that was their plan after opening the show with Corden.