“Forbidden Broadway” –Witty Comedic Broadway Insights, All-Pro Singing & Dance, plus oodles of clever Tomfoolery
By: Joseph Sirota

“A night of witty comedic Broadway “unspoken secrets”, stirring singing & dance, plus oodles of sharply clever tom-foolery” – is how I’d sum up Music Theatre West’s (MTW’s) first production of the looooong-running off-Broadway phenom ““Forbidden Broadway”. If ever the old comic maxim “I Kid Because I Love” applied -- it’s in “Forbidden Broadway”. Rather than just heap praise on Broadway mega-hits and mega stars, then sing and dance their best showstoppers– why not serve up generous doses of tongue-in-cheek satire, seasoned with a bit of envy by fine, but not-quite-yet-“canonized” Musical-Comedy talents taking over? If “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, then this hilariously over-the-top imitation is TOUGH-LOVE personified.
Back in 1982 Gerard Alessandrini (out-of-work, undiscovered Broadway star), created Forbidden Broadway by grabbing favorite beloved numbers from equally beloved HIT shows, pumping them full of a purposeful “overabundance” of intensity and selling each number “to the max” (and then some!). The goal was an evening of musical satire, parodies and outlandish fun. “BLASFIMY!! ? Not to audiences or critics, who kept coming for 27 years. Even the “poked-at” star performers stopped in to see the tributes-via-mayhem. MTW’s production, powered by four (4) genuine all-pro performers and a superb on-stage accompanist, has us laughing (reverently), and savoring each cleverly distorted “gem” as heartily as it was when it first took aim.
The targeted SMASH shows have followed many Tony-grabbers, and hence grew over the years. MTW’s selection includes: Annie, Cats, Wicked, Les Miserables, Chicago, Mamma Mia, Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins, Hairspray, Little Mermaid and Lion King. The lucky, singled-out favorite stars include.. Barbra Steisand, Liza, Carol Channing, Mandy Potemkin, Daniel Radcliffe and Michael Crawford. The pr-notes jocularly alert us that “Nothing is sacred to the sharp wit and barbed satire from the creators of Forbidden Broadway”, reminding us that the show has always been and still aims to be a hilarious musical comedy adventure that, in reality, is 20 mini-musicals rolled into one – exploring both big moments AND big mistakes”.
The material is smart and diverse, but it’s the cast plus costume, lighting & sound team in this delightful MTW production that harvests every bit of wit, powerful vocals and titillating dance routines from each and every number—turning the evening into a night of genuine all-showstoppers/ no-filler highlights. It’s hard to deliver these classics the way the original stars did, but even harder to recreate the excellence of the original – adding “just the right amount of off-pitch, missed-timing, or revealed conceit” that lets us enjoy the inherent beauty of the song, PLUS a side-order of fun-mockery (as close to “Having Our Cake And Eating It” as one gets). The four musical comedy performers include two of our very own favorite award-winning stage-heroes, David Engel and Larry Raben of Forever Plaid and countless other award-worthy staring roles here in L.A., Long Beach, O.C. fame. On the diva side are Susanne Blakeslee and Whitney Allen, each of whom bring the best credits you can have here, as New York stage “Forbidden Broadway” lauded alunmni. They also bring lotsa’ other credits and above all – startling vocal, dance and comedic ranges to mesh handily with Engel and Raben, so every number hits soaring heights. In short, the guys we know so well and the dazzling co-ed imports from East Coast stage-land (plus superb, piano accompanist Michael Paternostro) combine to knock us for a much-appreciated loop! (Witness the applause and laughter throughout the show, plus standing closing ovation.)
As noted, the show is virtually 100% highlights, so I can only offer a small, teasing taste of some Highlights of the Highlights. Susanne Blakeslee surely stops the show when she morphs absolutely irresistibly into 150% saturated takes on bigger-than-life immortals Barbara Streisand and Carol Channing, as each refuses to let time or self-restraint dim their seemingly ever beaming Broadway bulbs. She’s also a simply grand 31 year-old chain-smoking “Annie” and a sweeter than corn syrup Mary Poppins. Whitney Allen similarly brings the house down in becoming a veritably “vibrating with stage energy” Liza (with a CAPITAL “Z”), as a fed up Little Mermaid, tired of dancing without feet, and as a lead-singing Jersey Boy doo-wop falsetto singing “Walk Like A Man—Sing like A Girl”.
Larry Raben shines brightly as all-knowing, all creating Stephen Sondheim, and hits one of the shows funniest “points” as young Daniel Radcliffe playing nude in Equs on Broadway – to show he’s fully matured as an actor after years of plying Harry Potter. Raben and Whitney Allen also raucously bemoan actors’ pain inside tortuous costumes. David Engel evokes a rare range of vocal dexterity while making us belly laugh as he struggles delightfully with “Hitting the Impossible Note” as Don Quixote. Engel also tackles the problem of covering up missed notes with hi-tech by turning up the reverberation as he plays a resourceful Phantom of the Opera. Engel’s an even bigger force to reckon with in Drag, when mimicking Harvey Fierstein’s role in Hairspray. Engel then makes a wise Tevyeh indeed in “Fiddler on the Roof” ushering in a wonderful full cast closing tribute to “AMBITION” to the tune of “Tradition”, to explain what ultimately motivates all would-be Broadway stars. The whole cast also joins to reveal Bob Fosse’s secrets of moving sexy, and the bitter frustration of actors at having to play so many darn “animals” or “puppets” on stage to make a living (CATS, LION KING, “Avenue Q” and “Little Shop Of Horrors”). Come witness all this “Forbidden Fun”.
--- MTW’s “Forbidden Broadway” tickle-ishly revisits Broadway’s greatest shows & stars @ the Carpenter Performing Arts Ctr. 6200 Atherton St, Long Beach. Shows: Thur-Fri-Sat Evenings @ 8:PM. Sat-Sun Matinees @ 2:PM. And Sun May 10 & 17 @ 2:PM. Closes: May 17 @ 2:PM. Tkts: $30-$78(Group Discounts). Phone: (562) 856-1999 Ext#4. Website: www.musical.org