Forbidden Broadway, Vol. 2 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Forbidden Broadway, Volume 2 is the second album released for Forbidden Broadway
Forbidden Broadway
Forbidden Broadway is an Off-Broadway satirical revue conceived, written and directed by Gerard Alessandrini. The original version of the revue opened on January 15, 1982 at Palsson's Supper Club in New York City and ran for 2,332 performances. Alessandrini has rewritten the show over a dozen...

(FB), an off-Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...

musical that spoofs Broadway's latest musicals. The album was recorded and mixed in February 1991 in New York at Sear Sound.

In the liner notes, Gerard Alessandrini

Gerard Alessandrini

Gerard Alessandrini is an American playwright, parodist, actor and theatre director best known for creating the award-winning off-Broadway musical theatre parody revue Forbidden Broadway...

, the show's creator, gives an insight on the show. He explains first why Volume 2 is labeled as the "Unoriginal Cast Recording": firstly, there is already an FB original cast recording; secondly, Alessandri points out that very little about FB is original. He also explains the purpose of releasing a new album: the show had had six different editions, so after many requests by fans, a second volume seemed appropriate. The album includes their best from 1985, 1986 and 1990. All the lyrics and sketches for Forbidden Broadway Vol. 2 (and all other editions) are written by Gerard Alessandrini.

This time, FB attacks shows such as Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....

, La Cage aux Folles, Sweeney Todd, The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...

, and Into the Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...

, and stars such as Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...

, Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

, Bob Fosse

Bob Fosse

Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...

, George Hearn

George Hearn

George Hearn is an American actor and singer, primarily in Broadway musical theatre.-Early years:Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Hearn studied philosophy at Southwestern at Memphis, now Rhodes College before he embarked on a career in the theater, training for the stage with actress turned acting...

, Mary Martin

Mary Martin

Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...

, Chita Rivera

Chita Rivera

Chita Rivera is an American actress, dancer, and singer best known for her roles in musical theater. She is the first Hispanic woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award...

and Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award....

. It even spoofs major theatre topics, such as the high prices of tickets, the confusion between Chita Rivera and Rita Moreno, the deterioration of Broadway, and the difficulty of Sondheim's lyrics.

Cast

Gerard Alessandrini
Gerard Alessandrini
Gerard Alessandrini is an American playwright, parodist, actor and theatre director best known for creating the award-winning off-Broadway musical theatre parody revue Forbidden Broadway...
Toni DiBuono
Philip Fortenberry (piano)
John Freedson
Phillip George
Dorothy Kiara
Kevin Ligon
Roxie Lucas
Michael McGrath
Michael McGrath (actor)
Michael McGrath is an American stage actor. He is best known for his role as Patsy in Spamalot, for which he received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He has been an ensemble member and understudy for many shows, including My Favorite Year, Swinging on a Star and...
Karen Murphy
William Selby
Linda Strasser

Track listing

The musical numbers on the album are listed below. The names of the numbers are listed first, followed by the title of the spoofed song and the song's original composer, the latter two being in parentheses.

01 "Opening" (original, Alessandrini)

"Who Do They Know?" (original, Alessandrini)

02 "Forbidden Broadway Volume 2" (original, Alessandrini)

03 "Fugue For Scalpers" ("Fugue For Tinhorns

Guys and Dolls

Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably...

")

04 "Patti LuPone

Patti LuPone

Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...

" ("Anything Goes

Anything Goes (song)

"Anything Goes" is a popular song written by Cole Porter for his musical Anything Goes . Many of the lyrics feature humorous references to various figures of scandal and gossip in Depression Era high society...

", Porter

Cole Porter

Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...

)

"I Get A Kick Out Of Me" ("I Get a Kick out of You

I Get a Kick Out of You

"I Get a Kick Out of You" is a song by Cole Porter, originally featured in the Broadway musical Anything Goes and the movie of the same name....

", Porter)

05 "Into The Words" ("Into the Woods

Into the Woods

Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...

" and "Weekend In The Country", Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim

)

06 "Annie II" ("Tomorrow", Annie
Annie (musical)
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...

)

07 "M. Butterfly" ("Poor Butterfly

Poor Butterfly

"Poor Butterfly" is a popular song. It was inspired by Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly and contains a brief musical quote from the act 2 duet Tutti i fior in the verse....

")

08 "Madonna's Brain" ("The Rain in Spain

The Rain in Spain

"The Rain in Spain" is a song from the musical My Fair Lady, with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. The song was published in 1956....

", Loewe)

09 "Never, Never Panned" ("Never Never Land

Peter Pan (1954 musical)

Peter Pan is a musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan and Barrie's own novelization of it, Peter and Wendy. The music is mostly by Mark "Moose" Charlap, with additional music by Jule Styne, and most of the lyrics were written by Carolyn Leigh, with additional lyrics by Betty...

", Styne

Jule Styne

Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...

)

10 "Somewhat Overindulgent" ("Over the Rainbow

Over the Rainbow

"Over the Rainbow" is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland in the movie...

", Arlen

Harold Arlen

Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...

