Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Riotous "Forbidden Broadway: Alive and Kicking!"

 
My best musical decisions this year - experiencing The Mystery of Edwin Drood right after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the New York area and ending 2012 by experiencing Forbidden Broadway: Alive and Kicking! After three years, Forbidden Broadway created and written by Gerard Alessandrini is back and what a joy it is to behold after a few musical disappointments this year.  

Highlights in this 21st edition of the Broadway musical parody include the overly affectionate divas (I mean duo) Mandy Patinkin and Patti LuPone, Elena Roger lacking star quality in Evita and over the top Tracie Bennett as Judy Garland. The four member cast is absolutely wonderful with special shoutout to the petite Jenny Lee Stern and newcomer Marcus Stevens.


So, Who Were Some of the Unspared
An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Pantinkin
Nice Work If You Can Get It - Matthew Broderick and Kellie O'Hara
Spider-Man - Julie Taymor and Bono
Evita - Ricky Martin and Elena Roger
The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess - Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis and special appearance by Diane Paulus
Follies - Bernadette Peters and special appearance by Stephen Sondheim
A Little Night Music - Catherine Zeta-Jones Tony performance (was I the only one that thought that Natalie Charlé Ellis resembled her subject here?)
Once
End of the Rainbow
Annie
Wicked
Smash TV show
Newsies - Special appearance by book writer Harvey Fierstein
Anything Goes - Sutton Foster

The Book of Morons (I mean The Book of Mormon)
The Lion King
Rock of Ages

Mary Poppins
Jersey Boys 


Forbidden Broadway: Alive and Kicking! The UN-original Cast Recording was recently released and the cast will be holding a signing next week at the The Drama Book Shop. I don't do signings after my B&N Merrilly We Roll Along fiasco but I will definitely pick up or download the album to catch all the zingers I missed during the riotous show at the 47th Street Theatre. 

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