Dear Diary,

Today is August 8th, so that means tomorrow is Meat Loaf's last show at the Beacon Theatre! He played Aug 5, 7, and 9th. I guess he needs a day to rest up between shows! I was walking by the Beacon Theatre last night and I noticed the street was blocked off and a bunch of people were standing around. I thought to myself, what are they doing? Turns out they were waiting for Meat Loaf to come out the stage door! But the group was so mixed -- little kids, tweens in Meat Loaf t-shirts, young couples, elderly couples -- it seems Meat Loaf has become the ultimate family act. A contract with Disney cannot be far off!

Tonight I got to see Forbidden Broadway at the 47th Street Theater! Craig Laurie who is a standby in the show got some advance notice that he was going on and he contacted Jamibeth with a couple of comps to the show! There are only 4 actors in the show so he had a huge part! Also joining Craig on stage were William Selby, Megan Lewis and Jeanne Montano.

These four actors are so incredibly talented, which really gives heart to a very spoofy (and funny) show. You know deep down they love Broadway and would most likely leave FB in a heartbeat if given the starring role in Wicked, one of the shows they spoof!

I went into the show convinced that I wouldn't like it. I've been ranting about shows that ridicule musicals, like Spamalot.

However, Forbidden Broadway doesn't ridicule musicals as an art form, it makes good clean fun of individual musicals and their quirks -- actors, scandals, production values -- while mostly lamenting that today's fare isn't as good as the classic Cole Porter or Gershwin musicals. I'm sure everyone already knew this but I had to see it to get it -- duh! And off-Broadway is the perfect place for this type of material.

Having said all this, by the middle of Act One I was laughing so hard I was crying. There were lots of funny bits, some fresher than others, but I think my fav bit was The Light in the Piazza. Jeanne Montano comes out dressed as Victoria Clark holding an "Italy For Dummies" book and Megan Lewis was the daughter with a secret, and Craig Laurie was the Italian son who falls in love with her. Combined with the hanging hook that is attached to her hat (except she hasn't taken the chin strap off yet! I'm laughing again!) the scene is drop dead hilarious.

I also have to say that Craig Laurie as Frankenfurter and a very metrosexual Hugh Jackman (I'd like to introduce my wife, sitting right there in the audience...did I mention my wife is right there...) was hilarious!

Another highlight was when they did "The Song That Goes Like This" from Spamalot. William Selby and Jeanne Montano start singing this and I'm thinking, hey those are the original lyrics...which turns out to be the point of the spoof! "The Song They Stole From Us" -- all the gags in the song, the key changes are all very Forbidden Broadway (who did it first, or so they sing!)

The music used are well-known Broadway tunes with new lyrics. The lyrics aren't always razor-sharp witty, but combined with the physical humor of the actors and the costumes, the whole thing works.

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