)

11 "Chita-Rita" ("America

America (West Side Story song)

"America" is a well-known song from the musical West Side Story. Leonard Bernstein composed the music; Stephen Sondheim wrote the song's lyrics...

", Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...

)

12 "I Ham What I Ham" ("I Am What I Am

I Am What I Am (Broadway musical song)

"I am what I am" is a song originally introduced in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles . The song is the finale number of the musical's first act, and performed by the character of Albin Mougeotte, first played by George Hearn...

", Herman

Jerry Herman

Jerry Herman is an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway musical theater. He composed the scores for the hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. He has been nominated for the Tony Award five times, and won twice, for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage...

)

13 "Hey, Bob Fosse" ("Hey, Big Spender

Big Spender

"Big Spender" is a song written by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields for the musical Sweet Charity, first performed in 1966. It is sung, in the musical, by the dance hostess "girls"; it was choreographed by Bob Fosse for the Broadway musical and the film...

", Coleman

Cy Coleman

Cy Coleman was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.-Life and career:He was born Seymour Kaufman on June 14, 1929, in New York City to Eastern European Jewish parents, and was raised in the Bronx. His mother, Ida was an apartment landlady and his father was a brickmason...

-Fields

Dorothy Fields

Dorothy Fields was an American librettist and lyricist.She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films...

)

14 "Almost Like Vegas In New York" ("Almost Like Being in Love

Almost Like Being in Love

"Almost Like Being in Love" is a popular song published in 1947. The music was written by Frederick Loewe, and the lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner....

", Loewe)

15 "Teeny Todd" ("Ballad Of Sweeney Todd", Sondheim)

16 "Liza" (original, Alessandrini, based on "Johnny One Note

Johnny One Note

"Johnny One Note" is a 1937 show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms, where it was introduced by Wynn Murrary. Judy Garland sang it in the film version, released in 1939.-Notable recordings:...

" by Rodgers and Hart

Rodgers and Hart

Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership of composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist Lorenz Hart...

)

17 "Ladies Who Screech" ("Ladies Who Lunch

Company (musical)

Company is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six....

", Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim

)

18 "Phantom Of The Musical" (original, Alessandri, based on "The Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera (song)

"The Phantom of the Opera" is a song from the stage musical of the same name, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, sung by Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, lyrics written by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and additional lyrics by Mike Batt...

" by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...

, and "O mio babbino caro

O mio babbino caro

"O mio babbino caro" is a soprano aria from the opera Gianni Schicchi , by Giacomo Puccini, to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy she loves, have reached a breaking point that threatens to...

")

Lloyd Weber ("Goldfinger

Goldfinger (song)

"Goldfinger" was the title song from the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Composed by John Barry and with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, the song was performed by Shirley Bassey for the film's opening and closing title sequences, as well as the soundtrack album release...

", Barry

John Barry (composer)

John Barry Prendergast, OBE was an English conductor and composer of film music. He is best known for composing the soundtracks for 12 of the James Bond films between 1962 and 1987...

-Newley

Anthony Newley

Anthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...

-Bricusse

Leslie Bricusse

Leslie Bricusse is an English composer, lyricist, and playwright.Although best known for his partnership with Anthony Newley, Bricusse has worked with many other composers. He was educated at University College School in London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge...

)

19 "Give My Regards to Broadway

Give My Regards to Broadway

"Give My Regards to Broadway" is a song written by George M. Cohan for his musical play Little Johnny Jones ....

" (Cohan

George M. Cohan

George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....

)

George M ("Yankee Doodle Dandy

The Yankee Doodle Boy

"The Yankee Doodle Boy", also well known as " Yankee Doodle Dandy" is a patriotic song from the Broadway musical Little Johnny Jones written by George M. Cohan...

", Cohan)

20 "More Miserable Sequence"

Les Miserable ("C'est Magnifique

C'est Magnifique

"C'est Magnifique" is a 1953 popular song written by Cole Porter for his 1953 musical Can-Can, where it was introduced by Lilo and Peter Cookson The song has become a standard, despite weak performance in the 1953 charts...

", Porter)

End Of The Play ("End Of The Day", Boubil-Schönberg)

I Dreamed A Show ("I Dreamed a Dream

I Dreamed a Dream

"I Dreamed a Dream" is a song from the musical Les Misérables. It is a solo that is sung by the character Fantine during the first act. The music is by Claude-Michel Schönberg, with orchestrations by John Cameron...

", Boubil-Schönberg)

Bring It Down ("Bring Him Home", Boubil-Schönberg)

Empty Songs, Empty Lyrics ("Empty Chairs at Empty Tables", Boublil

Alain Boublil

Alain Boublil is a musical theatre lyricist and librettist, best known for his collaborations with the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg for musicals on Broadway and London's West End...

-Schönberg

Claude-Michel Schönberg

Claude-Michel Schönberg is a French record producer, actor, singer, songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with the lyricist Alain Boublil.These include the musicals:...

)

Recitative (original, Alessandri)

Do You Hear The People Sing? ("Do You Hear the People Sing?", Boubil-Schönberg)

21 "Finale" (original, Alessandrini)

Cast

Track listing

See also