Making fun of Broadway's hits and stars
By Al Rudis, Staff Writer

Bill Selby, top, has been involved with "Forbidden Broadway" since 1985.

He's directing the Musical Theatre West version of the Broadway spoof

Bill Selby, top, has been involved with "Forbidden Broadway" since 1985. He's directing the Musical Theatre West version of the Broadway spoof. How do you spoof the Civil War? Bill Selby didn't have to do the whole war, but he was asked to stage a parody of a Broadway show with that name. "They had a lot of slow-motion scenes, so we did a whole slapstick slow-motion thing where people were hitting each other in the head," he said. "And Abraham Lincoln would sing, `Boring, boring and pretentious.' (Selby sang the words over the telephone to the tune of "Battle Hymn of the Republic.") That show came and went very fast." His assignment had come from Gerard Alessandrini, for one of Alessandrini's "Forbidden Broadway" revues. Started in a New York club, the shows have been a hit for 27 years, and Selby has been working on them "on and off, mostly on" since 1985. He's directing Musical Theatre West's version that opens Saturday after a preview tonight at the Carpenter Center for the Performing Arts in Long Beach. Alessandrini wrote all of the shows, but he collaborated with others, mostly Phil George, in staging the collection of scenes.

"He would give me the written page and then he would say, come up with something for it," said Selby. "So I would study, and I would get recordings and any kind of video to watch what they were doing in the show. Or I would see the actual show. And then I'd come up with some staging ideas, and Gerard would always have great suggestions. So it was very much a collaboration." The show recently closed in New York for a planned two-year hiatus, but it continues elsewhere.  "They had a short run in Upland, and this one, and there's one that's going to be in London and a possibility of one in L.A.," said Selby. "And we just did one on a cruise ship that was in Hong Kong and Singapore. I was on that one."

The show has had such a long life because Alessandrini is continually updating it with spoofs of newer shows. For example, the production at the Carpenter Center includes a bit on the recent revival of "Equus" that featured the Broadway debut of Daniel Radcliffe of "Harry Potter" fame.  

Selby didn't want to give away any of that bit. "You can say that he uses his magic wand," he said. "Let people ponder that." The show's oldest object of fun is "Fiddler on the Roof." Others include "Jersey Boys," "Les Miserables," "Phantom of the Opera," "Hairspray," "Cats," "Wicked" and "Mamma Mia," another scene Selby staged originally. In all, there are 25 spoofs of plays and actors. Another reason for its longevity is that the show only requires four performers and a piano player, and it can play intimate rooms as well as full theaters such as the Carpenter. The cast in Long Beach includes two "Forbidden Broadway" veterans whom Selby suggested - Suzanne Blakeslee and Whitney Allen - plus two Musical Theatre West favorites - Larry Raben and David Engel. "It's always four in our productions," Selby said. "We've leased it out to community theater groups, and they'll extend it to six and sometimes eight. But professionally, it's four performers, because you want to amaze them with how many different people they can be. You want them to say at the end, `Wow! Only four performers. I thought they were 20.' "And that's why it's such a great launching pad for performers," he said. "Because casting agents or people in the theater look at somebody in `Forbidden Broadway' and often say to themselves, `My God, he can do anything."' (The most famous alumnus of the show is Jason Alexander.)

How does Selby stay enthusiastic about a show he's been doing for so many years, as an understudy, performer, dance captain, assistant director, casting director and director? "You know, `A Chorus Line' asks the question, `What I Did for Love,' right? That's what it is. I do it for love," he said. "It changes every year as the Broadway shows change, so there's always something new, a new challenge and a new imitation to do."

Al Rudis 562-499-1255 al.rudis@presstelegram.com

Forbidden Broadway Greatest Hits Volume I

What: Musical Theatre West revue spoofing well-known Broadway plays and actors.

When: Previews tonight; Opens Saturday and continues at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday through May 17, with additional shows at 2 p.m. May 9 and 16 and 7 p.m. May 10.

Where: Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach.

Tickets: $30 to $46, with premium seating (first 12 rows in the center) $66 for previews; regular run is $49, $69 premium ; $56, $76 premium for Saturday matinees; $58, $78 premium for for Thursday, Friday and Sunday evenings Saturday evening and Sunday matinee ; parking in Carpenter Center lot is $5.

Information: 562-856-1999, Ext. 4