Sunday Showtunes

THE LAST SHOW - EVERY SHOW IN ONE

My last show was “Forbidden Broadway:  SVU,” the 4-person spoof of  Chicago, Fame Becomes Me, Avenue Q, Little Shop of Horrors, The Lion King,  Beauty and the Beast, Hairspray, The Boy From Oz, The 25^th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee, High Fidelity,  The Light in the Piazza, Wicked, Lennon, The Phantom of the Opera, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Tony Awards, Mamma Mia, Sweeney Todd, Mary Poppins, Jersey Boys, Les Miserables, Spamalot,  and at least the following celebrities:  Ethel Merman, Andrea McArdle, Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, Martin Short, Jerry Orbach, B.D. Wong, Stephen Schwartz, Hugh Jackman, Carol Channing, Liza Minelli, Robert Goulet, Idina Menzel, Yoko Ono, Bob Martin, Patti Lupone, Michael Cerveris, and Stephen Sondheim.   All in an hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.  Obviously this case is a powerhouse of talent.  I had seen much of it before but since they are always changing it to keep it current, I saw scathing new spoofs of the following:

Spelling Bee:  They asked William Barfee to spell “High Fidelity” – and, using his magic foot, he did:  “F / L / O / P”!

The Light in the Piazza:  Referring to her “special” daughter, the mother said:  “Other than a pitch problem, she’s completely normal!”

Jukebox shows: “Oh What A Terrible Genre”

Lennon:  Yoko Ono said, “Many people say I will be remembered as ‘the woman who broke up The Beatles.’  But I don’t want to be remembered as that.  I want to be remembered as ‘the woman who destroyed Broadway!’”

The Drowsy Chaperone:  They called it “The Lousy Chaperone.”  One of the guys did an excellent impression of Bob Martin (“The Man in the Chair” – he came out with an actual chair strapped to his ass!), who made digs at Beth Leavel (the title role).  “She won a Tony for this!” he says as she tries to sing.  Then shrugging, he said, “Elton John won a Tony award once, so they can’t mean all that much!”

Sweeney Todd revival:  “They cut the orchestra down to ten; we’ll never hear new orchestrations again!” (sung to the title tune).

Mary Poppins:  “Practically putrid in every way.”  (To tune of Supercali):  “Stupid careless fictional nonsensical verboseness.”  (This is a piece they had previously used to spoof  Julie Andrews but now that we actually have “Mary Poppins” on Broadway, they pulled it out again and re-packaged it).

Jersey Boys:  (Sung to the tune of “Sherry’):  “Scary – scary Broadway.”  (To “Walk Like a Man”):  “Big shows get by / When budgets are high” and, wrapping up the section on jukebox musicals -- (sung to “Big Girls Don’t Cry”):  “Big shows sell out, and you’ll all cry / When real shows die.”

Les Miserables revival:  “Go smoke some crack / Cause just what just came back / Ooh la la la, Les Misera-bleah.”

Spamalot:  Lamenting how they audience laughs BEFORE each joke, which drives the actors crazy.  Also, lamenting how “The Song that Goes Like This” is ALREADY exactly like a “Forbidden Broadway” spoof – something you may recall I myself noticed and put in my previous trip report!  They call it “We Stole the Song That Goes Like This!”

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Among the communities served are Albany, Corvallis, and Lebanon.