Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song Completes Off-Broadway Casting

Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song has completed casting for its upcoming off-Broadway run at Theater555. Directed by creator Gerard Alessandrini with choreography by Gerry McIntyre, performances begin August 30, with an official opening set for September 19.

AJ Holmes and Sasha Hutchings join the previously announced Chris Collins-Pisano and Jenny Lee Stern in the latest incarnation of the show. Fred Barton, Forbidden Broadway’s original 1982 music director, rounds out the cast as Musical Director/Pianist.

Completing the creative team are Glenn Bassett (set design) Dustin Cross (costume design), Joan Racho-Jansen (lighting design), Andy Evan Cohen (sound design) and Ian Joseph (hair and wig design).

Created in 1982, when it played to Palsson’s Supper Club on 72nd Street, Forbidden Broadway has spawned several editions, gone on to play in over 200 cities around the world and given rise to such classic numbers as “Be Depressed” (sung to the tune of “Be Our Guest), “You Can't Stop the Camp” (sung to the tune of “You Can’t Stop the Beat”) and “Ladies Who Screech” (to the tune of “Ladies Who Lunch”). The show and Alessandrini were awarded Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre in 2006.

Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song previously planned a Broadway run at the Hayes Theater to open in August and run through the fall, but it was indefinitely postponed. "I am thrilled that this latest incarnation of the show that I had been preparing for more than a year can now open off-Broadway, where Forbidden Broadway has felt at home for over 40 years," said Alessandrini in a statement. "The exciting new Broadway season has inspired me to create a barrage of theatrical zingers, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to present this edition in New York after all.”

Alessandrini's targets this year include Hell’s Kitchen, Stereophonic, The Outsiders, The Great Gatsby, Back to the Future, The Wiz and Merrily We Roll Along. In addition, there will be sendups of Roger Bart, Patti LuPone, Daniel Radcliffe, Ariana DeBose and Jeremy Jordan, among others. The show will also skewer the 2024 Tony Awards and include some of the most popular numbers from Alessandrini’s recent Forbidden Sondheim.