Sunday, November 17, 2024
Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation is review-proof. Creator/Writer/Director Gerard Alessandrini started parodying The Great White Way in 1982, and The Triad Theatre (158 West 72nd Street) was packed with show-tune types for its first reincarnation in five years. Running through November 30, the 80-minute revue is the best kind of tried-and-true evening, matinee or celebratory time out with a great cast and Fred Barton at the piano. Alessandrini didn't have to look hard for new material. Most of the skewering is for movies turned into musicals - a formula with mixed creative and box office results. Moulin Rouge!, Tootsie and Beetlejuice all get
Tag: Billy Porter
A STRANGE LOOP Raises the Bar for Queer Black Representation and Sets a New Standard for Musicals Today
I first encountered A Strange Loop in 2015 at the Musical Theatre Factory when it was still located in a gay porn video warehouse above (the original) Drama Bookstore just around the corner of Port Authority. It was a mixed bag evening with various composers and lyricists trying out their works on performers, both eager to be heard amongst an audience of supportive peers instead of cruel critics. The song, which is the second-to-last 13 o’clock number for A Strange Loop now called “The Memory Song,” featured lyrics sung in rapid speed with mournful wailing by Larry Owens (the unconventional