Forbidden Broadway: Alive & Kicking- Page 3

[DEClarke]

Posted: 7/30/12 at 6:06pm

Back on topic...

I loved the performance I saw Saturday night. I rolled with laughter throughout the show. My particular favorite spoofs were of EVITA, ONCE, and Julie Taymor!

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 4:38pm

Is it reasonable to expect they would include Follies, considering it closed 8 months ago?!

[jv92]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 8:53pm

I have heard nothing of a FOLLIES spoof, but Catherine Zeta-Jones gets done in NIGHT MUSIC, which was two seasons ago.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 11:56pm

I was at tonight's performance. The only FOLLIES heard was part of the recorded overture played while the audience was filing in or during intermission. Very funny, clever evening as usual with FB. The Elena Roger skewering didn't seem all that edgy; actually, Catherine Zeta-Jones seemed more on the receiving end of the nastiest barbs. And I got a kick out of the "Steppin' Out on My Babies" number making fun of Hugh Jackman's supposedly clumsy dancing, even though that's not the impression left on me by the Astaire winner.  The cast of FB is energetic and talented. Loved Marcus Stevens' ungainly Matthew Broderick.

[jv92]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 11:57pm

The gang on ATC seem to think Elena was badly treated by Mr. Alessandrini. I'll have to see it myself to judge, but honestly, she deserves everything she gets for killing that score.

[random person 112]

Posted: 8/1/12 at 12:41am

Yes JV and you can enjoy it just as much after you learn a whole opera score in a language you have never spoken before and you perform that opera score six times a week after you have been savaged by the press for having an accent, not being the original, and for your own singing voice. Oh and while doing this you also have to learn all the choro. So frankly i would back off the international theater star that is Elena Roger.

[jv92]

Posted: 8/1/12 at 12:47am

Okay, just to clear up a few things:

EVITA is not an opera, despite what "Lord" Lloyd Webber thinks. (And yes, neither is SWEENEY TODD.)

The press didn't savage her for having and accent an not being LuPone. They DID savage her for her singing voice, which is unpleasant.

When you're in a big Broadway musical, you "Gotta dance!" to quote Gene Kelly, so she knew she had that comin'.

I was a BIG champion of Josefina Scaglione as Maria in WEST SIDE STORY some years ago. She, too, was Argentinian and making her Broadway debut. She was fabulous. She could sing beautifully and play the part with conviction, all things the International Theater Star Elena Roger is not doing six times a week.

Darling, there IS a lovely thread on All That Chat for you to join, so why not chime in there?




Updated On: 8/1/12 at 12:47 AM

[jv92]

Posted: 8/1/12 at 2:48am

Here's her review of FOLLIES citing it as the greatest production she's ever seen in her life. After raving about the whole fvcking thing she gives it four out of five stars. Maybe she didn't get comps?


Link

[DEClarke]

Posted: 8/1/12 at 2:19pm

The Matthew Broderick impersonation was hilarious. The whole crowd was on the floor with uncontrollable fits of laughter during the Catherine Zeta-Jones segment when I saw it. As far as the Elena Roger part goes... I love her and still laughed my butt off! I'm not afraid to say that Roger is my favorite Eva and I'm also not ashamed that I found the impersonation at FB to be delightful! So come off of it... FB is all meant in fun and jest! Geez!

P.S. Thanks for the Corine stuff...

[macnyc]

Posted: 8/1/12 at 2:23pm

DE, how was the Once bit?

[DEClarke]

Posted: 8/1/12 at 2:31pm

I thought the ONCE bit was hysterical. My wife and I really loved the facial expressions that the shorter actress gave when impersonating Critin Milioti. The guy playing Steve Kazee does a great bit about contorting words too, which was priceless. I also loved the taller actresses portrayal of the woman with the accordion.

Sorry, I don't know names. I have the PLAYKILL, but there are no headshots in it... :-/

Updated On: 8/1/12 at 02:31 PM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/1/12 at 4:14pm

The "PLAYKILL"????

Oh, DEClarke, you're one of us!!!!!!!

[random person 112]

Posted: 8/1/12 at 5:01pm

Really JV, why then did so many reviews mention the certain 'spark' they saw in LuPone, or criticize roger for not belting everything like LuPone did. So that claim is just silly to me.

[macnyc]

Posted: 8/1/12 at 5:10pm

I think they really call it PLAYKILL, right? Also, is the cover in color?

[jv92]

Posted: 8/1/12 at 5:11pm

Oy. Maybe because LuPone has a certain "spark" (and a good singing voice), while the International Theater Star doesn't?

[kipster]

Posted: 8/1/12 at 6:00pm

random: I might add that, although Evita isn't an opera, basically every opera singer has to sing in a language that they don't natively speak. That's why there are coaches for diction and accent. It's not like this is a dilemma that just Elena Roger has ever had to deal with.

