'Forbidden Broadway' triumphs with last new show
Jennifer Farrar, Associated Press Writer
The final curtain will come down Jan. 15 for the annual musical joy that is "Forbidden Broadway," but this long-running production is exiting on a triumphant note with "Forbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab," now on view at off-Broadway's 47th Street Theatre.
Conceived and lovingly written for the past two and a half decades by Gerard Alessandrini, the new show mixes five versatile cast members, both fresh and seasoned, in a sparkling tribute to -- and occasional lament about -- the current state of Broadway theater. Special disapproval is aimed at Disney productions, in witty numbers such as "Feed the Burbs," featuring outstanding FB veteran Gina Kreiezmar as a smug Mary Poppins, and "Be-Little Mermaid," in which diminutive Christina Bianco flops hilariously atop the piano as a disappointed, legless Ariel.
FB newcomer Bianco is particularly charming, skillfully parodying multiple Broadway divas, and even Frankie Valli, in the "Jersey Goys" segment. Her superb turns include an overly intense Bebe Neuwirth ("All That Chat") and her rapid-fire, show-stopping skewering of the many voices of Kristin Chenoweth in "Glitter and Be Glib."
Kreiezmar gleefully chews up the stage as Patti LuPone, belting out "Everything's Coming Up Patti," and freshens up the standard lampooning of Liza Minnelli in "Liza One Note."
Musical director and pianist David Caldwell shines masterfully, while two talented male performers round out the cast. Hunky Jared Bradshaw performs as a bashful Daniel Radcliffe in "Equus -- Let Me Enter Naked," a clueless Cheyenne Jackson in "Xanadude" and a wonderfully faux-humble Stephen Sondheim in a big tribute, "Putting Up Revivals."
Zany Michael West sends up multiple Broadway stars, ranging from a rap-addled Lin-Manuel Miranda of "In the Heights" to a delightful take on Harvey Fierstein.
Co-directed by Alessandrini and Philip George, the production races along from one wonderful vignette to the next. Colorful costumes by the late Alvin Colt and David Moyer light up each number. This is one very well-done Broadway roast, and you may even want to go back for seconds.
