Musical Spoof Revue Forbidden Broadway to Return to Off-Broadway

After a three-year hiatus, the musical spoof revue Forbidden Broadway will return to the off-Broadway stage, according to The New York Times. Written by original Forbidden Broadway creator Gerard Alessandrini, the revamped production will make fun of shows from the current Broadway season, including Newsies, Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark and more. Forbidden Broadway will begin previews at Off-Broadway’s 47th Street Theater on July 17. An official opening night has not yet been set.

In addition to Newsies and Spider-Man, Forbidden Broadway will reportedly take loving digs at Ghost, Once, Follies, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, End of the Rainbow, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Porgy and Bess and Godspell. Broadway plays won’t be spared—Forbidden Broadway will also parody Clybourne Park, End of the Rainbow, Other Desert Cities and Death of a Salesman. In addition to new shows, the production will highlight Broadway musicals from past seasons, including The Book of Mormon, Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, Anything Goes and Sister Act.

Forbidden Broadway originally opened off-Broadway on January 15, 1982 at Palsson’s Supper Club. Since its inception, Alessandrini has revised the production to include spoofs of the newest Broadway shows. Past productions have included parodies of Les Miserables, The Music Man, Hairspray, Rent and more. Forbidden Broadway received a special Tony Award in 2006 for Excellence in Theatre. The last incarnation of Forbidden Broadway closed off-Broadway at the 47th Street Theater in March 2009.