[jv92]

Posted: 8/1/12 at 10:37pm

I hate all this "If you don't like Elena, you're anti-Latin" SH*T. There have been PLENTY of foreign performers making their Broadway debuts who have been fabulous-- not just Scaglione, but Paulo Szot as well. Maybe the problem is, Ms. Roger isn't all that good.

[DEClarke]

Posted: 8/2/12 at 12:29pm

macnyc, yes their PLAYBILL is titled PLAYKILL. When I went, it was not printed in color. As this was my first and only time to see Forbidden Broadway in person, I do not know if they will run them in color in the future. But as of now, it is printed on regular printer paper and folded over into a book that consists of a total of 4 pages with printing on both the front and back.

As for all the ELENA ROGER hate. I guess you love her or you don't. I found her performance in EVITA to be the best I'd ever seen. I only had a Patti LuPone cast album and the Madonna movie to compare her to, so I guess I'm not really "old" enough to jump into that battle. I think what people need to realize though is that she is not Patti LuPone nor is she trying to play Eva in the same way Patti LuPone did. She is giving audiences her own unique spin on the character and making it fresh and new again. So, please, stop trying to compare her to Patti LuPone. It's pointless. If you love Patti LuPone so much as Eva, find a bootleg of her in the show and skip the current one. If you want to see a rehashing of LuPone's performance then Roger is sure to disappoint. If you're willing to open your mind up to a new interpretation of the whole work (as nothing in the new production is a rehashing of the LuPone/Hal Prince version), then you may just find yourself enchanted by the revival of EVITA! I've spoken my piece, goodnight and thank you!

Updated On: 8/2/12 at 12:29 PM

[macnyc]

Posted: 8/15/12 at 11:00pm

I saw this last night and loved it. Very very funny. Wonderful performances from all four of the hardworking troupe. Standouts include impressions of Bernadette Peters, Traci Bennett as Judy Garland (so close, it was almost eerie), Anjelica Huston (in a parody of Smash!), Matthew Broderick (very funny "choreography" in this bit) and Harvey Fierstein. Overall, my favorite was the parody of Once. They hit all the elements perfectly! Overall, I laughed for close to an hour and a half. Don't miss it! Tickets are readily available on TDF and TKTS. I'll post a set list next.







Updated On: 8/16/12 at 11:00 PM

[macnyc]

Posted: 8/16/12 at 4:47pm

It will be fun to see how it changes over time, as the opening nears. I took a stab at some of these if I hadn't seen the shows being parodied.




*******************POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW!*************************************




FORBIDDEN BROADWAY set list 8/15/12 8 p.m.
ACT 1
1. FOLLIES: “Bootleg Baby”
2. Forbidden Broadway song
3. EVITA: “In Evita Loca”; “Hello, Buenos Broadway”
4. NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT: “Nice Song If I Can Sing It”; “S’Wonder Bread”
5. ANNIE (with the cigarette): “Tomorrow”
6. ONCE (a.k.a. ONCE IS ENOUGH): “Leave”; “Falling Slowly/Frere Jacques”
7. MARY POPPINS: Parody of “Supercalifragilitsticexpialidocious”; “Feed the ’Burbs”
8. FOLLIES: “In Stephen’s Ears”
9. PETER AND THE STARCATCHER: “Christian Borle Song”
10. SPIDER-MAN “Sue Me Sue Me”
11. GHOST
12. ANYTHING GOES: “Everything Blows”
13. CATHERINE ZETA-JONES cabaret act: “Send In the Hounds”
14. NEWSIES: “Seize the Stage”

ACT 2
15. LION KING
16. JERSEY BOYS: “Scary”; “Walk Like a Man, Sing Like a Girl”; “Big Shows Sell Out”
17. WICKED: “Defying Sanity”
18. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: “The Mucus of the Night”
19. SMASH: “Let Me Be Subpar”
20. END OF THE RAINBOW: “I Wish You Hadn’t Done It”; “Flush, Flush, Flush Goes the Toilet”
21. BOOK OF MORMON: “Hello (Ding Dong)”; “I Believe”
22. PORGY AND BESS: “I Got Plenty of Gershwin”; “O Lord She’s on Her Way to Vacationland”
23. Forbidden Broadway song






Updated On: 8/16/12 at 04:47 PM

[jv92]

Posted: 8/16/12 at 10:23pm

Also glad to hear Audra is getting what she deserves.

What is "In Stephen's Ears" and "Bootleg Baby?'

A friend sent me a little gift of FB's take on END OF THE RAINBOW, and I thought it was brilliant. He said their NEWSIES was a tad predictable though.

[macnyc]

Posted: 8/19/12 at 10:26am

The two people who really got raked over the coals, it seemed to me, were Diane Paulus and Anjelica Huston.

With the Newsies bit, the visual was so so funny, I enjoyed it totally.

"In Stephen's Ears" was sung by "Bernadette Peters," and "Bootleg Baby" was sung by the two men (kind of a departure, but it worked). I don't want to say more because it's best if it's a surprise.

Yes, the End of the Rainbow bit was amazing!

FB is part of the 20at20 promotion, so I may just take advantage and see it again!