FORBIDDEN PLEASURES
Even the most avid theatergoers may not realize how much about Broadway there is to have fun with until they see Forbidden Broadway, the decades-old Off-Broadway musical parody created, written and directed by Gerard Alessandrini. The newest show, Merrily We Stole a Song, is no exception.
JENNY LEE STERN, CHRIS COLLINS-PISANO and DANNY HAYWARD
The revue spoofs Broadway shows, past and present, Broadway stars and even venues (there’s a whole number dedicated to the snobbery of Lincoln Center). Alessandrini is not only a skilled wordsmith; he also has an uncanny ability to pinpoint the most ridiculous aspects of even the most iconic musicals and the people who star in them.
DANNY HAYWARD and CHRIS COLLINS-PISANO
NICOLE VANESSA ORTIZ, DANNY HAYWARD, JENNY LEE STERN and CHRIS COLLINS-PISANO
Danny Hayward and Jenny Lee Stern’s “Willkommen” from Cabaret highlights the many revivals of the musical, each time with a more uniquely bizarre Emcee. Nicole Vanessa Ortiz and Stern, in “Alicia’s Piano Lesson,” point out that “The show’s a liar, pants on fire,” which anyone who has seen Hell’s Kitchen and knows anything about Keys’ actual life realizes. Hayward, Stern and Chris Collins-Pisano gleefully spoof all the dramatic excesses of The Outsiders.
JENNY LEE STERN and DANNY HAYWARD
No one is safe from Alessandrini and his band of merry men and women. Collins-Pisano, in a pink fur-trimmed robe turns Ben Platt into a histrionic diva. Stern manages to not only sound like Patti LuPone but actually looks like her too. Ortiz’s vocal acrobatics are astounding as she imagines what Audra McDonald will sound like as Mama Rose in Gypsy.
CHRIS COLLINS-PISANO (left) and JENNY LEE STERN
NICOLE VANESSA ORTIZ, DANNY HAYWARD and CHRIS COLLINS-PISANO
Some numbers do work better than others. The name of the show may be a clever take on a Sondheim title, but the parodies of the much-parodied songwriter are not particularly funny. And the only source of humor Alessandrini can find in Daniel Radcliffe is that he was once young Harry Potter on screen.
JENNY LEE STERN spoofs Patti LuPone
Sometimes one wishes Forbidden Broadway took more risks. There’s very little in these spoofs that would genuinely offend anyone. But even though there’s not much “forbidden” in Forbidden Broadway, there’s still loads of entertainment.
NICOLE VANESSA ORTIZ
photos by Carol Rosegg
logo by Jim Russek
Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole A Song
Theater 555, 555 West 42nd St (between 10th &11th Ave)
ends on November 3, 2024
for tickets ($49-$69, $99 premium), visit Theater 555
