Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole A Song
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Cititour.com Review
For over 40 years, dedicated theatergoers have relied on Gerard Alessandrini to deliciously skewer Broadway’s best and worst shows in his “Forbidden Broadway” series of musical revues. Considering the size of the target, it’s no surprise that sometimes the misses have been more plentiful than the hits. And in recent years, Alessandrini’s well-worn complaints about false rhymes, low-key personalities, and overblown British musicals have simply grown wearisome.
Luckily, his newest outing, “Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song,” now at Theatre 555, avoids most of these pitfalls -- so you’re practically guaranteed to laugh loudly and often throughout its 95 minutes. Credit belongs not just to Alessandrini (who also directed the piece), but a truly superb quartet of performers (accompanied by longtime musical director Fred Barton) who are sublime mimics as well as game actors who seemingly never worry about looking (too) stupid.
Unquestionably, the show is at its strongest when taking perfect aim at Broadway’s most outsized personalities. The miraculous, iron-lunged Jenny Lee Stern embodies the full Betty Boopiness of Bernadette Peters, the full-strength ferocity of Patti LuPone, and the seeming false humility of former First Lady Hillary Clinton, who produced the sleeper hit “Suffs.” (She also perfectly captures the over-earnestness of that show’s star and writer, Shaina Taub.)
Meanwhile, Chris Collins-Pisano is poignantly hilarious while decimating Ben Platt (decked in what appears to be the same misbegotten robe he wore at the Palace Theatre) or sending up Daniel Radcliffe in the very clever “Harry Potter Inc.” The versatile Danny Hayward is perfection as the three best-known Emcees of “Cabaret” (Joel Grey, Alan Cumming, and Eddie Redmayne), while contributing other strong celebrity impressions, such as Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, and Casey Likes.
Last but not least, the lovely Nicole Vanessa Ortiz shows off her remarkable acting and singing range as Cynthia Erivo as the “age-defying” Elphaba in the film version of “Wicked,” the super-rangy Lorna Courtney in “&Juliet” (complaining about how all the key changes and modulation made her throat constantly sore), and the peerless Audra McDonald as Mama Rose in the upcoming revival of “Gypsy” -- a casting idea of which Alessandrini, the ultimate Mermanite, clearly disapproves, her six Tony Awards be damned!
Somewhat surprisingly, though, Alessandri lets this season’s biggest flops off without a scratch, merely namechecking “Lempicka” and “The Notebook” for example. The mediocre “Back to the Future” is used as a set-up to various numbers, but Alessandrini takes few potshots at the actual show. Moreover, his satiric number about movie rip-offs, “The Power of Math” doesn’t add up. Nor does “Great Gatsby for Dummies” amuse as intended, letting that awful musical adaptation of Fitzgerald’s sublime novella off the hook far too easily.
Alessandrini is actually harder on the current successes, to lesser effect. He beats to death the notion that “The Outsiders” is little more than a mash-up of “West Side Story” and “Grease,” as well as the fact that “Hell’s Kitchen” takes a whole lot of liberties with the true story of Alicia Keys’ adolescence.
Conversely, an even longer parody of the wonderfully weird “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” would have been fine by me. Most of all, I sincerely wish we got more than just a verse or two of the brilliant “Oh Mary Todd.” (Special kudos here to costume designer Dustin Cross, who does yeoman work across the board.)
Still, there’s more than enough tasty fruit to take a bite of “Merrily We Still a Song.” Having this much fun is never a crime -- nor should it ever be forbidden!
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
https://www.forbiddenbroadway.nyc/
Open/Close Dates
Opening 9/19/2024
Closing 1/5/2025
Theatre Info
Theater555
555 West 42nd Street
Neighborhood: West 40s
New York, NY 10036
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