Seán Cullen acting at The Stratford Festival

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Seán Cullen acting at The Stratford Festival

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival announced that Sean Cullen will be acting in the role of Pseudolus in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”

Stratford veteran Bruce Dow had been playing the role but an injury forced Dow to leave the production. Cullen, according to a Stratford Shakespeare Festival press release, takes over in “early September.”

The show, by Stephen Sondheim, Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart (M*A*S*H) is a musical comedy and, given his roots in musical comedy, could be a perfect fit for Cullen.

Cullen most recently took to the stage in the Toronto production of “The Producers,” which closed after just 33 weeks, two months short of its announced closing. Cullen seems to be following a path Nathan Lane has taken. In 1996, Lane starred in the Broadway revival of “A Funny Thing.” Both played the flamboyant impresario Max Bialystock in “The Producers.

Mr. Cullen was a finalist on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.” He's appeared on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and CBS’s “The Ellen Degeneres Show.”

Cullen posted this tweet on his website, “Flying back to Canada to play at Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Who knew I'd end up there after dropping out of acting school.”

Dow’s understudy, Randy Ganne has been playing the role of Pseudolus. “A Funny Thing” runs through Nov. 1.