The Broadway engagement of Gerard Alessandrini’s Forbidden Broadway may have been postponed, but the latest edition of the musical parody, Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole A Song, has found a home Off-Broadway.
Previews will begin August 23 at Theater 555 prior to an official opening September 12.
Created, written, and directed by Alessandrini, with musical staging by Gerry McIntyre, Merrily We Stole a Song will parody current Broadway shows, including Hell’s Kitchen, Stereophonic, The Outsiders, The Great Gatsby, Back to the Future, The Wiz, and Merrily We Roll Along. Attendees can also expect sendups of Roger Bart, Patti LuPone, Daniel Radcliffe, Ariana DeBose, Jeremy Jordan, and the the 2024 Tony Awards as well as selections from Alessandrini’s recent Forbidden Sondheim.
In a statement Alessandrini said, “I am thrilled that this latest incarnation of the show that I had been preparing for more than a year, can now open Off-Broadway, where Forbidden Broadway has felt at home for over 40 years. The exciting new Broadway season has inspired me to create a barrage of theatrical zingers, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to present this edition in New York after all.”
The Off-Broadway company will be headed by Chris Collins-Pisano and Jenny Lee Stern with musical director Fred Barton on piano. Additional casting and creative team members will be announced at a later time.
The series debuted in 1982 at New York’s 130-seat Palsson’s Supper Club. The revue has gone on to play in over 200 cities around the world. The show has spawned multiple iterations with Alessandrini continually updating the material to reflect Broadway’s current slate; a few evergreens remain. For his work on Forbidden Broadway in all its forms, Alessandrini and the show received a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre and several Drama Desk Awards. Alessandrini's spoof of Hamilton, entitled Spamilton, played New York and continues to tour the country.
Forbidden Sondheim: Merrily We Stole a Song played several performances at Manhattan's Green Fig Cabaret Theater in November 2023.
The show is produced by John Freedson, Harriet Yellin, and Eric Krebs.
For tickets click here.
