Stage Review: Forbidden Broadway

In a past post I wrote about Forbidden Broadway coming back to Off-Broadway after being away for a few years. I was excited about it returning because I saw the show in 2005 in New York City. I was looking forward to going to New York to see the latest incarnation, spoofing the current shows on Broadway. Well, I didn't have to go to New York to see Forbidden Broadway again. I just had to go to Park City, Utah.

I was hoping to see the latest version of the show, but instead it was a "best of" version. I was okay with that, because it was still hilarious, but I was a bit disappointed not to be able to see how they would spoof Spider Man: Turn off the Dark, Newsies, and Ghost. Well, I guess I'll have to go to New York after all. Darn. *wink*

Some of the shows they did spoof were: Chicago, Annie, Little Mermaid, Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins, The Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserables, The Lion King, Mamma Mia, and Wicked.

• Chicago
• Give 'em the old spread your fingers. Wear a bowler hat.
• Annie
• "I'm 40 years old Tomorrow and I haven't worked since I played Annie, when I was 10." 
• Jersey Boys
• "Walk like a man, sing like a girl" 
• Mary Poppins
• "Supercalifictionalnonsensicalverbosis"
• Beauty and the Beast
• "Show as old as time. Worn as it can be. Oversized and grand then someone is canned unexpectedly. Juts a little change says the Disney beast. Profits growing thin, downsizing is in. Beauty's been decreased."
• Les Miserables
• "At the end of the play we're another year older, and we're often exhausted from playing the poor." 
• The Lion King
• "Theme park shows, they keep gaining ground in the circle of mice. Disney's all around, and you'll pay the price and you'll be spellbound. Puppet shows replace what we once called content, in the circle of mice" 
• "Can you feel the pain tonight? The strain the headdress bring. The cracking bones, the tearing cartilage can kill all living things. And if you feel the pain tonight let me carry you to be wed at my chiropractor who works for Disney too" 
• Mamma Mia
• "There's a show in New York with a literate book. Complex musical look and a classical look. On the West End it looked ridiculous. Here in New York it's meticulous, deep and smart, and equivalent to high art. Mamma Mia, next to current trash seems as Kiss Me Kate was.
• "Shows of rap and rock don't last long. Everyone loves an Abba song. One's as good as another. Anyone will do. Get in your Bee Gees stance. Disco queen. We're high art if you're seventeen." 

They also spoofed Broadway actors such as Ethel Merman, Patti LuPone, Mandy Patinkin, Sarah Brightman, and Robert Goulet. The actor who did the imitation of Mandy Patinkin was so spot-on. He sang "Somewhat Overindulgent" to the tune of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and I couldn't stop laughing throughout the entire song.

Forbidden Broadway is a great way to spend an evening if you love musical theatre. And even if you don't, you're sure to find something in it to smile about.

Forbidden Broadway is Coming Back!

Forbidden Broadway had been an Off-Broadway staple for 27 years when it closed in 2009. It will open again Off-Broadway in September after a month of previews starting July 24th.

Forbidden Broadway spoofs Broadway musicals and plays in a cabaret-style format. It has mocked shows such as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, The Lion King, Rent, and Wicked. It also makes fun of theatre personalities including Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews, Carol Channing, Michael Crawford, Mandy Patinkin, Stephen Sondheim, Patti LuPone, Kristen Chenoweth, Andrew Lloyd Webber, just to name a few.

I saw Forbidden Broadway in 2005 when I went to NYC with my friend, Colene. I loved it. I am a theatre geek, but I don’t find the theatre too sacred that I feel you can’t make fun of it and of all of us theatre geeks. I hope to go back to New York soon, and I'm excited go to Broadway. But I'm also excited to go Off-Broadway again and see Forbidden Broadway and see what they do to the likes of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Newsies, Ghost, and some of the oldies too.