The Toledo Repertoire Theatre turns 81 this year and kicks off this season with a musical that roasts the hits of Broadway. The award winning, hysterical musical, Forbidden Broadway, will run for two weekends beginning Friday, September 13.
“I can’t think of a more appropriate production to kick-off a season filled with good humor,” says Eric Hillenbrand, Toledo Rep Artistic Director. None of Broadway’s shows or stars are safe in this “spooftacular” performance written by Gerard Alessandrini. One of the most fun aspects of the musical is its constant reinvention to keep up with and address the current performances on Broadway. Recent revisions of the production include spoofs on recent Broadway shows like Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, Book of Mormon and Death of a Salesman. The Rep’s edition of Forbidden Broadway includes parodies of Les Miserables, Chicago, Hairspray, Wicked, Mamma Mia, Rent, Spamalot, Annie and more. All of these musicals are poked and prodded in a very fun, farcical way during this cabaret style performance.
“Instead of singing the actual [original] words, they changed the words to fit what they are trying to make fun of; like when Annie comes out she states, ‘I’m 30 years old tomorrow and I haven’t worked since I played Annie when I was 10’,” says Director Debra Calabrese. “The show moves quickly—there are no breaks in between. We have six people in the show and they just keep rotating who does the next song.”
Forbidden staging
Standard musicals, especially on Broadway, revel in grand spectacle, but this production, approaches the design in a very different way, particularly since the show is about making fun of the musical. Minimalism helps the piece, according to Calabrese's directorial concept. “I actually saw Forbidden Broadway years ago, in a basement in New York and we just laughed the entire night.”
To maintain minimalism, Calabrese is “keeping it very sparse, I’ve totally emptied the stage. It’s really raw, and I wanted it to be really raw so that the audience has to use their imagination.” Set design, special effects, and the costumes are portrayed in this way. “The costumes are just bits and pieces,” he says, “So you’ll get the flavor of Barbra Streisand as she wears this crazy little dress that sort of looks like Barbra from the 1960s.” Everything is onstage: costume changes, stage managers and accompaniment. “I don’t want to make magic, I just want to have fun,” Calabrese states.
The entire production team has had a lot of fun putting this performance together and they are very excited to put it in front of an audience. The cast is ready to roll with anything thrown at them, including audience participation.
According to Calabrese, “It’s one of those things where you just want to come and relax, […] enjoy yourself, forget about what’s happening at home for a few hours and just have a good evening. That’s what this is all about.”
Premieres Friday, September 13, 8pm. Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits will run through Sunday, September 22. $20. Toledo Repertoire Theatre, 16 10th St. 419-243-9277. toledorep.org