Forbidden Broadway 2001: A Spoof Odyssey
Encyclopedia
Forbidden Broadway 2001: A Spoof Odyssey is the 21st century's first incarnation of the Off-Broadway
revue Forbidden Broadway
. It was conceived, created and written by Gerard Alessandrini
and satirizes Broadway's latest shows and stars. Phillip George co-directed with Alessandrini, with Catherine Stornetta the musical director and piano accompanist. George contributed some of the ideas and dialogue for the sketches.
The show opened in December 2000 in the Stardust Theater (at Ellen's Stardust Diner). An album, the seventh in the series, accompanies the show, having been recorded and mixed in December 2000 by Cynthia Daniels at Sound on Sound
in New York.
The show continues the tradition of commenting on current Broadway issues. It spoofs new shows, including Beauty and the Beast
, Aida
, and The Full Monty
, and the revivals of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
, The Music Man
, Cabaret
, and Kiss Me, Kate
; older shows, such as Annie Get Your Gun
, Miss Saigon
, and Les Misérables
; and personalities, such as Gwen Verdon
, Édith Piaf
, Heather Headley
, Marin Mazzie
, Ben Brantley
. The reviewer for CurtainUp noted that the "best and most original sequence is the one built around Contact. It's again underpinned by business concerns."
A list of the songs on the Original Cast recording, with the songs they parody and the original composers listed.
Alan Cumming in Cabaret ("Wilkommen", Kander - Ebb)
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...
revue 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...
. It was conceived, created and written by 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...
and satirizes Broadway's latest shows and stars. Phillip George co-directed with Alessandrini, with Catherine Stornetta the musical director and piano accompanist. George contributed some of the ideas and dialogue for the sketches.
The show opened in December 2000 in the Stardust Theater (at Ellen's Stardust Diner). An album, the seventh in the series, accompanies the show, having been recorded and mixed in December 2000 by Cynthia Daniels at Sound on Sound
Sound on Sound
Sound on Sound is an independently-owned monthly music technology magazine published by SOS Publications Group, based in Cambridge, UK. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, and interviews with industry professionals...
in New York.
The show continues the tradition of commenting on current Broadway issues. It spoofs new shows, including Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical...
, Aida
Aida (musical)
Aida is a musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls, and David Henry Hwang, and produced by Walt Disney Theatrical....
, and The Full Monty
The Full Monty (musical)
The Full Monty is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally and score by David Yazbek.In this Americanized musical stage version adapted from the 1997 British film of the same name, six unemployed Buffalo steelworkers, low on both cash and prospects, decide to present a strip act at a local club...
, and the revivals of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
, The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
, Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
, and Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
; older shows, such as Annie Get Your Gun
Annie Get Your Gun (musical)
Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...
, Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
, and 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....
; and personalities, such as Gwen Verdon
Gwen Verdon
Gwenyth Evelyn “Gwen” Verdon was an actress and dancer who won four Tony awards for her musical comedy performances. With flaming red hair and an endearing quaver in her voice, Verdon was a critically acclaimed dancer on Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s...
, Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
, Heather Headley
Heather Headley
Heather Headley is a Trinidadian-American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She has won one Tony Award and one Grammy Award.-Personal life:...
, Marin Mazzie
Marin Mazzie
Marin Joy Mazzie is an American actress and singer known for her work in musical theater. She was nominated for the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Olivier Award for her role as Lilli/Katharine in Kiss Me, Kate, and won the Outer Critics Circle Award...
, Ben Brantley
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
. The reviewer for CurtainUp noted that the "best and most original sequence is the one built around Contact. It's again underpinned by business concerns."
Cast
Source: New York Times- Felicia Finley
- Danny Gurwin
- Tony Nation
- Christine PediChristine PediChristine Pedi is a television and theatre actress. She is also a cabaret performer and radio personality and younger cousin of the late Tom Pedi.-Theatre:BroadwayShe has appeared in three Broadway-theatre productions in New York City, New York....
Tracks
Source: AllMusicA list of the songs on the Original Cast recording, with the songs they parody and the original composers listed.
- 01 "Forbidden Broadway 2001" ("Another Op'nin, Another Show", Cole PorterCole PorterCole 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...
) - 02 "Futuristic Stewardess/ Usherette" ("Come Fly with Me", Cahn - Van Heusen)
- 03 "Judi Dench" ("Why Can't the English?", Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
- Frederick Loewe) - 04 "Trouble in New York City" ("Trouble", Willson)
- 05 "The Music Man Revival 2001" ("Till There Was You", Willson)
- 06 "Cole Porter" ("You're the Top" and "From this Moment OnFrom This Moment On (Cole Porter song)"From This Moment On" is a 1951 popular song written by Cole Porter, for his musical Out of This World, where it was dropped, but included in MGM's Kiss Me Kate of 1953...
", Porter) - 07 "Kiss Me, Kate Revival 2001" ("Wunderbar", Porter)
- 08 "I Hate Ben - Marin Mazzie" ("I Hate Men", Porter)
- 09 "Cheryl Ladd in 'Annie Get Your Gun' " ("There's No Business Like Show Business", Irving BerlinIrving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
) - 10 "Miss Saigon Farewell" ("Why God Why?", Boubil - Schönberg)
- 11 "Saturday Night Fiasco" ("Stayin' Alive", B., M., and R. Gibb)
- 12 "Gwen Verdon and the Bob Fosse Dancers" ("I'm a Brass Band", Coleman - Fields; and "Steam Heat", Adler - Ross)
- 13 "Liza Minnelli 2001" (original, Alessandrini)
Alan Cumming in Cabaret ("Wilkommen", Kander - Ebb)
- 14 "Let's Ruin Times Square Again" ("Time Warp", Richard O'BrienRichard O'BrienRichard Timothy Smith , better known under his stage name Richard O'Brien, is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. He is perhaps best known for writing the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show and for his role in presenting the popular TV show The Crystal Maze...
