Theater
Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits
Upstart Productions Inc.
May 11 to 13, 18 to 20, 25 to 27.
Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium,
RCBC Plaza, Ayala Ave. corner Buendia, Makati
"You only hurt the ones you love," wisecracked stage actor and director Joel Trinidad, when asked point-blank why Upstart Productions, Inc. decided to unleash Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits on the Filipino audience -- a revue that pokes fun at classics in musical theater, tweaks the institution as a whole, and occasionally takes potshots at beloved (and usually revered) singer-thespians.
Take the backhanded homage to Julie Andrews, "rediscovered" as an aging Eliza Doolittle singing -- to the tune of "I Could’ve Danced All Night" -- "I couldn’t hit the note/ until they dropped the key/ Now that I’m 66/ my vocal chords play tricks/ and when I push, I pee." Sung as hoity-toity as only the British dame best known for playing an ingénue, a
would-be nun, and a (Hollywood) queen can.
Technical difficulties are a recurring theme, probably funniest in a wheezy Jean Valjean painfully imploring -- to the tune of "Bring Me Home" from that key dramatic scene in Les Miserables -- "This song’s too high... Change the key, bring it down, bring it down, it’s too high! Much too high!!!!!" Ending the song in falsetto just makes it even funnier.
One also gets a glimpse of "backstage shoptalk" put up front, with actors bemoaning the lack of work (e.g. "I’m 30 years old, tomorrow / and I haven’t worked since I played Annie, when I was 10" to the tune of what else but "Tomorrow") or their version of commercial tricks ("Though the production may be shoddy, everyone likes a naked body" to the tune of
"Give My Regards to Broadway" sung by an antsy Judy Garland clone).
Forbidden Broadway has been a huge hit worldwide precisely because of its irreverence -- or as the folks at Upstart put it, for "poking, prodding, teasing, pleasing, jeering and cheering, but always with love."
"Sure, there’s a little bit of criticism in there, a little bit of irreverence, but it’s not aimed at anything outside of the theater world. The thing is -- and this is important -- it’s all done with love. The creator, Gerard Alessandrini, has a background in musical theater, so he knows that world very well," Mr. Trinidad told BusinessWorld.
The original production, first shown in 1982 as a nightclub act by the then out-of-work actor (and apparent comedic genius) Alessandrini, unabashedly revises the most popular Broadway musicals (Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Mamma Mia!, Wicked and Cats, to name just a few) with clever, if warped, lyrics.
These much-feted musicals, in Manila and elsewhere, get wicked treatment quite aptly from the upstarts who (probably) have half their budget but equal the talent.
"It’s less a critique than a roast: a bunch of people poking fun at what they essentially respect and adore. I like to think of the show as a love letter to Broadway -- a love letter that just happens to be really, really funny," said Mr. Trinidad, whose favorite bit is the Les Miserables suite, simply because "it’s hilarious."
This particular show is a collection of the best numbers from Forbidden Broadway’s 30-year existence. Moreover, it draws from a tradition that spans the entire history of musical theater, so most of it is familiar to theatergoers, including neophytes.
"It’s the writing that makes it accessible to everyone. If you don’t know the show or person being parodied, the lyrics contain everything you need to know to make you appreciate what’s going on. If you DO know the show or person being parodied, you will enjoy yourself that much more. As to comparing it to the show in New York, it’s essentially the same show with different actors. I think people are really going to enjoy themselves watching it," said Mr. Trinidad.
Another means by which to draw the local audience in is that the script is kept intact -- "except for a few references to everyone (the audience included) being in New York" -- but with Mr. Trinidad’s own perspective, stage directions, sight gags and other bits of humor, to provide a characteristic new flavor to the overall concept.
"This particular show is relatively unknown in the Philippines, so there are fewer expectations. That just gives me more room to be creative!," he crowed. "That’s the fun part: staying true to the material while simultaneously tweaking it to make it your own. As to my actors, I give them a lot of freedom, allowing them to surprise me with their own take on
the characters. (If it works, I keep it in.)"
Regular cast members would be Liesl Batucan, Caisa Borromeo, OJ Mariano and Lorenz Martinez, with guest performances from Aiza Seguera, Nyoy Volante and Jett Pangan, among others.
This is the company’s fourth production and first foreign musical. It follows the adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (first shown last year and currently on school tour), the original musical Breakups and Breakdowns (also shown last year), and Crush Hour, a short play Mr. Trinidad wrote with composer Rony Fortich, which debuted at Times Square Art Center, New York in 2010.
There is some curiosity as to how the local version of Forbidden Broadway turns out, given that it’s a franken-play that has undergone several revisions over three decades, and caught the fancy of audiences enough to churn out a "greatest hits" fit to rival the material it parodies.
"I believe that whenever you direct something, you HAVE to put your own stamp on it... I don’t agree with stage directors (and there are many) who just take a show they’ve seen and present it exactly as they saw it -- that’s not really directing. And adding your own personality is particularly important for well-known works...," said Mr. Trinidad.
The production is not a means to get back at the industry that spawned it, he underscored, or merely a caper.
"I think parody, if it’s done right, can make you appreciate something more. I don’t think of it as ‘revenge.’ It’s more like a tribute, one that just happens to be funny as hell. It’s an art in its own right, one that benefits from the audience’s intelligence -- and helps the audience to benefit in turn," said Mr. Trinidad.
For more information, visit the Web site http://forbiddenbroadway.com.
Originally published on 10 May 2012 in BusinessWorld Weekender.