Gerard
Alessandrini
Writer / Director
Gerard is an American playwright, actor
and theater director, best known for creating award-winning musical theater parodies.
FORBIDDEN BROADWAY - Tony® Award Winning Musical
A cabaret revue sharply spoofing show tunes, characters and plots of contemporary and current Broadway musicals. Forbidden Broadway and its many sequels have mocked popular shows like The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Les Misérables, The Lion King, Spamalot, Annie, Fiddler On The Roof, Rent, Mary Poppins and Jersey Boys. The revue also targets famous Broadway actors, writers, composers, directors, choreographers and producers, including: Julie Andrews, Mel Brooks, Carol Channing, Chita Rivera, Rita Moreno, Kristin Chenoweth, Michael Crawford, Harvey Fierstein, Gwen Verdon, Bob Fosse, Harold Prince, Angela Lansbury, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Goulet, Jerry Herman, Elton John, Cameron Mackintosh, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, Patti LuPone, Mary Martin, Ethel Merman and Liza Minnelli to name just a few!
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To lease “Forbidden Broadway's Greatest Hits” from Theater Rights Worldwide, click the link below:
https://www.theatricalrights.com/show/forbidden-broadway-greatest-hits/
FORBIDDEN BROADWAY is available on Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify and Soundcloud. Log onto your favorite streaming service to listen:
APPLE MUSIC - https://music.apple.com/
PANDORA - https://www.pandora.com/
SOUNDCLOUD - https://soundcloud.com/search?q=forbidden%20broadway
SPOTIFY - https://support.spotify.com/us/article/spotify-radio/
FORBIDDEN BROADWAY CDs are available for purchase at Amazon:
SPAMILTON - An American Parody
It's the fictitious story of a very famous writer/performer/star trying to save Broadway from mediocrity and oblivion. Along the way, this sharp and lovable parody not only takes aim at Broadway's current mega-hit, but manages to make hysterical mincemeat out of many classic and new Broadway shows.
Countless film and stage takeoffs drop by to add to the fun and mayhem, including: Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPpone, Stephen Sondheim, Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, Audra MacDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Daniel Radcliffe, Liza Minelli, and Lin-Manuel Miranda himself. Spamilton is a multi-generational delight for everyone.
Spamilton is available for amateur and regional productions outside of New York. It can be leased through Lush Budget LLC, contact John Freedson at jfreedson@aol.com
FORBIDDEN SONDHEIM - Merrily We Stole a Song
This is a new and special version of Forbidden Broadway that spoofs and pays tribute to our friend, the late Stephen Sondheim. It includes many new parodies of Stephen Sondheim's shows, plus some classic favorites from Forbidden Broadway's 40 years of parodies of Sondheim shows and stars. The cast includes: Jenny Lee Stern, Chris Collins Pisano, Michael West (as Stephen Sondheim) and Dayna Dansler. Christine Pedi appears as a special guest star to deliver some of her unique takes on the likes of Sondheim stars Ethel Merman, Elaine Stritch and Angela Lansbury.
TO PURCHASE TICKETS FOR THE CURRENT SEASON OF "FORBIDDEN SONDHEM - Merrily We Stole a Song", CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
https://thegreenroom42.venuetix.com/show/details/U8Qf0JMVT3by8JpewIzt/1699056000000
NEW ORIGINAL MUSICALS
AIRPLANE - (in development) A brand new and wildly entertaining screwball musical, based on the titular disaster film spoof, and the original over-the-top campy nail-biter, Zero Hour. An emotionally damaged ex-pilot with PTSD follows his estranged girlfriend onto a flight, only to be forced into piloting the damaged aircraft when the real pilot dies from eating poisoned fish. Using genuine music from over-wrought classic film scores, Gerard Alessandrini has written parody lyrics to make this laugh-a-minute show the first parody of a parody.
LISTEN TO THE OPENING SONG FOR "AIRPLANE: THE MUSICAL?" DEMO HERE
MADAME X - Is a stylish and witty musical thriller that’s an updated mid-century retelling of the original classic French play by Alexandre Bisson. It follows the rise and fall of Bunny, a beautiful and warmhearted sophisticate who sacrifices her position and home to protect her young son. The tuneful and witty score is by Gerard Alessandrini and Robert Hetzel, suggesting Henry Mancini and Cole Porter. But it’s melodrama, music and murder all the way, in this award-winning new musical.
THE NUTCRACKER MUSICAL - The original ballet music of Peter Il’yich Tchaikovsky takes a holiday when Gerard Alessandrini adds his hysterical lyrics to the score. The new book is by Emmy Award-winner, Peter Brash, and follows the magical exploits of a high school dancer who breaks her leg and can’t perform in the ballet. Instead, a young man devises a Nutcracker for her to sing instead. Originally presented at The George Street Playhouse in New Jersey, this holiday treat has gone on to entertain families every holiday season.
SCARAMOUCHE - A wildly funny and super melodic Opera Buffa of the Rafael Sabatini swashbuckler, Andre Louis becomes a master swordsman while hiding his identity as a scaramouche in a tattered commedia dell’arte troupe. In this version, he is part of the French underground during World War II, and his nemesis is a Nazi collaborator. Gerard wrote all the music and lyrics for this athletic and operatic romp.
GERARD ALESSANDRINI
GERARD ALESSANDRINI is the Tony Award-Winning Creator/Writer/Director of the international hits Spamilton (the parody of Hamilton) and Forbidden Broadway.
Spamilton enjoyed successful runs in New York, London, Chicago, Los Angeles and all around the world. But Gerard is probably best known for writing and directing all the editions of Forbidden Broadway and Forbidden Hollywood in New York, London, L.A., Tokyo, etc.
Forbidden Broadway has spawned 25 editions, 13 Cast Albums and a 40
year plus run in New York.
Television and recording credits include: writing comedy specials for Bob Hope and Angela Lansbury on NBC, Carol Burnett on CBS and special lyrics for Barbra Streisand’s album, Duets Encore. For PBS, he wrote and directed “Masterpiece Tonight”, a satirical revue saluting Masterpiece Theater’s 20th Anniversary. As a performer, he can be heard on four of the thirteen Forbidden Broadway cast albums and on the soundtracks of Disney’s animated classics Aladdin and Pocahontas.
Directing credits include: Anything Can Happen In The Theater: The Songs of Maury Yeston, a new revue of the music of the multiple Tony Award-Winner.
Off Broadway Gerard re-wrote and co-directed a revival of Irving Berlin’s last musical, Mr. President, which he also updated and “politically corrected.” For NYMF, he co-wrote (with Robert Hetzel) and directed a musical version of Madame X.
Other recent musicals include The Nutcracker Musical (George Street Playhouse) for which he wrote new lyrics to Tchaikovsky’s music with a new book by Emmy Award Winner Peter Brash. He also wrote the lyrics for a musical version of Paul Mazursky’s Moon Over Parador. In 2019, he wrote and directed a new and acclaimed version of Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation, which also enjoyed a very successful run at The York Theater.
Most recently he created, wrote and directed Forbidden Sondheim: Merrily We Stole A Song which is currently running in New York.
Gerard is the recipient of an Obie Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, two Lucille Lortel Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards for Forbidden Broadway, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Drama League. As a frequent Bostonian director/writer, he is also the proud recipient of The Elliot Norton Award, (with whom Gerard studied Modern Drama in college.) In 2006, Angela Lansbury presented Gerard a Special Tony Award Honor for “Excellence in Theater”.
Watch the Gerard Alessandrini interview in
"The primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral history Project" website
Visit the website for more on the interview: https://primarystagesoffcenter.org/interviews/a-e/gerard-alessandrini.html