Forbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its Act is the fifth incarnation of Gerard Alessandrini's Forbidden Broadway, his popular off-Broadwaymusical revue spoofing "the best of Broadway". All the parody lyrics were written (as always) by Gerard Alessandrini. This version was co-directed by Alessandrini and his long-time collaborator Phillip George. George had up till then only been credited with "Musical Staging" and as "Assistant Director". George also contributed many of the more successful ideas and dialogue sketches to the more recent Forbidden Broadway editions. The show played in the basement of Ellen's Stardust Diner, and the album is the fifth volume in the series. Because it features none of the original 1982 Forbidden Broadway cast members, it is labeled "The Unoriginal Cast Recording". It was recorded in December 1998 and released in 1999.
Gerard Alessandrini is an American playwright, parodist, actor and theatre director best known for creating the award-winning off-Broadway musical theatre parody revue Forbidden Broadway. He is the recipient of Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, an Obie Award, four Drama Desk Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and two Lucille Lortel Awards, as well as the Drama League Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre.
Forbidden Broadway is an Off-Broadway revue parodying musical theatre, particularly Broadway musicals. It was conceived, written and directed by Gerard Alessandrini.
An Off-Broadway theatre is any professional venue in Manhattan in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than Off-Off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer than 100.
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment center and neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. It stretches from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. Brightly adorned with billboards and advertisements, Times Square is sometimes referred to as "The Crossroads of the World", "The Center of the Universe", "the heart of The Great White Way", and "the heart of the world". One of the world's busiest pedestrian areas, it is also the hub of the Broadway Theater District and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Times Square is one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, drawing an estimated 50 million visitors annually. Approximately 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily, many of them tourists, while over 460,000 pedestrians walk through Times Square on its busiest days.
Chicago is an American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Jazz-age Chicago, the musical is based on a 1926 play of the same name by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins about actual criminals and crimes she reported on. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal".
The Lion King is a musical based on the 1994 Walt Disney Animation Studios' animated feature film of the same name with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, along with additional music and lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, and Hans Zimmer. Directed by Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The show is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions.
Cast
The cast members featured on the album and that starred in Cleans Up Its Act when it first opened are listed below:
Bryan Batt is an American actor best known for his role in the AMC series Mad Men as Salvatore Romano, an art director for the Sterling Cooper agency. Primarily a theater actor, he has had a number of starring roles in movies and television as well. His performance in the musical adaptation of Saturday Night Fever earned him one of New York City's more unusual honors, a caricature at Sardi's.
Tracks
The musical numbers, with title, original song, and original composers listed, that are featured on the album are listed below:
Andrew Lloyd Webber Superstar ("Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Memory")
Titanic - The Musical: In Every Season ("In Every Age"), Ship Of Air "(There She Is)", The Reviews Are Broadcast ("The Night Is Alive"), Bottom ("Autumn"), There's A Movie Going On ("My Heart Will Go On")
Forbidden Broadway, known also as Forbidden Broadway, Volume 1, is the first album released by Gerard Alessandrini, the creator of Forbidden Broadway. Because the album features the five cast members from the original show, the album bears the label "Original Cast Recording."
Forbidden Broadway, Volume 2 is the second album released for Forbidden Broadway (FB), an off-Broadway musical that spoofs Broadway's latest musicals. The album was recorded and mixed in February 1991 in New York at Sear Sound.
Forbidden Broadway, Volume 3 is the third album released to accompany Gerard Alessandrini's off-Broadway show Forbidden Broadway, which spoofs Broadway's latest musicals. Volume 3 was recorded at Sound On Sound, New York City, November 11 & 15, 1993; mixed at DSW Mastering Studios, NYC, and released in 1994.
