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Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

July 13, 2007 (WLS) -- After receiving rave reviews and overwhelmingly favorable feedback from Chicago audiences, Off-Broadway's longest running and most popular musical comedy revue, Gerard Alessandrini's FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: Special Victims Unit, www.forbiddenbroadway.com has extended its Chicago run at the Royal George Cabaret Theatre www.theroyalgeorgetheatre.com, 1641 N. Halsted Street, through Sunday, Sept. 2. Tickets currently on sale.

Upon the opening of this edition in Chicago, Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune raved "The funniest, fastest 90 minutes in Chicago bar none!" Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun-Times called the show, "Hilarious! Highly Recommended." Dan Zeff of the Copley News Service exclaimed "Even a spectator who has never entered a Broadway theatre will have a hoot of a time!" The Daily Herald concluded "Forbidden Broadway: SVU is practically perfect in every satirical way&.A laugh fest from start to finish. You would be loony to miss it!"

In 2006, Forbidden Broadway and its creator Gerard Alessandrini were honored with a Tony Honor "for keeping theatergoers in stitches for nearly 25 years by affectionately lampooning Broadway productions and personalities." The current edition, FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: Special Victims Unit, winner of the 2005 Drama Desk Award for Best Musical Revue, mercilessly spoofs the egregious crimes committed against the American theater and the cruelly victimized theatergoing public.

Poking good-natured fun at the on and off-stage drama associated with such Broadway hits as Spamalot, Doubt, The Lion King, Jersey Boys and Wicked, among others, and celebrities including Cherry Jones and Kathleen Turner, Alessandrini has continuously updated Forbidden Broadway since its debut almost 25 years ago.

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: Special Victims Unit is created and written by Gerard Alessandrini and is directed by Mr. Alessandrini and Phillip George. Costumes are by Tony Award winner and Theatre Hall of Fame inductee Alvin Colt, a legendary designer whose credits include the original productions of such classics as On the Town and Guys and Dolls.

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has been an unstoppable force in New York theatre since 1982 when Gerard Alessandrini created his first parody of the Broadway shows and stars of the day. The show has since grown to be a favorite among theatre lovers worldwide as well as the Broadway stars themselves, including Carol Channing, Kathleen Turner, Bernadette Peters, Tommy Tune, Stephen Sondheim, Cameron Mackintosh, and Hal Prince, to name but a few, who often stop by to laugh at themselves. FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has won numerous awards in its history including the Drama Desk, Obie, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel Awards.

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: Special Victims Unit is currently playing at the Royal George Cabaret Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted Street, Chicago, through Sunday, Sept. 2.

Tickets prices vary by performance. Wednesday and Thursday tickets are priced at $45; Fridays, Saturdays at 2 and 5 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. are priced at $49.50; Saturdays at 8 p.m. are $55; and Sundays at 5 p.m. are $45.

Tickets can be purchased at the Royal George box office, by phone at 312-988-9000 or Ticketmaster at 312-902-1500, Ticketmaster.com or all Ticketmaster ticket centers. $20 Student Rush tickets are available, subject to availability. Contact the box office for details. Discounted tickets are available for groups of 10 or more by calling GroupTix at 877-4-GRP-TIX (877-447-7849).

Valerie Fagan

Has originated two versions of Forbidden Broadway in NY, Boston (2006 Elliot Norton Award Nominee) and its critically acclaimed spin-off, Forbidden Vegas (2005 Vegas At Its Best Entertainer.) Most recently, she starred in the Regional Theater Premiere of Hairspray at NSMT. Other credits include: the National Tour of Man of La Mancha (Aldonza) opposite Robert Goulet and Les Misérables (Fantine). Valerie coauthored the award winning musical, 6 Women with Brain Death and was honored to sing "God Bless America" for NBC, starting the New York City Marathon. Valeriefagan.com

Leisa Mather

Leisa's association with Forbidden Broadway started in 2000 when she performed in Cleans Up Its Act. She still continues to perform in Forbidden Broadway both in New York and on tour. Her most recent credits include Arthur Miller's The Price with Robert Prosky; Hello, Dolly! With Tovah Feldsuh, and Harold and Maude The Musical with Estelle Parsons. Other roles include Mother in the Chicago and national touring productions of Ragtime; Grizabella in Cats; Yelena in Uncle Vanya; and 13 Men in Around The World in 80 Days.

Michael West

Returns to Forbidden Broadway via Las Vegas, where he recently appeared in Gerard Alessandrini's Sin City satire Forbidden Vegas. Michael was in the original casts of Forbidden Broadway 20th Anniversary and Forbidden Broadway Summer Shock. Other Off-Broadway credits include When Pigs Fly (original cast recording on RCA), Mr. President, and Whoop-Dee-Doo. Michael's acclaimed one-man show, Almost Live from the Betty Ford Clinic, now modestly titled A Giant of the Industry, is being updated for a run in Las Vegas.

Nick Verina

Nick is the inaugural recipient of the Roger Sturtevant Musical Theatre Award given by Actors' Equity Assoc. New York and Regional credits: That Time of the Year (York Theatre), Bush is Bad (The Triad Theatre), Forbidden Broadway: SVU (Boston Huntington and San Diego Theatre in Old Town), The Manhattan Madcaps of 1924 (Symphony Space), Wallenberg (NY Musical Theatre Festival), selections from Harold and Maude (Lucille Lortel, benefit concert), Was (Human Race Th. Co., World Premiere), Green Gables (Human Race Th. Co., Regional Premiere), Miss Liberty (York Theatre), Charlie Brown. You will soon be able to hear Nick on the Original Off-Broadway cast recording of That Time of the Year. He is a graduate of the Wright State University Acting/Musical Theatre Department and a proud member of Actors' Equity Association. www.nickverina.com.

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