Go Ahead—Take A Bite!
Cosmopolitan Cabaret’s Forbidden Broadway is wickedly delicious!
Review by Joan E. Kruger
Staff Writer
Leaving the Cosmopolitan Cabaret after an opening night of nonstop laughs at Forbidden Broadway, the latest musical revue to grace that stage, part of me couldn’t wait to get home and start on the review—and part of me didn’t want to write it at all, because as soon as I do, it becomes a bit of a “spoiler” and I really, really just want everyone to go and see it themselves! Part of the fun is the element of delighted surprise with each new parody—so let me write about it without actually giving too much away, because seriously, if you’re a fan of musical theater you really, really have to go see this hilarious show! Lee and Melissa WolfKlain parodying The Lion King in the Cosmopolitan Cabaret production of Forbidden Broadway running through March 18. Photo by Charr Crail.
Award-winning Forbidden Broadway is the brainchild of Gerard Alessandrini, and is a collection of musical parodies of Broadway shows put together in a nightclub act that has been tickling the funny bones of audiences since 1982. It is updated regularly and has spawned fifteen editions, now enjoying fame as New York’s longest running musical comedy revue!
While I expected parodies of the best known show-stopping tunes of the Great White Way, something along the line of Weird Al Yankovic perhaps, this was nothing like that—but far, far cleverer! The cast of four, Marc Ginsburg, Jerry Lee (a native of Sacramento), Jessica Reiner-Harris, and Melissa WolfKlain (seen recently at the Cabaret in Suds and A Grand Night for Singing), are all stunningly talented individually, and wonderful as an ensemble, too, in the various configurations that each bit requires.
Under the direction of William Selby (and Musical Director Graham
Sobelman), the show runs seamlessly from routine to routine, which, by the way, requires dozens of costume changes for each of these pros! Some of the shows satirized include Cats, The Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof, The Jersey Boys, Annie, and many more. Disney gets more than a barb or two for their seemingly endless franchise of animated feature films to Broadway productions; Cameron MacIntosh (of Les Mis fame and beyond) takes a hit for his marketing of the tie-in merchandise (one of my favorite bits), and that’s just for starters. (L to R) Jerry Lee, Jessica Reiner-Harris and Marc Ginsburg parodying Chicago in the Cosmopolitan Cabaret production of Forbidden Broadway running through March 18. Photo by Charr Crail.
An example of how it all works: one very funny song parodying Avenue Q (and also Lion King and Little Shop of Horrors) features Marc Ginsburg (wearing the Avenue Q T-shirt) with puppets—but his song “You Gotta Get a Puppet” is to the tune of “You Gotta Get a Gimmick”, which is from Gypsy. Another bit opens with a Sally Boles character lounging on the piano, so of course we are expecting something from Cabaret, but instead she leads us into Les Misérables instead, bringing the other three out (in appropriate costume) to sing their own show’s songs—well, with the reinvented lyrics, of course! For example, the Eponine character sings about “texting…on my phone” to the “On My Own” song from Les Mis. Impossible to say which was my favorite, although the Mandy Patinkin “Somewhat Overindulgent” is certainly at the top of the list, as well as the whole Fiddler on the Roof (“Ambition!” to the tune of “Tradition!”) bit. Jerry Lee parodying The Phantom of the Opera in the Cosmopolitan Cabaret production of Forbidden Broadway running through March 18. Photo by Charr Crail.
Each of these performers obviously has the Broadway show chops to sing these tunes (oh, and dance, and act), but they are also doing impressions of some of those stars who made their shows famous—we see Carol Channing, Patti Lapone, Idina Menzel, Robert Goulet, Mandy Patinkin, Barbra Streisand; well, you get the idea—anyone who’s ever “trod the boards” in a hit show. And it’s not just the voices but the gestures, the musical phrasing—all of it absolutely spot on, which would be impressive enough if it were just the songs. Jerry Lee parodying Cats in the Cosmopolitan Cabaret production of Forbidden Broadway running through March 18.
But it’s the songs with the hysterical lyrics lampooning the show, the directors, writers, producers, the business; nothing is safe, all is fair game, and all of it is very, very funny. From the opening number (from Chicago), where “Razzle Dazzle” becomes “Saucy Fosse” with a few good-natured jeers at the jazz hands and bowler hats, to the end, the encore, and the rousing standing ovation that finished the evening, Forbidden Broadway was great uproarious fun! It’s my new favorite show—it’s had a run of 25 years and counting, and now I know why!
One last thing: don’t worry if you haven’t seen all the original Broadway shows, either; the songs are pretty much ones everyone knows anyway, but if not, they are still funny all on their own. The show runs an hour and forty minutes, with a short intermission. And by the way, leave the kids at home; this is for the grownups. Forbidden Broadway is playing through March 18, 2012. For ticket information, call (916) 557-1999 or visit the website at www.CosmopolitanCabaret.com
FORBIDDEN BROADWAY ANNOUNCES 4-WEEK EXTENSION!
The acclaimed Cosmopolitan Cabaret production of the hit musical comedy revue Forbidden Broadway has been extended through April 15. Whether or not you’re a fan of Broadway musicals, you’re bound to find Forbidden Broadway hilarious:
Cosmopolitan Cabaret
1000 K Street, across from Crest Theatre
Performances Evenings:
Wed & Thurs at 7 pm
Fri & Sat at 8 pm
Matinees:
Thurs, Sat & Sun
at 2 pm.
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