Pseudolus in Stephen Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a famous star turn, one that Tony nominee Gary Beach (Beauty and the Beast) will try his hand at July 17-23 at Sacramento's Music Circus. Marcia Milgrom Dodge directs.

Beach received his nomination playing Lumiere in the original Broadway company of Beast. Other credits include national tours of Les Miserables, Legends, Doonesbury, Annie and 1776.

Based on comedies of Plautus, Forum is the story of the slave Pseudolus, willing to do anything to obtain his freedom. When his young master falls in love with a courtesan next door, the cunning schemer sees his way out of bondage - only it's going to take a lot of conning to get around his master, the girl's owner and her intended, a famous and very big general. Nathan Lane, Whoopi Goldberg and David Alan Grier played Pseudolus in the recent Broadway revival of Forum, which ran 36 previews and 715 performances at the St. James Theatre.

Also in the cast are Don Stephenson (Parade, Titanic) as Hysterium, Misty Cotton as Philia, Gavin Creel as Hero, Brooks Almy (Mrs. Pugh in Disney's "Annie") as Domina, Lenny Wolpe as Senex, Christopher Carl as Miles Gloriosus, Darin DePaul as Lycus and John Zickes as Erronius.

Tickets are $45-$27. The Music Circus tent is located at 15th and H Streets. For reservations, call (916) 557-1999. Sacramento Music Circus is on the web at http://www.sacramentomusiccircus.com. -- By Christine Ehren