) - 15 "Ethel Merman and Elton John" ("I've Got Rhythm", Gershwin - Gershwin; and "Old Fashioned Wedding", Berlin)
- 16 "Beauty's Been Decreased" ("Beauty and the Beast", Menken - Ashman)
- 17 "Being Lupone" ("Being Alive", Sondheim)
- 18 "Sondheim's Blues" ("Buddy's Blues", Sondheim)
- 19 "Streisand's Farewell Tour" ("Happy Days are Here Again", Jack YellenJack YellenJack Selig Yellen was an American lyricist and screenwriter.-Life and career:Born in Poland, Yellen emigrated with his family to the United States when he was five years old. The oldest of seven children, he was raised in Buffalo, New York and began writing songs in high school...
-Milton AgerMilton AgerMilton Ager was an American composer.Ager was born in Chicago, Illinois, the sixth of nine children. Leaving school with only three years of formal high-school education, he taught himself to play the piano and embarked on a career as a musician. After spending time as an accompanist to silent...
; and Mame, Herman) - 20 "Les Miz 2001"
- Edith Piaf ("MilordMilord (song)"Milord" or "Ombre de la Rue" is a 1959 song , famously sung by Édith Piaf. It is a chanson that recounts the feelings of a lower-class "girl of the port" who develops a crush on an elegantly attired apparent upper-class British traveller , whom she has seen walking the streets of the...
", Monnot - Moustaki) - Javert ("Stars", Boubil - Schönberg - Kretzmer)
- 21 "Aida"
- Amneris Intro ("Every Story is a Love Story", John - Rice)
- Heather Hedley/ It's Cheesy ("Easy as Life", John - Rice)
- 22 "Elaborate Sets" (Aida Cont.) ("Elaborate Lives", John - Rice)
- 23 "Angela Lansbury" ("I Don't Want to Know", Herman)
- 24 "The Full Monty" ("Let it Go", Yazbek)
- 25 "76 Hit Shows" ("76 Trombones", Willson)
- 26 "Bows - Ta- Ta Folks" ("Another Op'nin, Another Show", Porter)
- 27 "Joseph and the Amazing High "C" "- Bonus Track ("Any Dream Will Do", Webber - Rice)
See also
- Forbidden BroadwayForbidden BroadwayForbidden 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...
- Forbidden Broadway, Vol. 1Forbidden Broadway, Vol. 1Forbidden Broadway, known also as Forbidden Broadway, Volume 1, is the first album released by Gerard Alessandrini, the creator of Forbidden Broadway...
- Forbidden Broadway, Vol. 2Forbidden Broadway, Vol. 2Forbidden Broadway, Volume 2 is the second album released for Forbidden Broadway , an off-Broadway musical that spoofs Broadway's latest musicals. The album was recorded and mixed in February 1991 in New York at Sear Sound....
- Forbidden Broadway, Vol. 3Forbidden Broadway, Vol. 3Forbidden Broadway, Volume 3 is the third album released to accompany Gerard Alessandrini's off-Broadway show Forbidden Broadway, which spoofs Broadway's latest musicals. Volume 3 was recorded in November 1993 and released in 1994, recorded at DRG Records, Inc. in New York.The album follows the...
- Forbidden HollywoodForbidden HollywoodForbidden Hollywood is the parody show taped live in Hollywood created by Gerard Alessandrini, who also created the ever-popular Forbidden Broadway. But instead of spoofing Broadway, FH spoofed popular films Forbidden Hollywood is the parody show taped live in Hollywood created by Gerard...
- Forbidden Broadway Strikes BackForbidden Broadway Strikes BackForbidden Broadway Strikes Back! is a version of Forbidden Broadway created by Gerard Alessandrini. It Previewed Thursday September 5, 1996 and Opened at the Triad Theater Wednesday October 16, 1996. It later moved to the basement of Ellen's Stardust Diner and, as is the show's tradition, spoofed...
- Forbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its ActForbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its ActForbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its Act is the fifth incarnation of Gerard Alessandrini's Forbidden Broadway, his popular off-Broadway musical revue spoofing "the best of Broadway". All the parody lyrics were written by Gerard Alessandrini. This version was co-directed by Mr. Alessandrini and his...
- Forbidden Broadway: 20th Anniversary EditionForbidden Broadway: 20th Anniversary EditionForbidden Broadway: 20th Anniversary Edition is the sixth volume in the Forbidden Broadway Cast Albums. Although there isn't a show with the same title, the CD has twenty-five of Forbidden Broadway's best songs, including eight previously unreleased tracks...
- Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims UnitForbidden Broadway: Special Victims UnitForbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit is the ninth incarnation of Gerard Alessandrini's musical revue...
- Forbidden Broadway: Rude AwakeningForbidden Broadway: Rude AwakeningForbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening is the 2007 incarnation of Gerard Alessandrini's long-running hit Off Broadway musical revue Forbidden Broadway, which parodies notable current Broadway and Off Broadway musicals....
- Forbidden Broadway Goes to RehabForbidden Broadway Goes to RehabForbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab is the final incarnation of Gerard Alessandrini's long-running hit Off-Broadway musical revue Forbidden Broadway, which parodies notable current Broadway and Off Broadway musicals. The revue ran in 2008.-Production:...