"Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back" Hits Below the Belt

October 21, 1996

By KERRI BERNEY AND PAMELA ISAACSON

Gerard Alessandrini gave Broadway another tweak last week as his "Forbidden Broadway" series returned to Boston and opened in the incarnation of "Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back." A fixture of the New York off-Broadway scene since 1982, Alessandrini takes great pleasure in spoofing both the long-running hits of Broadway and the overblown flops.

Like most spoofs and parodies, "Forbidden Broadway" is very much a hit or miss venture. Much of the humor relies on the audience's knowledge of Broadway gossip and Broadway scores. When the audience gets the parody, it is received very well. When they do not, the joke often falls flat. The performers are not at fault when this occurs because, at times, shows that are spoofed have not been seen or known in Boston.

No one is immune from the poisoned pen of Alessandrini, from recent stars like the cast of "Rent" and Nathan Lane to old standbys like Michael Crawford and Ethel Merman. On the whole the performers are successful at spoofing their better-known counterparts.

From Julie Andrews declining the Tony nomination to the Disney-fication of Broadway, Alessandrini was not lacking in material.

The evening got started on a high note with "Parody Tonight," a lampoon of "Comedy Tonight," from the Tony Award winning musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." Involved in this satire were David Benoit, who portrayed Nathan Lane, Lori Blalock, who posed as Liza Minelli and Julie Andrews and Neal Mayer, who was John Davidson. Each of these characters were the talk of Broadway during the past year and the opening number set the comedic tone of the revue.
"Rent" should have been the climax of the show, and would have succeeded in this role, had the audience been more familiar with the musical. Chances are the audience will be more receptive to this number when "Rent" opens in Boston in a few weeks.

Those who have seen the production, or have heard the hype will appreciate the humor inherent in spoofing such overplayed songs as "Seasons of Love, portrayed as "Seasons of Hype" by the four stars.

A better received show was the parody of "Les Miserables." Nothing was avoided in this medley, not even the oft joked about spinning stage, which the actors creatively represented by clinging to the microphone in an effort to avoid rotating off the stage. One of the high points of this set was when Mayer tried to explain the intricasies of the plot to Benoit.

Revivals, as well, did not escape Alessandrini's mockery. The classic American musical "Showboat," containing that famous song of yesteryear, "Ol' Man River" is made into "Slowboat" with lines like "It's ol' show "Showboat" and it's just two hours too long."

Of the performers, Thompson stood out in a hysterical parody of "Annie," begging for a revival of her one-hit show. With lyrics such as "I'm 40 years old, tomorrow, and I haven't had work since I played Annie, when I was 10 ... Revivals, revivals..." Thompson captures the essense of the washed up wunderkind.

It is obvious throughout the show that in both Alessandrini's words and the actors performances, there is an underlying love and admiration of Broadway.

This page last updated by Kerri Berney on December 19, 1996.