Some actors make a living by making others laugh. The singing actors in “Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits” do it by making fun of other actors.
Now you can see the 25th version of Gerard Alessandrini’s hilarious send-up of Broadway shows at North Coast Repertory Theatre, where four FB veterans have a great time skewering their colleagues.
FB started in 1982 and has been rewritten a dozen times. This version features Elan McMahan on piano. Well known locally, she is usually seen wielding the conductor’s baton at Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista, but in addition to being a fine musician, she is also terrific as an onstage personality.
The singers are William Selby (who also directs the show), Cathy Barnett, Trisha Rapier and Edward Staudenmayer, and they go through a crazy list of shows including (but not limited to) “Chicago,” Phantom of the Opera,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Annie” and “West Side Story.” The show has been seen in more than 200 American cities as well as playing London, Tokyo, Singapore and Sydney.
Some of the shows roasted by the group: “Annie,” whose title character (in a bright red Annie-like dress but with a cigarette dangling from her mouth) says she hasn’t gotten a part since she played the waif when she was ten.
“The Lion King” (which returns live to Civic Theatre later this season) shows up, complete with crazily wild costumes and memorialized as “African phony.”
The long-running “Les Misérables,” aptly summed up as “One Tour More,” ran from 1987 to 2003. It gets a good long skewering commensurate with its record, at the time the second-longest running musical in Broadway history.
And in my favorite, the ladies do a “West Side Story” send-up, competing as Rita Moreno and Chita Rivera for the juicy part of Anita.
Congratulations to everyone involved, including the backstage folks. Marty Burnett does his usual splendid job as set designer. Dustin Cross has designed some fabulous costumes (with help from Elisa Benzoni), and Matt Novotny’s lighting, Aaron Rumley’s sound design and Phillip Korth’s props add to the jollity.
“Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits” is not like any other show you’re likely to see, except that like a really good comedy, it’s really funny. Get your tickets today.
The details
“Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits” plays through May 22, 2022 at North Coast Repertory Theatre is located at 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach.
Shows Wednesday at 7 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 7 p.m. Matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.
For tickets: (858) 481-1055 or boxoffice@northoastrep.org
No comments:
Post a Comment