Forbidden Broadway - Menier Chocolate Factory
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
GERARD Alessandrini’s multi award-winning satirical musical, Forbidden Broadway, returns to London for the first time in ten years with a limited season at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Opening on July 2 (previews from June 25), it runs until September 13, 2009.
Alessandrini co-directs the production with Philip George, and Anna-Jane Casey, Sophie-Louise Dann, Alasdair Harvey and Steven Kynman star. With the exception of Dann, all appeared in the Menier Chocolate Factory’s production of Sunday in the Park with George.
Forbidden Broadway presents an informal and entertaining look at the history of the American musical theatre, lampooning and spoofing some of the current and contemporary musicals as well as targeting actors, directors, composers and writers.
This updated version, which has been created especially for the Menier Chocolate Factory, will feature numbers from Broadway and West End productions such as The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misèrables, Hairspray, Avenue Q, Wicked, Jersey Boys, La Cage aux Folles, Sunday in the Park with George and many more.
Written by Alessandrini when he was an out-of-work actor, Forbidden Broadway went on to become New York’s longest running musical comedy revue (27 years in total), winning Drama Desk, Obie and Outer Critics’ Circle Awards, and recently, a special Tony Award.
It was last seen in London in 1999 at the Jermyn Street Theatre and later that year transferred to the West End’s Albery Theatre.
Anna-Jane Casey’s West End credits include Cats, Children of Eden, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Out of the Blue, Starlight Express, West Side Story and, most recently, Chicago (as Velma).
Sophie-Louise Dann appeared in Forbidden Broadway both at the Jermyn Street Theatre and Albery Theatre. Her other credits include The Music Man, How to Succeed in Business, The Government Inspector, Seven Doors and Out of This World (Chichester Festival Theatre); The Mikado, Iolanthe and The Pirates of Penzance (Gielgud Theatre); and HMS Pinafore and Yeoman of the Guard (Savoy Theatre).
Alasdair Harvey’s West End credits include Beauty and the Beast, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misèrables, Sunset Boulevard and Aspects of Love. And Steven Kynman’s most recent theatre credits include Death of a Salesman (Theatre Royal York) and Monty Python’s Spamalot (Palace Theatre).
Presented in association with John Freedson and Harriet Yellin, Forbidden Broadway is designed by Morgan Large, with costume designs by Alvin Colt, lighting by David Howe and musical direction by Joel Fram.
Under the direction of Artistic Director David Babani, the Menier Chocolate Factory has transferred seven productions to the West End, most recently Maria Friedman Re-Arranged, La Cage aux Folles which is currently playing at the Playhouse Theatre and A Little Night Music which opened at the Garrick Theatre earlier this month.