#afthotwttf

[lesbiandartagnan]

it pisses me off how many of sondheim's shows are wildly underrated. what do you bitches know about A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. i bet it's NOTHING

[williambryantlesbianaunt]

reblog if the situation’s fraught, fraughter than you thought

[bkthegreatstoneface]

'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum', 1966 was Buster Keaton's final comedy, released posthumously which, despite progressive lung cancer during filming, he seemed to thoroughly enjoy making.

Buster was never told he had cancer but one wonders if somehow he had an inkling this was going to be his last big picture?

[inas-garten]

Currently very sad that I’ll never be able to see Nathan Lane in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

[ofthewilderwest]

Another appreciation post but this time for girls from musicals who fall head over heels for a guy in 0.5 seconds and become ride or die I love them.

[podracer]

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum but all the costume and set design is inspired by Gaia Online

[elphabruh]

I WAS SO HAPPY FOR A MOMENT JOSH GAD I WANTED TO SEE A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM

[scribledon]

requesting that essay you were talking about :0

YAYYYYYYYYY okay so im gonna use my favorite song from the show That Dirty Old Man to show my point

The song is sung by the character Domina, who throughout the show is shown as this stereotypical domineering nagging violent older wife, to which her husband Senex plays the lecherous old “I hate my wife” husband who throughout the whole show is cheating on her. It’s all very much “take my wife, please” humor.

The song happens when Domina returns home unexpectedly early from a trip to her meek loyal servant Hysterium’s chagrin, and is certain her husband has been having an affair (which he is.)

Domina starts to sing of all the pain and emotional torture Senex has put her through, and it’s surprisingly emotional. Throughout the show she has so far been shown as a stoic matriarchal figure, running the home while still having to watch her husband so he won’t betray her. And this moment is her breaking point. She breaks down and opens up for the first time to Hysterium, someone she believes she can truly trust.

“For over 30 years I’ve cried myself to sleep, assailed by doubts and fears so great the gods themselves would weep. The moment I am gone I wonder where he’ll go. In all your simple honesty, you can’t begin to know.”

She sings about how for years she has cried every night because of her fears towards her husband. She can’t trust him for a second and she is incredibly angry. But then something happens that completely changes not only the song but the whole show in my eyes.

She tells us how even through all this pain, after all these years, she is still in love with Senex, while switching to express her anger, and back to her adoration of him.

“I'll hold him, enfold him. Where is he? That dirty old man, where can he be? Profaning my house for all to see. Complaining how he's misunderstood. Abusing me--if he only would!”

She sings about how she just wishes he would give her any attention, but he has always been cold and distant from her.

“Oh love, sweet love, why hide? You vermin, you worm, you villain! Confess and press your bride. Wherever he is, I know he's still an angel.”

While the song is being sung, the “joke” of the song (reminders that it is a farce comedy) is that while she is singing she is also throwing poor Hysterium around the stage. I believe this sadly distracts from the amazing song but since it is a comedy, I understand why they did this.

Sondheim’s character writing is so prevalent here, and it truly gives depth to what really is just a dumb farce comedy. For a show that is honestly very very sexist, it brings a surprising amount of character to a stereotype of a nagging housewife. There is also a lot of depth in Free, but I’m too tired of typing lol