title

title
Photo by Don Kellogg

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Forbidden Broadway - Comes Out Swinging!

Gerard Alessandrini is at it once again.  His smash hit show, Forbidden Broadway, (subtitle on the Playkill Comes Out Swinging!) is back in the saddle at the comfortable and newly minted Davenport Theatre on West 45th Street.

In classic form, the show playfully skewers the most recent crop of shows on Broadway (and even TV too).  From Book of Mormon to Woody Allen for Bullets Over Broadway to Annie to Patina Miller in Pippin to Kelly O'Hara and Stephen Pasquale in The Bridges of Madison County and Rocky and even into TV - spoofing NBC's Carrie Underwood in The Sound Of Music -  the entertaining evening is innocent and fun-loving for all concerned.  Of course a show wouldn't be complete without a riff on the indomitable Liza - what a perfect opportunity than to throw in an Alan Cumming and Michelle Williams Cabaret spoof dragging in, of course, the grande Damme herself from the movie.

In the past 30 years there have been way too many talented actors to mention here.  This time around the incredible foursome, Carter Calvert, Scott Richard Foster, Mia Gentle, and Marcus Stevens brought smiles to everyone's faces.   Mr. Stevens was a stand-out with his characters including Harvey Fierstein and a near pitch-perfect Mandy Patinkin.

This is an example of a show you can actually revisit periodically as the shows always change but the fun-poking never does.

And if you happen to know someone -who knows someone- who knows Mandy Patinkin, please whisper in his ear that he needs to go see Mr. Stevens' loving performance.