As part of its 36th anniversary season, Middletown Lyric Theatre (MLT) will perform “Forbidden Broadway: Greatest Hits” on two consecutive weekends, Friday and Saturday, April 17, 18 and April 24, 25. All shows will start at 8 p.m.
In this long-running, Off-Broadway hit musical revue, many of Broadway’s musical legends will meet Broadway’s greatest satirists in a lively tribute to some of the theater’s top performers and songwriters. A few of the shows include “Annie,” “Wicked,” and “Chorus Line,” along with performers like Carol Channing, Stephen Sondheim, Liza Minnelli, and more
“It has a lot of shows that people are familiar with, but it’s a parody of shows, so it takes shows and makes fun of them, basically,” said Charley Shafor, managing artistic director of Middletown Lyric Theatre. “In this particular production, there are shows like ‘Cats’ and ‘Fiddler on the Roof.”
Sometimes there’s a fun twist on lyrics, or they will make fun of the people that were in the show, or the show itself, he said.
“The fun thing about the show is that even if you’ve never seen the original show, if you’ve only heard about it, or if you’ve seen the movie version, you are still going to find something funny about it,” Shafor said.
The show is fast-paced, full of life and it has a lot of energy, he said, it’s nothing too serious, or thought provoking, it’s just a good time.
Sponsored by The Middletown Community Foundation and Martha Oches, the production features Tom Dierling, Katelyn Fox, Julie Joyce-Smith and Brent Peebles in the cast. Direction and vocal direction for the show will be conducted by Ryan Heinrich.
“The show’s a lot of fun for us to do it, in a good-hearted way. It’s not mean-spirited,” Shafor said, “It’s one of those shows that puts a different perspective, or spin on what’s going on. It’s another way to enjoy musical theater.”
He said the show goes along with MLT’s mission to remain accessible and give guests a variety things that reach out and expose them to different aspects of culture and to what’s available in the theater world.
On Sunday, May 3, MLT will team up with the Middletown Symphony Orchestra to present “The Trumpet of the Swan,” based on the book by E.B. White. This performance at Dave Finkelman Auditorium will combine music and theater. On May 29, 30 and June 5 and 6, MLT will take the stage to perform “November.”
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