Customer Reviews

Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back!: Another Unoriginal Cast Recording, Volume 4 (1996 New York Cast)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

GREAT CD! WORTH EVERY PENNY!
This has to be the best of all of the "Forbidden Broadway" CD's availble!!!
From the beginging, the parody of Natan Lane in "A Funny Thing Happned on the Way to the Forum" to the "Rent" sequence at the end, this recording will leave you laughing for hours!
The cast is excellent! Bryan Batt's Mandy Patinkin is hilarius! Donna Enligh does a great impression of Juile Andrews. Tom Plotkin's parody of Nathan Lane is awesome! And I cant begin to descride how funny Christine Pedi's Liza Minnelli is.
This CD is great and don't delay... But it NOW!

Being a 13 year old theater fanatic when I first saw Forbidden B-way strikes back, I was immeadiatly smitten with the amazing lyrics, and the talent of the cast, as well as the hyterical dead on parodies off all of the unfortunate victims of this show. I was especially taken with Bryan Batt, who is now in the follow up, forbidden b-way cleans up, and his versitility. Not to say that the other actors are less then phenomenal, all involved give a flawless preformance, but Bryan's Rent spoof earned him a special place with me. I would recomend this cd for everyone who likes show tunes, especially for people who take musicals too seriosly. Happy listening!!!

This is one of the strongest FORBIDDEN BROADWAY discs. It mainly focuses on the 1995-96 Broadway season (which famously included Julie Andrews' long awaited return in the troubled "Victor/Victoria", the Donna Murphy/Lou Diamond Phillips revival of "The King and I", and the succession of Maria Callas-es in "Master Class").

Highlights - the sneak preview for an upcoming revival of "Kiss Me Kate" starring Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin (or is it Liza Minnelli and Jerry Lewis?). Ann Reinking finally grabbing Broadway's brass ring as the star of "Chicago", and the entire Julie Andrews / "Victor/Ignor-ee-ya!" segment. Donna English perfectly nails every inflection and nuance from Julie's voice; it's almost too spooky.

"Patti Class" is arguably the highlight of the entire disc, with Patti LuPone (Christine Pedi) in Maria Callas mode giving some pointers to her unwelcome Broadway "Sunset Boulevard" replacement Glenn Close (Donna English), plus Madonna's unique spin on "Evita".

Of course, like the other FORBIDDEN BROADWAY titles, it helps if you have a pre-established knowledge of the actual shows that it lampoons, but you can roughly follow the humour regardless. One for the fans.

I love all the FROBIDDEN discs but this one is wonderful! Their clever slam of the highly overrated RENT is nothing sort of brilliant. I hope they continue to procduce their excellent parodies of Broadway and Hollywood. As a singer, I highly recommend these CDs. Get it, and enjoy the laughter!

Gerard Alesandrini has done some of his best work in parodies for his fourth edition of the Forbidden Broadway series. This version includes inventive and intelligent parodies of Rent, Julie Andrews, Big, Elaine Stritch, Patti LuPone in Master Class, The King and I, among many others.

The inventive parodies are performed by an amazingly talented cast consisting of Donna English, Bryan Batt, Tom Plotkin, and Christine Pedi. Each one is a quality performer in their own right, but together, they sing with an energy that brings each of the segments to life. Each cast member has their own standout impersonations, but Donna English's Julie Andrews is by far the most accurate. It is so impressive, that, as the liner notes state, the show's producer actually thought it was Julie Andrews singing.

The cast is accompanied by the amazing Matt Ward at the piano who does a wonderful job recreating complex musical scores, including the ever-difficult style of Sondheim, with nothing but 10 fingers and 88 keys.

One of the downfalls of the Forbidden Broadway series, however, is that many of the sharp-witted barbs lose thier sing if the listener doesn't have at least a vague familiarity with the Broadway scene. Still, Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back is a hilarious jab at the "great white way." It has become a favorite staple in my collection of music and still makes me laugh out loud even though I have listened to it many, many times.

I was fortunate enough to be in New York soon after the play opened off-Broadway. The day before, my nephew and I watched "Master Class" and Forbidden Broadway opened with a sequence from it. I'll tell you...it's hard to swallow your pasta and drink your cocktail when you're laughing so hard (Forbidden Broadway is presented at a Dinner Theatre).

The CD is a great respite from listening to the serious soundtracks from Broadway. It's great driving music, especially if you've got to drive a long way. It relaxes (?) you and gives you many opportunities to laugh. I've reviewed the first album, and I won't review the second (Vol. 2) so I'll just add my comments on Vol. 2 here. Don't miss the Les Mis sequence. If only for that, buy Vol. 2.

I can't listen to my Rent CD now without hearing the parodied lyrics that Alessandrini & company wrote (especially "Ouch! They're Tight!" and "Season of Hype"). That's how I measure a good take-off: when the rewritten lyrics take the place of the original in my mind, I know that the parody has made an impression on me.

I'm also especially fond of the "Meow, I Hope I Get It" Cats/Chorus Line spoof and the Donna Murphy (Passion/King & I) impersonation. Either of those songs alone would make this CD worth purchasing.

This CD is just incredible, I listen to it all the time. If you like Tom Plotkin on this CD check out the cast recording of Footloose. He plays Willard and sings "Mama Says", it is so funny. If you get the chance check him out on Broadway, he will make you laugh until you pee.

This is a great compilation of creative, hilarious parodies. I have seen Forbidden Broadway in person, and the recording echos the humor of the stage play. This compilation relies on great lyrical work, and the interpretation of the singers/actors. This is a must-have for all lovers of classical and modern musical theater who have a sense of humor (yes there are some of us...)