Some 26 years ago (God, could it really be that many years?) I recall dropping into Palsson’s Supper Club somewhere near 72nd street on the upper West Side of Manhattan to see the latest rage touted in all the local papers, the first edition of “Forbidden Broadway,” a sendup for sophisticated audiences by Gerard Alessandrini of the Broadway season. I exited Palsson’s with my sides aching from laughing so deeply and so often.
And so are you likely to ache from so much hilarity piled upon hilarity in the latest edition of “Forbidden Broadway,” now tearing up the stage of the Gateway in Bellport. Of course, full appreciation does depend upon at least a cursory knowledge of show business, recent musicals, and the shrinking supply of Broadway stars. At least, that was the impression given to this viewer by the audience at the show last Friday night.
There were audience members shrieking and falling out of their seats, and there were also a goodly number of senior citizens sitting cross-armed, numb and silent. In fairness, at the curtain call, they all sprang to their feet for the usual, obligatory Bellport standing ovation. Go figure.
Anyway, the Gateway’s current edition of the revue, with some of the brand new, a little of the new and a lot of the old, is blessed with a cast of four that are, every one of them, dynamic comic geniuses with glorious singing voices. Erin Crosby, Kevin B. McGlynn, James Donegan and Kristen Mengelkoch, directed by “Forbidden Broadway” veteran Phillip George and musically directed by astonishing pianist Robert Felstein, are uniformly sublime, milking every situation for every drop of its satirical possibilities, mugging, dancing, and indulging in body bruising physical comedy in huge quantities.
In the background is the presence of the overriding genius in this long running comedy revue—its creator, Gerard Alessandrini. In Bellport, in an evening of 25 or so sendups, only two—those of “Wicked” and an amalgam of physically abundant stars in “Hairspray,” need work. The remaining 23 are gems of pointed, original, on-target caricature.
Of the old favorites, Kristen Mengelkoch’s sendup of an aging “Annie” and a mannered Sarah Brightman are side splitters. And fortunately, with the revival of “Gypsy,” Patti LuPone is now once again fair game, and Ms. Mengelkoch’s sendup of her, down to the trademark twisting of the lips, is treasurable.
Kevin McGlynn’s impersonation of a Cameron MacIntosh more interested in souvenirs than his productions is similarly dissecting. And Mr. McGlynn’s delivery of “Man of La Mancha” singing “The Impossible Song,” is sidesplitting. (Carol Channing, one of the show’s early targets, once said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of battery.”) A lot of former divas and heroes come in for their bumps.
Mr. Alessandrini reportedly, after the Lincoln Center production swept this year’s Tonys, penned a last-minute treatment of the latest revival of “South Pacific” especially for Bellport. It’s delightful, with lots of contemporary references and marvelous wordplay. “A Cockeyed Optimist” becomes “A Cockeyed Ingenue,” and “Some Enchanted Evening” scans and emerges as “Some Endangered Species”—a welcome reference to the lack of good, old-fashioned shows ala Rodgers and Hammerstein on Broadway today.
In the nearly contemporary category of sendups, Mr. Allesandrini and the cast have endless fun bemoaning the Disneyfication of Broadway that includes a tripping “Little Mermaid” and a “Lion King” with a picture of Mickey Mouse in his headdress. The whole pervasive and annoying habit of miking everyone onstage and the ability of sound men to create voices in stars who have no voices is admirably covered in a satire on “Phantom of the Opera” and Michael Crawford’s well-known, by now, crying need for the help of a turned up body mike.
This is coupled with a delightful caricature by Erin Crosby of Ethel Merman, who never needed a microphone.
On and on the satire rolls—Brooke Shields in “Chicago,” the puppets of “Avenue Q,” the language of “Spring Awakening,” the costumes of “Jersey Boys,” the amateurs starring in “Grease.” And a lot more. But the capper, the most hilarious collection of belly laughs, is reserved for a “Forbidden Broadway” classic, “Les Miz” with its many turntables. The Bellport cast sends this one flying into the intermission.
Veteran designer Alvin Colt’s original costumes are multiple jokes all in themselves; Brian Loesch has caught the many moods brilliantly with his lighting design; and a welcome back is due Michael Boyer, not seen at the Gateway for too long, for his busy set, replete with a false proscenium loaded with more junk than a junkyard.
Broadway aficionados will have more fun than anybody else at Gateway’s falling-out-of-your-seat-laughing production of “Forbidden Broadway.” But the rest of an audience that loves to laugh will be delighted, too. Don’t miss it.
“Forbidden Broadway” continues through July 6; call 1-888-4-TIX-NOW or visit www.gatewayplayhouse.com.
on Jun 23, 2008