LOS ANGELES TIMES
Los Angeles, California
Thursday, February 10, 2000

Strong Cast, Clever Lyrics Give 'Forbidden Broadway' Its Zing

By PHILIP BRANDES
Special to the LA Times

It's an implicit rule of parody that the performer has to be as good as the target, and the touring production of "Forbidden Broadway" at the Hermosa Beach Playhouse handily fulfills that mandate. Under Brad Ellis' musical direction, a quartet of veterans from the off-Broadway revue make hay with Gerard Alessandrini's wickedly satirical lyrics set to show tunes. The selections, culled from a repertoire spanning nearly 20 years, are predominantly aimed at shows and personalities familiar to L.A. audiences--including "Phantom of the Opera," "Les Miz," "Chicago" and "Cabaret"--but peppered with ample in-jokes for the Broadway-savvy. As they skewer familiar stage icons, the cast's range and precision are always impressive, and often astonishing. Topping the show is Susanne Blakeslee's perfectly intoned Julie Andrews in a particularly demanding number that requires her to handle tricky modulations into dissonant keys. Blakeslee also shines with her husky, long-winded diva Barbara Streisand and Bernadette Peters as aging kewpie-doll. Another high point, an extended riff on "Les Miz," showcases Bill Selby, who also tackles Michael Crawford and "Super-frantic-hyper-active-self-indulgent-Mandy" Patinkin. Gina Kreiezmar belts tunes a la Ethel Merman and Liza Minnelli and teams with Blakeslee for a sidesplitting duel between Chita Rivera and Rita Moreno for the "fiery Latin" crown. Brian Patrick Miller ricochets between the feuding personalities of "Jekyll and Hyde"--"for those who find Andrew Lloyd Webber's music too challenging."