If you can only see one musical this year, it really should be "FORBIDDEN BROADWAY"

By Barbara Sherman

The Times, Jan 28, 2010, Updated Jan 29, 2010

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Lewis added, “They have to be so familiar with the original work as well as learn the ‘new’ versions of songs. That is what makes the show work. It’s respectful to the Broadway shows, and the composers and original singers came to watch to see themselves spoofed.”

As the show’s choreographer, Murphy said that dancing is secondary to the singing. “You don’t have Jean Valjean (from ‘Les Miserables’) doing a two-step — it’s not that big of a spoof,” he said.

Lewis and Murphy are very comfortable working together. “We’ve worked together so much that Dan reads my mind,” Lewis said.

Ironically, Lewis performed in “Forbidden Broadway” with Murphy’s wife Maroney in 1999.

“I saw it in Philadelphia in 1984, and I took our girls to see Sharon in it on Mother’s Day,” Murphy said. “It was the only way to see her.”

Lewis saw the show in New York and wondered “who would get it,” but to his surprise, the audience understood the satire.

“The nice thing is that half the shows being spoofed are ones the Broadway Rose has done,” he added. “It’s so accessible and so intimate. Some of the shows are epic. ‘Les Mis’ is the longest piece in the show.”

Murphy chimed in, “I promise the audiences are going to get it.”

He joked that “there will probably be more choreography going on off-stage.”

Murphy explained that each actor has his or her own dresser because the fast-and-furious costume changes also include wigs, shoes and accessories, and each item has to be hung up after it comes off.

“The girls will look completely different each time they come out,” Lewis promised.

He had been doing a lot of planning for the show before Murphy came into the production in mid-January. Meanwhile, the actors were busy learning their lines and songs.

“I’m doing as much research as I can,” Lewis said. “The Internet has changed everything. YouTube helps. With this show, you use broad strokes. The costume is pretty much the character.

“It’s a major concern that the audience gets it from the beginning, and we’re moving things around to that effect. We’re not doing Broadway — we’re having fun. This is larger than life and offers a hint at what would have been in the Broadway shows.”

Murphy added, “It’s crazy — four people playing all these roles. Rick is the hub of the wheel, the coordinator. The performers are all brilliant and smart.”

Lewis explained that casting the actors in the various roles was “sort of a no-brainer” because each brought characteristics that made him or her perfect to play the various characters.

“I’m truly directing them to play up to their talents,” he said. “They must have fun doing it and feel comfortable. The show originally had two guys and one woman, but (Alessandrini) saw it needed two women — one soft and one loud and brassy. It’s truly a Rubik’s Cube.

“It’s a hit before it even hits the stage. Who wouldn’t want to see it?”

Murphy pointed out that “it’s not going to change the world, but it’s an opportunity to sit back, relax, meet friends and come out in crummy weather and laugh for two hours.”

Both said they really enjoy the rehearsal process, and if anyone questions their sense of humor, just remember that they once starred together in “Flaming Idiots.”

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