The bigger they are . . . the easier they are to lampoon. And the Great White Way's biggest names - stars, producers, composers - are fair game for the rapier-honed, merciless mirth of "Forbidden Broadway."
In the best "the show must go on" show-biz tradition, the official opening night of the Theatre League of Utah's presentation of the off-Broadway hit was smoother than expected even with one key member of the ensemble - performer/director John Freedson - missing due to a bout with the flu.But the ensemble regrouped and only a couple of songs were cut. (Freedson is expected to be back in the show soon, and we'll do a followup report then.)
Even with one-fifth of the company gone, first-nighters still saw much of what's been keeping New Yorkers (and NYC visitors) in stitches for 10 years.
Big-name celebrities and mega-hit shows are roasted to an extremely well-done stage by writer Gerard Alessandrini's devastating lyrics.
Cameron Mackintosh, the man behind "Phantom of the Opera," "Cats" and "Les Miserables," among others, is parodied by William Selby's homage to Broadway merchandising in "My Souvenir Things."
"Sweatshirts and T-shirts and blankets and mittens
Whiskers and cat ears and little stuffed kittens
Old `Les Mis' bodices held up by strings
These are a few of my souvenir things . . ."
Then he whips open his cape to reveal. . .
"Key chains and wallets and chandelier crystals
Coffee cups, playing cards, Jean Valjean pistols
Dry ice from `Phantom' and turntable springs
These are a few of my souvenir things.
When a show flops
When the gross drops
When a week is slow
I market and merchandise
Souvenir things
And grosses don't seem so low."
While Selby did some fine turns as Richard Harris as Camelot's King Arthur ("I know what you people are thinking tonight - you're wondering what the King is DRINKING tonight") and Andrew Lloyd Webber as "The Phantom of the Musical," the two featured female performers - Lori Hammel and Christine Pedi - had the real plum impersonations.
Barb's barbs (those aimed squarely at Barbra Streisand) surfaced twice - first in Hammel's wonderful burlesque of Patti LuPone ("Don't Cry for Me Barbra Streisand"), which managed to tweak some Hollywood noses by suggesting that MGM had purchased the film rights to "Evita" for Doris Day (while everyone, including Streisand, eventually loses out to the latest rumored celeb for the title role, Madonna), and, later during the second act, Hammel masquerading as Streisand herself, in Fanny Bryce garb, lamenting that "There's a show for me. . .somewhere a show for me."
Pedi's great as grownup Andrea McArdle, bemoaning that "I'm 30 years old Tomorrow and I haven't worked since I played `Annie' when I was 10."
The Carol Channing parody was also right on target as the legendary performer reviving her No. 1 role forever in "Dolly Is a Girl's Best Friend" (borrowing her "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" signature tune).
"I've played Lorelei
And I've done Modern Millie
But Dolly is a girl's best friend . . .
Love Boat's nice (I've done that twice)
But there's one show I'll do to the end.
I'll die or go bonkers
Or end up in Yonkers
Dolly is a girl's best friend."
The ensemble numbers in "Forbidden Broadway" were brilliant, as well.
The best of the lot had to be an extended takeoff on "Les Miserables."
Forlorn-looking Selby and Hammel dizzily spin around on a make-believe turntable and sing . . .
"At the end of the play
See the audience smolder
Sitting flat on their butts for three hours or more.
They can't wait to get back home
And to read the libretto in bed
To decipher whatever went on
And what he said."
Then there's a sad-faced Fantine intoning . . .
"I dreamed a show in days gone by
When all the scen'ry looked so pretty.
I didn't sing one song, then die
And all my costumes weren't so gritty."
The rapid-fire recitation about the plot of "Les Miserables" ( . . . then Jean Valjean becomes involved in the French Revolution, but not the Big Famous One, the little later one you thought you didn't know anything about) and the flag-waving finale (with an appropriately tacky plastic flag - French on one side, British on the other) are hilarious, too.
Pedi and Hammel have some great duets, notably as Chita vs. Rita (Rivera vs. Moreno) in a spoof set to "Puerto Rico" from "West Side Story" and pairing of decible-busting Ethel Merman ("Everything's Coming Up Merman") and meek Mary Martin ("I'm Just a Cockeyed Vocalist"), constantly upstaging each other.
Broadway auditions and ticket scalpers also get soundly lampooned. For the former, the revue's incredible pianist, Catherine Stornetta, complains vocally about being stuck with "Playing Their Songs") and brilliant new lyrics for"Fugue for Tin Horns" for the latter.
Pedi also was wonderful as the hyperactive Lisa Minnelli and Hammell had another show-stopping number as an aging Julie Andrews ("I Couldn't Hit the Note").
Selby's "I Enjoy Being a Cat," a witty takeoff on Lloyd Webber's "Cats" was a lot of fun.
The least successful pieces in the revue were Hammel's "(Old) Woman of the Year" sendup of Lauren Bacall and Pedi's "Dreamgirls" solo - shows that are probably generally unfamiliar to many Utahns.
While the humor is razor-sharp, "Forbidden Broadway" also has its reverential side. Parody IS the best form of flattery - and the troupe concludes the show with a nice "Give Our Regards to Broadway" finale.
Production supervisor/stage manager Dean Michael and lighting designer Nicholas Cavallaro deserve kudos for making the whole show click.
With the rapid-paced switches from character to character on stage, it would be fun to see all the commotion going on backstage as well. This show must have 50 different costumes and easily as many various wigs.
And while the comedy is vicious, the show itself is squeaky-clean. If your children are familiar with "Les Miserables" and "Phantom of the Opera," then they'll get a kick out of "Forbidden Broadway," too.