INTERVIEW: Gerard Alessandrini celebrates Sondheim in new ‘Forbidden’ parody
Photo: Forbidden Sondheim stars Michael West as Stephen Sondheim. Photo courtesy of Maryann Lopinto / Provided by Glenna Freedman PR with permission.
For many years, the various incarnations of Forbidden Broadway became as much an institution of the Midtown Manhattan theater scene as Broadway itself. Under the deft command of Gerard Alessandrini, this multi-decade spoof machine has poked fun at Broadway shows and Broadway actors with a tongue firmly planted in its cheek. Now the Forbidden team is back with Forbidden Sondheim: Merrily We Stole a Song, a cabaret-style show that celebrates the late composer Stephen Sondheim.
Performances of Forbidden Sondheim continue through Monday, Nov. 27, at the Green Fig Cabaret Theater at the Yotel. Christine Pedi, a longtime presence in this Forbidden world, serves as the guest star, and she’s joined by Dayna Jarae Dantzler, Chris Collins-Pisano, Jenny Lee Stern and Michael West.
Alessandrini’s different versions of Forbidden Broadway have played New York, London, Chicago and Los Angeles. He was also the creative force behind the Hamilton spoof known as Spamilton. His résumé even goes back to the days of Bob Hope and Angela Lansbury, two entertainers that he wrote comedy specials for, and he also created Masterpiece Tonight for PBS.
Recently Alessandrini spoke to Hollywood Soapbox about the opportunities and challenges of staging Forbidden Sondheim at a new cabaret venue. Here’s what he had to say …
On how long he’s been working on Forbidden Sondheim …
“The idea occurred to me when Steve passed away about two years ago. We were all very sad, of course, and somebody in an article in one of the obituaries actually wrote that Sondheim’s ego was strong enough or his confidence in his writing was strong enough that he could visit Forbidden Broadway. And then I thought, oh yeah, he used to come at least once a year, maybe sometimes twice a year. He seemed to be amused, and I thought, oh yeah, we did actually about 50 Sondheim spoofs over the years, over the 40 years we’ve been running. I thought, oh, we could put those together and make a whole show out of it as a tribute to Sondheim while also getting a few laughs.”
On the moment he started putting pen to paper and creating the parody …
“I started compiling all the different spoofs of the different Sondheim shows and the different stars who had done Sondheim over the years. … I thought, oh, I think we have a show here. Then I worked on it for about two years. We didn’t want to do it right away of course because we were all so heartbroken that he had passed on. It occurred to me that we need write new numbers because there were some Sondheim stars that we never actually spoofed with his material, for example Elaine Stritch. … There was also that new production of Company with Patti LuPone. Then, of course, the new Merrily We Roll Along production and most recently Here We Are, the last show that he wrote, so I had written a lot of new material. And of course I went back through my trunk of Sondheim spoofs and actually revised a lot of songs, hopefully did them better than they were done originally, but between the stars and all the shows and all the activities of Sondheim shows in the last year, we had a lot to choose from.”
On whether there will be a longer life for Forbidden Sondheim …
“We’ve gotten a very good response at least from people coming, so we’d like to continue it. We don’t have a home to bring it to as of yet. Right now it’s just playing at the Green Fig through Nov. 27, but there’s always hope that we’ll do it again because we’ve got tremendous public response. It’s hard nowadays to find a cabaret that it works out financially because we do have to pay the actors and run the show, and there aren’t many cabaret spaces in New York left. And they’re all very popular, so it’s hard to get booked there. I’m speaking mostly of the Triad, 54 Below, Don’t Tell Mama and the Green Room. Those are the big cabaret spots, and we’re creating a new one, the Green Fig, with this. But that’s mostly used as a restaurant at the Yotel, so I don’t know if we can continue there. And then, of course, sometimes we’ve done it at small off-Broadway theaters, and there just aren’t as many as there were 10 years ago, 15 years ago. Many of them have been torn down and closed, so off-Broadway ain’t what it used to be. So it’s a challenge to find a new place to do the show.”
On who is the target audience for this parody …
“This show, in particular, is geared toward Sondheim fans, people that know the Sondheim shows, which is quite a substantial audience. Over the years he built up his own audience. … It’s certainly an intelligent theatergoing audience, and, yes, that’s who we’re playing to. That’s our niche audience.”
On how many times he met Sondheim through the years …
“I would say I knew him as a friendly acquaintance. There were many, many people that knew him much, much better than I did, but gee I knew him for 50 years. I first met him when he was out of town doing Follies in Boston, so I knew him as an acquaintance for 50 years. He was always kind to me and would give me little tidbits of advice, not a lot, not like other writers got, but I’d get a comment here and there. And I always suspected that he wished he was doing some of Forbidden Broadway because he probably could do it better and funnier. But he was supportive in that way, and I realize that he didn’t hold Forbidden Broadway as a real Broadway show or some of the things that were written over the years like Hamilton or Light in the Piazza. But he understood that it was college-like humor, and there was a place for that. He embraced that. … It was a fun spoof that was part of the theater scene that was different than the legitimate theater scene, but in a sense needed. As a matter of fact, he said to me once, ‘Oh, I think Forbidden Broadway is important.’ Then he said, ‘Wait a minute, wait a minute. No, that’s not the word. It’s not important; it’s necessary.’ I remember him saying that. Whatever that means, I don’t know. Maybe it means that people in theater need to have a good laugh at themselves once in a while, and in that way, it’s necessary.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Forbidden Sondheim: Merrily We Stole a Song, created by Gerard Alessandrini, continues through Monday, Nov. 27, at the Green Fig Cabaret Theater in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
