Emily and Cam tackle “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”—an uproarious adaptation of Plautus’ Roman comedy.

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Some plays of Plautus referenced in this episode:

• Pseudolus
• Mostellaria
• Miles Gloriosus
• Menaechmi

Cover Image:

• Mosaic of Masks. Second or third century CE. Found on the Aventine, possibly on the site of the ancient Thermae Decianae; now held in the Capitoline Museums. Photo by Carole Raddato, Wikimedia Commons.

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00:11 - Introduction

• 00:38 - A Funny thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Sonheim’s Musical and the 1966 film

03:19 - Our approach to reviewing adaptations of ancient literature

05:20 - Plautus and Roman Comedy

• 05:29 - What we know about Plautus himself (his dates, his name, his background)
• 09:41 - Plautus' style: Roman comedy, exotic settings, stock plots, and stock characters

17:56 - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Plautus on Screen

• 18:51 - The setting: “A less fashionable suburb of Rome”
• 19:44 - The characters (Pseudolus, Hysterium, Marcus Lycus, Hero, Philia, Miles Gloriosus, and others)
• 23:33 - The plot, in all of its messiness
• 27:15 - The movie’s sources: Plautus’ Pseudolus, Mostellaria, Miles Gloriosus, and other plays
• 33:01 - Metatheatre in Plautus and in A Funny Thing
• 36:25 - The movie’s departures from Plautus: More is more! (Expansive sets, elaborate scenes, and exaggerated physical comedy)

43:36 - Cam and Emily discuss their reactions (and we learn the dirty secrets of Emily’s history with this film!

49:01 – Wrap-up