Review: ‘Forbidden Broadway’ at Carpenter Performing Arts Center

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Mandy Patinkin, watch out. Daniel Radcliffe, take cover (literally). The satirical revue “Forbidden Broadway” has come to Long Beach’s Carpenter Performing Arts Center, and it’s only just begun. Even the Wicked Witch of the West isn’t safe.

Gerard Alessandrini’s ever-evolving take-off on American musical theatre began in a supper club in 1982 and ran in New York for an astonishing 27 years, spawning international tours and a string of cast albums. With only four performers, a pianist, and no set, the show’s format is a cash-strapped artistic director’s dream. It’s also a terrific showcase for comic talent, and Larry Raben, an original cast member from “Forever Plaid,” is a standout in this Musical Theatre West production.

Accompanied by the upbeat piano of Michael Paternostro (also serving as musical director), Raben and crew sing and dash their way through sly parodies of Broadway hits from “Les Misérables” to “Wicked.” Some of the jokes are visual, such as the tart Susanne Blakeslee’s entrance as an “Annie” has-been in a mangy red wig, sucking on a cigarette. Others showcase Alessandrini’s way with a lyric, as when “Avenue Q”’s sexually active puppets advise, “If you want a Tony/flash a cloth cojone.”

Disney takes a drubbing, what with “Lion King,” “Little Mermaid,” and “Mary Poppins” claiming so much real estate on the Rialto. At one point the ensemble (which includes the fine David Engel and Whitney Allen) staggers around in huge, Julie Taymor-inspired headdresses -- and neck braces -- in a song called “The Circle of Mice.”

But human targets inspire the best moments: Raben sends up “Harry Potter” star Radcliffe’s nude turn in “Equus” with the song “Let Me Enter Naked” (to the tune of “Let Me Entertain You”). Blakeslee does a wacked-out Carol Channing, forever reviving “Hello, Dolly!” Later, Raben skewers the tortured vocal stylings of Patinkin in “Somewhat Overindulgent,” sung to “Over The Rainbow.” And Mandy thought serial killers were tough.

Never mind if you haven’t seen all the musicals in question. None of the sequences lasts more than a few minutes, and most of the jokes explain themselves. Best of all, the show, briskly directed by William Selby, takes the business of entertaining seriously, even as it lampoons the medium’s worst excesses. It’s a pleasure to watch seasoned performers hit their marks with such ease and command. Smart, irreverent and under two hours: What’s not to love about “Forbidden Broadway”?

-- Charlotte Stoudt

“Forbidden Broadway Greatest Hits, Volume I.” Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton Street, Long Beach. 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 2 and 8 pm. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. 7 p.m. Sunday, May 10. Ends May 17. $30 to $78. Contact: (562) 856-1999 x4. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.