The season closing Shakespeare show will fill the same time slot, starting May 12 and running through June 11 at the Massachusetts company's Boston University Theatre.

"We scheduled ...Forum as a vehicle for Brooks Ashmanskas," Huntington artistic director Martin said. "But when he was cast in a leading role in a Broadway musical, I certainly didn't want to stand in his way.  But he'll be back and so will 'Forum." (Ashmanskas — who appeared in a reading of the Martin Short Broadway show — is expected to star in the upcoming debut.)

In lieu of the musical, Huntington will present its first stab at Shakespeare since 1999 (also the first under Martin's tutelage) with a brand-new version of the Bard comedy Love's Labour's Lost. Casting will be announced shortly.

Martin has prior experience with Shakespeare, having directed the 2004 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Williamstown Theatre Festival and San Diego's Old Globe Theatre production of Macbeth starring Victor Garber. Joining Martin on Love's Labour's Lost will be Elliot Norton Award-winning scenic designer Alexander Dodge (Heartbreak House, The Rivals, Butley).

The Huntington season continues with Mat Smart's The Hopper Collection (March 3-April 2), Marc Wolf's The Road Home: Re-Membering America (March 24-April 30) and Love's Labour's Lost (May 12-June 11). Earlier this season, Huntington head Martin had to replace eponymous star Andrea Martin in the staging of Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig due to scheduling. The artistic director now loses Ashmanskas and the production to another namesake, Martin Short.

Tickets purchased for ...Forum will be honored at the corresponding performance of Love’s Labour’s Lost. New purchases for the work at Huntington’s Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. in Boston, MA are available by calling (617) 266-0800. For more information on the Huntington Theatre Company, visit www.huntingtontheatre.org.