Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song Sets Closing Date Off-Broadway

Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song will end its off-Broadway run at Theater555 on November 3. The show began performances August 30, opening on September 19.

Written and directed by creator Gerard Alessandrini with choreography by Gerry McIntyre, the production skewers the latest deluge of Broadway offerings including Hell’s Kitchen, Stereophonic, The Outsiders, The Great Gatsby, Back to the Future, The Wiz and Merrily We Roll Along. There are also sendups of Roger Bart, Patti LuPone, Daniel Radcliffe, Ariana DeBose and Jeremy Jordan, among others, along with a roast of the 2024 Tony Awards and a few numbers from Alessandrini’s recent Forbidden Sondheim.

The cast features Chris Collins-Pisano, Danny Hayward, Nicole Vanessa Ortiz and Jenny Lee Stern, with Fred Barton, Forbidden Broadway’s original 1982 music director, rounding out the cast as Musical Director/Pianist.

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.