Music and
Lyrics by
Stephen Sondheim
Book by
Burt Shevelove and
Larry Gelbart
Based on the
plays Miles Gloriosus,
Pseudolus,
and
Mostellaria by
Plautus (251-183 B.C.)
Wily slave and consummate clown Pseudolus tries to win his freedom from his kindly master Hero through the most unlikely of schemes. Broad comedy, burlesque humor and clever Vaudeville inspired numbers.
Major Productions
Musical Numbers
Act Two
- Domina
- Senex’s shrill, overbearing wife, who rules the house.
- Erronius
- A myopic old man searching for his lost children.
- Geminae (2)
- Twin courtesans of the House of Lycus.
- Gymnasia
- The sizable courtesan of the House of Lycus, whom Pseudolus fancies.
- Hero
- A handsome and innocent adolescent, son of Senex and Philia, who is very naive and in love with Philia.
- Hysterium
- Pseudolus' hapless and incredibly hyperactive fellow slave.
- Lycus
- An outrageous buyer and seller of courtesans.
- Miles Gloriosus
- Lycus' warrior client, engaged to Philia, who is tremendously conceited and represents the stereotypical Greek hero.
- Panacea
- The most sensuous courtesan in the House of Lycus.
- Philia
- The lovely but empty-headed courtesan who is in love with Hero and betrothed to Miles Gloriosus.
- Proteans (3)
- These three actors play a twenty-part ensemble.
- Pseudolus
- The scheming slave of Senex and Domina, Pseudolus is the comic ringmaster of the show. He wants desperately to be free and tries to manipulate various situations to achieve these ends.
- Senex
- Hero's father, Domina's husband, and an aging master, he is described by his wife as a dirty old man. He has a penchant for young maids and is less than faithful to his spouse.
- Tintinabula
- The noisy, exotic courtesan in the House of Lycus.
- Vibrata
- The wild courtesan in the House of Lycus.