The first show is Forbidden Broadway, this year’s show is called Rude Awakening, and it contains spoofs on Spring Awakening, Company, Grey Gardens, Les Mis, The Little Mermaid, Lion King, etc, etc. Almost every show was made fun of. I specially enjoyed the ones on Spring Awakening, that were dead on and made me think about how Broadway manages to be very shocking at first, but after they have done something, it becomes almost main stream. The show chide all the other shows, for being too commercial, for not being original enough, but it does it with love and admiration and with a big dose of reason. The women seated behind me, clearly a pack of Midwesterners on the prowl, thought they had come to see a completely different show, and when they saw the small theater and the lack of great decorations were a bit disappointed, but as soon as the songs started targeting the better loved musicals knowing by everyone they were fine. The leader had to apologize for choosing this show and not The Phantom.
The second show was a small production, with three actors in a theater that holds maybe 60 audience members. It is called Speech and Debate, and it is the story of three teenagers that come together for a Speech and Debate Club, because they are all outcasts, the club allows them to tap into the schools resources for purposes all their own. There is the attention starved girl, the new gay guy and the nerd. I can not give the plot away, cuz I have a feeling we will be seeing this show in DC soon, it managed to meld blogging, chatting and a traditional school format very well. The show was produced by Roundabout Theater Company as part of the Underground Program. This program tries to produce new author’s work, in a professional environment. One of the strengths of the show was the setting; it looked and felt like a classroom, and the direction. For this piece the Roundabout got same person that directed Avenue Q. This is why I like their productions; they try something new but make sure it is never amateurish. I am sure Studio Theater will have to bring this to DC, besides the production was cheap.
The last show I saw, as Young Frankestein, the new Mel Brooks musical. It is a big show, I mean big, with big stars, great sets, special effects. It has it all except great songs; well I guess Deep Love is a memorable song, but not really a musical hallmark song. The same criticism can be made of The Producers, it has no timeless songs, that can be taken out of context. Still the show is worth it, the cast is great and the story is very funny. I do recommend buying the tickets at the box office, because no one else (except scalpers) will have them in the near future. Andrea Martin, playing Frau Blucher, steals the entire show, even from the ever watching eye of Megan Mullaly, and a nymphomaniac Bride of Frankestein, er Frankesteen.
