Jenny Lee Stern, Chris Collins-Pisano (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song

By Deirdre Donovan

The latest version of Forbidden Broadway is settling in just fine at Theater 555. Created, written, and directed by Gerard Alessandrini, this revue, entitled Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song, is 90-minutes of sheer theatrical fun.

Sondheim's works are writ large in this show. The subtitle, in fact, is not only a tribute to Alessandrini's late friend and an allusion to one of last season's biggest hits, Merrily We Roll Along, but a clear hint that other Sondheim musicals are parodied in the work. But that's not to say that this iteration of Forbidden Broadway just centers on the kingpin of musical theater and his oeuvre. Not at all. There are sketches that affectionately target Hell's Kitchen, The Great Gatsby, Back to the Future, and even the 2024 Tony Awards at Lincoln Center.

Nicole Vanessa Ortiz, Danny Hayward, Chris Collins-Pisano (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

First up is "Sit Down You're Blocking the Aisle" (a nod to "Sit Down, Your Rockin' the Boat" from Guys and Dolls). In this sketch, Jenny Lee Stern, in the guise of an usher, gives us a routine pre-show talk about turning off your cell phones and not blocking the aisles. Attendees, however, may well detect a strong echo of Patti Lupone's voice in Stern's spiel as she rebukes a rude audience member who is roaming willy-nilly through the aisles. Of course, this contrary audience member turns out to be cast member Chris Collins-Pisano who, in the next beat, heads to the stage with Stern at his heels.

"Forbidden Broadway Not on Broadway," performed by the full cast, is an outlier in the show. Rather than poking fun at a musical, this number turns the mirror on Forbidden Broadway itself. In fact, it points out to the audience that this show, originally scheduled to be on the Great White Way, is not on Broadway, after all. (For those who might have missed the buzz this past summer, Forbidden Broadway was slated to find a home at the Helen Hayes Theatre on July 29, but owing to an extremely crowded Broadway schedule, it never became a reality.) Indeed, you must hand it to this cast for their ability to laugh at themselves, even if it stings a bit.

No question that "Cabaret" is a highlight of this work. The audience gets treated to a retrospective-and mocking--look at the many iterations of Cabaret that have crossed the stage and silver screen over the decades. Performed by Danny Hayward and Stern, the vignette starts with the catchy strains of John Kander and Fred Ebb's "Willkommen" as Hayward enters as the sinister Emcee. He subsequently impersonates Joel Grey, Alan Cumming, and Eddie Redmayne. Stern joins Hayward on stage as Sally Bowles, first in the persona of Liza Minelli and, later on, Gayle Rankin. With deft changes of wig, hats, and costumes, Hayward and Stern create sizzling theatrical magic Berlin-style.

Alessandrini cooks up quite a musical gumbo with his vignette, "Hell's Kitchen and Alicia's Piano Lesson," soulfully performed by Nicole Vanessa Ortiz and Stern. Indeed, this piece shows how far the truth can be dramatically stretched in Hell's Kitchen, the hit musical inspired by the life of Alicia Keys. Although Keys never claimed that the show is a mirror image of her life growing up in Manhattan Plaza, a subsidized apartment building located in Hell's Kitchen, naïve theatergoers may well believe that it's factual. To set the record right, however, Alessandrini has rewritten the scene with Alicia's piano teacher. Suffice it to say, the piano teacher isn't gung-ho about her fate in this altered scene from the musical.

A couple more vignettes deserve mention: "Oh, Mary Todd!" splendidly mocks Broadway's big hit, Oh, Mary! Chris Collins-Pisano looks like a doppelgänger of Cole Escola and nails the zany spirit of this historical rewrite of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Last, but not least, "Shaina Taub: Cheap Marching/Finale," a parody of the musical Suffs, is smartly performed by Stern and the cast, and serves as the show's finale. Indeed, it is best savored like a post-prandial cocktail: with a smile.

Chris Collins-Pisano, Jenny Lee Stern (Photo: Carol Rosegg)

This edition of Forbidden Broadway isn't flawless. When a caricatured Sondheim, played by Stern, intermittently enters and exits the stage, it's not entirely clear why he needs to be physically present when his presence is so strongly felt in the parody of his works. But this is nitpicking the show, which, more often than not, hits the bull's eye.

This latest version of Forbidden Broadway is a hoot. Buoyed by the talents of its four-member cast, it's a gem of a satire.

Forbidden Broadway

Theater 555, 555 W. 42^nd St.

Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission

Through November 3