The West End might be known for its large scale productions,
flashy visuals and sweeping emotional scores, but Forbidden Broadway brings cabaret style musical-comedy entertainment from the Menier Chocolate Factory to the main stage, rinsing its big brother shows for all their worth.
Can’t decide what show to see of an evening? The four-strong cast perform them all in a fraction
of the time. Miss Saigon is reduced to a handful of songs and oriental clichés; the
key songs of Les Miserables are
delivered from an invisible rotating stage; and the only song you need to hear
from Wicked is hilariously upturned by
a sassy Elphaba – ‘Defying Subtlety’. The
detail of each parody is remarkable and whilst there are some jokes that only
diehard fans will understand, you don’t have to be a musical theatre aficionado
to enjoy the show.
That said, it’s the modern classics that provide the
funniest moments. Ever wondered what the
cast of Cats would sound like singing
A Chorus Line? Now you can.
Bratty “exploited” children from Matilda
and Billy Elliot make an amusing
appearance. The Lion King is simply a Disney cash-in. And Once
is lampooned with side-splitting effect: from the ridiculous hoovering, to
the Irish musicians (“potato!”) and dodgy accents with “impish Czechoslovakian
charm”. It’s clear, too, that the
setlist often changes – a song from Evita
has now been added, though it fell a little flat as it’s perhaps too
current for the audience to get the joke.
What makes the show so satisfying is its accuracy. The lyrics don’t shy away from biting
criticism, often describing what we’re all thinking: Les Mis really is too long; Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory is a poor Matilda
imitation; and The Book of Mormon
is full of “childish music and lyrics that appal”. Yet it’s all delivered with a knowing wink and
a deep level of reverence for the source material.
It’s not just the shows themselves that are parodied, but
the people behind them – the performers, the producers and even the
critics. Sondheim is forever criticised
for his lack of melody, but this rendition of ‘Into the Words’ features a
sing-along that proves him right.
Elsewhere, there are hilarious imitations of Kristin Chenoweth’s squeaky
operatic tones, Hugh Jackman singing ‘Hugh Am I’ (complete with Wolverine
hair), Liza ‘one-note’ Minelli, Adele Dazeem singing ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen (“my nodes never bothered me anyway”)
and even a midget Elaine Paige, amongst others.
It’s with these impressions that the cast truly reveal their
talents. Christina Bianco may not have
been in attendance, but her understudy Laura Tebbutt was a more than capable
alternative. There’s no point taking the
piss if you don’t have the ability to back it up, but Tebbutt, Anna-Jane Casey,
Damian Humbley and Ben Lewis are all brilliant performers with impressive vocals.
Forbidden Broadway could
take a leaf out of its competition by offering something extra beyond the
cabaret setting. Accompanied solely by
piano, a small band would certainly boost the sound and a bigger finale number
would round-off the show more effectively.
That said, if you’re anything like me, you’ll be howling from start to
finish.
4/5
Watch: Forbidden
Broadway runs at the Vaudeville Theatre until 22nd November.