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Forbidden Hollywood is the parody show that opened Off-Off-Broadway and was taped live in Hollywood. It was created by Gerard Alessandrini, who also created the ever-popular series of Off-Broadway parodies of Broadway theatre, Forbidden Broadway. But this production, instead of spoofing Broadway, lampooned popular films such as Forrest Gump, Sense and Sensibility, Pulp Fiction, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz Disney's and Aladdin, and songs featured in them, although most of the score consists of songs from musicals used to comment on the films. It also spoofs movie stars like Tom Hanks, Keanu Reeves, Barbra Streisand, Ann-Margret and Whoopi Goldberg. A The New York Times reviewer wrote that although the production had funny moments, "the tone that defines the show is a glib disaffection for Hollywood", lamenting that the show missed the opportunity to use more songs from films, and concluding: "It's fine if Mr. Alessandrini wants to see Hollywood as the enemy, but you have to know your enemy to take good aim at it."
Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back is a version of Forbidden Broadway created by Gerard Alessandrini. It previewed September 5, 1996 and opened at the Triad Theater October 16, 1996. The show won Alessandrini the 1997 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics and was nominated for the 1997 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue.
Jekyll & Hyde is a musical horror-drama loosely based on the novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Originally conceived for the stage by Frank Wildhorn and Steve Cuden, it features music by Wildhorn, a book by Leslie Bricusse and lyrics by Wildhorn, Bricusse and Cuden. After a world premiere run in Houston, Texas, the musical embarked on a national tour of the United States prior to its Broadway debut in 1997. Many international productions in various languages have since been staged including two subsequent North American tours, two tours in the United Kingdom, a concert version and re-vamped US tour in 2012 ahead of a 2013 Broadway revival.
Forbidden Broadway: 20th Anniversary Edition is the sixth volume in the Forbidden Broadway Cast Albums. Although there isn't a show with the same title, the CD has twenty-five of Forbidden Broadway's best songs, including eight previously unreleased tracks. It was conceived, created and written by Gerard Alessandrini.
Forbidden Broadway 2001: A Spoof Odyssey is the 21st century's first incarnation of the Off-Broadway revue Forbidden Broadway. It was conceived, created and written by Gerard Alessandrini and satirizes Broadway's latest shows and stars. Phillip George co-directed with Alessandrini, with Catherine Stornetta the musical director and piano accompanist. George contributed some of the ideas and dialogue for the sketches.
Katherine Renee "Kate" Shindle, Miss America 1998 and Miss Illinois 1997, is an American actress, singer, dancer, and AIDS activist. She is the author of the 2014 memoir Being Miss America: Behind the Rhinestone Curtain, published by the University of Texas Press. She is currently serving as the President of the Actors' Equity Association, elected in 2015.
Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit is the ninth incarnation of Gerard Alessandrini's musical revue. The revue ran Off-Broadway from 2004 to 2007.
Brandi Lynn Burkhardt is an American television and film actress, Broadway star, and former Miss New York. She grew up in Pasadena, Maryland and currently lives in Los Angeles.
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Christiane Noll is an American singer and actress known for her work in musicals and on the concert stage. She is perhaps best known for originating the role of Emma Carew in Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll & Hyde, as well as her roles in Urinetown and Ragtime.
Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening is the 2007 incarnation of Gerard Alessandrini's long-running hit Off-Broadway musical revue Forbidden Broadway, which parodies notable current Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals.
Forbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab is the 2008 incarnation of Gerard Alessandrini's long-running hit Off-Broadway musical revue Forbidden Broadway, which parodies notable current Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals. It was initially announced that this would be the final version of the show, until the franchise was revived with Forbidden Broadway: Alive & Kicking! in 2012 and Forbidden Broadway Comes Out Swinging! in 2014.
Spamilton: An American Parody is a musical parody of the Broadway show Hamilton. Written by Gerard Alessandrini, creator of the parody revue Forbidden Broadway, Spamilton also parodies several other musicals, included Gypsy, Chicago, The King and I, Assassins, Camelot, The Book of Mormon and Sweeney Todd, and personalities, like Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Barbra Streisand, Bernadette Peters, Carol Channing and Liza Minnelli.
