Strangers in Parodies

Forbidden Broadway could be funnier.

BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE

After a hiatus in which it was rumored to land on Broadway (but did not), Forbidden Broadway is back in its natural habitat—Off-Broadway. Those of us who have been around long enough recall when it was in a venue that also served booze, and that probably amped up the hilarity—at least among the audience.

Forty-two years is a long time for a satire to run. After all, playwright George S. Kaufman famous quipped, “Satire is what closes on Saturday night.” Nonetheless, Gerard Alessandrini’s poison-pen love letter to musical theater is back with a vengeance. Of course, a loving vengeance has always been at the center of the show that seeks to skewer Broadway shows that have befuddled, bothered and bewildered the loyal Broadway audience.

If the latest version of the revue now at Theater 555 doesn’t seem quite as sharp as previous editions, it is still an entertaining night out for Broadway fans. This version, subtitled Merrily We Stole a Song leans heavily on Sondheim, taking aim at Company, Merrily and others. (My favorite was the virtual throwaway lampooning Oh, Mary! with “Attend the tale of Mary Todd.”) Maybe it’s because we’ve seen so many send ups of Patti Lupone and Ethel Merman in the past that as much fun as they are (“I’ll sink to that” is a comment on Lupone doing “The Ladies Who Lunch,” but it’s more mean-spirited than satiric. Lupone was amazing in Company.) Maybe it’s because making Harry Potter jokes about Daniel Radcliffe is too obvious and predictable. Maybe it’s because shows like Six are only given a facile gag, as if it had to be shoehorned into the show and didn’t merit a full-on parody. Or, maybe it’s because the newer shows, The Great Gatsby and Back to the Future aren’t very good, so Alessandrini has to reach to make something of them. In the latter, a trip to Broadway in 2024 is labored and largely falls flat, though the idea of the Ozempic Theater is legitimately funny. Forbidden Broadway was always fresh, with a few favorites scattered in. This version is more riddled with pieces that seem to have passed their sell-by date.

Even if the material sometimes doesn’t rise to previous levels of wit in earlier editions, the performances by the four-person cast with FB veteran Fred Barton on the piano is stellar. Jenny Lee Stern, a staple of these revues, is hilarious. Impersonations of Patti and Bernadette Peters are dead on, and always great to hear. Nicole Vanessa Ortiz is outstanding, particularly in a piece lampooning the upcoming Gypsy with Audra McDonald. Chris Collins-Pisano is funny as Daniel Radcliffe, and dead on as he attacks the overwrought stylings of Ben Platt, complete with seemingly arbitrary flips into falsetto. (Platt can be a powerful actor, as his turn in Parade showed, and the falsetto thing comes from the gimmicky score of Dear Evan Hansen.) Danny Hayward is very sharp in a variety of numbers. He’s especially good at mocking Eddie Redmayne in Cabaret, and I loved him introducing a deranged Sally Bowles as “the toast of Bedlam.”

It’s those moments when Forbidden Broadway truly shines. It’s the wit that takes something to an extreme that inspires the biggest laughs—and the most appreciation for Alessandrini’s gimlet-eyed take on Broadway. Off Broadway, too, as it happens. One of the best numbers is a take-off on Cats: The Jellicle Ball. While that was one of my favorite shows of the season, it’s easy to see how it could be pushed over the edge and become ridiculous. Sadly, I wondered, how many people seeing this show would have seen that one to get the jokes.

There are plenty of chuckles and a few belly laughs, but I couldn’t help wondering if the current economics of Broadway mean that there isn’t a large audience that “sees everything” and loves to be part of the cognoscentiwho will get all the jokes. Still, it’s always fun to laugh at things we love. That’s the essence of parody to be sure, but in this version Broadway doesn’t seem forbidden. Rather, it’s been sternly cautioned.

Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song
Theater 555
555 West 42^nd Street
Fri. 8 p.m.; sat 3 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Sun 3 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.; Mon. 7:30 p.m.
Tickets from $79 here.
95 mins, no intermission.

PHOTO CREDIT: Carol Rosegg

Posted September 24, 2024