TOM TITUS -- THEATER REVIEW

“Forbidden Broadway” is to the realm of musical theater what Mad

Magazine is to serious journalism -- a satiric, irreverent kick in the

shins, and sometimes higher, with a slam-bang, take-no-prisoners

attitude.

Creator-writer-director Gerard Alessandrini and his gang of merry

satirists have been taking potshots at the Great White Way for the better

part of two decades, updating their material with each Broadway season

and zeroing in on its hits and misses. If you loved a particular show,

such as “Annie” or “Cats,” you’ll cringe when you see how this troupe

vivisects it.

Long-deceased stars like Ethel Merman and Mary Martin have been

particular favorites for potshots, along with Patti LuPone. Of this trio,

only Merman shows up from the Great Beyond for the sendup’s arrival at

the Orange County Performing Arts Center, where it will be through Sept.

30.

In 90 intermission-less minutes, the troupe dissects several decades

of musical theater in the Center’s intimate venue of Founders Hall. From

“Fiddler on the Roof” to “Miss Saigon” and “The Lion King,” there’s no

business like spoof business.

Even the more familiar numbers from “Les Miserables” and “Phantom of

the Opera” have been scraped down and given a new coat of paint. And Liza

Minnelli’s hyperactive “Liza One Note” segment is expanded hilariously as

impersonator Gina Kreiezmar brings her impression one-on-one with the

audience.

Kreiezmar, who also has inherited the Merman mantle, is one-fourth of

a sensational cast that includes veteran Susanne Blakeslee, Jonathan

Hadley and Michael West. Blakeslee, an original member of several

“Forbidden Broadway” foursomes, absolutely nails impressions of divas

Barbra Streisand, Julie Andrews and Sarah Brightman.

Hadley virtually crucifies Mandy Patinkin in a self-glorifying solo

and headlines a still-funny rendition of “Tradition” from “Fiddler,”

which was one of the troupe’s original targets. West regales the audience

in his Harold Hill drum major garb from “The Music Man” as he decries the

current state of the Broadway theater (“Trouble with a capital T and that

rhymes with D and that stands for Dull”).

“Dull” is what “Forbidden Broadway” is anything but. Although the

show is designed for mix-and-match quartets, the current crop performs so

smoothly together that one would think they had been roasting the Great

White Way together for years. In Blakeslee’s case, they’d be right.

Master accompanist Brad Ellis also has a long track record with the

troupe.

Among the more hilarious moments in a show packed with them are

Kreiezmar’s over-the-hill Annie, almost as funny as her Liza, and her

claws-out duet with Blakeslee as fiery Latinas Chita Rivera and Rita

Moreno hissing at each other over whose Anita in “West Side Story” was

the better -- more than 40 years ago.

And, if you think you’re familiar with the “Forbidden Broadway”

routines from their numerous CDs, think again. Many of the numbers have

been altered, updated or simply fleshed out, such as the bits from

Broadway titans “Les Miserables”and “Phantom of the Opera.” The latter

sendup with Kreiezmar’s Ethel Merman coming back to haunt Hadley’s

Michael Crawford is a particular scream, culminating in a duet of two

numbers inspired by Merman’s ancient hit “Call Me Madam.”

Blakeslee socks it to Bob Fosse, along with dancers Hadley and West,

in a left-handed salute to “Chicago.” And “The Lion King” is suitably

tamed as Blakeslee and West appear in neck braces from the weight of the

costumes.

“Forbidden Broadway” is just the ticket for theatergoers wishing to

take their minds off the troubled world outside. It’s a wild, wacky,

wonderful evening of razor-edged satire that’s over all too quickly.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Thursdays and Saturdays.