THEATER REVIEW : Dated ‘Broadway’ Has Its Bright Spots

You have to know musicals to appreciate “Forbidden Broadway 1994,” the revue at the Tiffany. Its clever lampoons of Broadway icons might be lost on those who don’t.

Among its two-dozen sketches is a “Sunset Boulevard” takeoff mounted by the New York-based company for L.A. Without giving away the jokes, let’s just say that writer-director Gerard Alessandrini not only puts Glenn Close (Susanne Blakeslee) and Patti LuPone (Christine Pedi) on the same stage and incorporates elements of the “Sunset” plot into their rivalry, but he also throws in Joe (Brad Oscar) and, best of all, a wickedly made up Andrew Lloyd Webber (Oscar again). Too bad there’s no sign of Faye Dunaway or Diana Ross.

The zingers sting Close more than LuPone, but LuPone already took a few lumps in an unrelated “Evita” sketch earlier in the show. Alessandrini generally adheres to equal opportunity needling.

The “Sunset” sketch and a number about the expanding role of Disney on Broadway (“Be Depressed,” to the tune of “Be Our Guest”) rationalize the “1994” in the title. Some of the other material, while new to L.A., feels dated. That “Evita” sketch, for example--it’s been quite a while since Barbra Streisand or Madonna were considered for the movie.

Madonna, obviously a tempting target, also is part of the show’s only parody of a non-musical, a put-down of her appearance in David Mamet’s “Speed-the-Plow” in 1988 in New York. While the adaptation of “My Fair Lady” to this situation is deftly done, it’s a bit remote, especially for a non-New York audience.

A sketch that attempts to parody Mary Martin and Ethel Merman surely predates the stars’ deaths, which now make the number pointless and tasteless. Not that we weren’t warned--the opening song promises some below-the-belt humor. Pedi’s plucky Merman impression is still a kick, but Blakeslee’s Martin seems inaccurate as well as mean--portraying the late star as wispy instead of perky.

Some of the other sketches, however, appear freshly minted in the wake of recent musical offerings in L.A. We’ve seen so much Tommy Tune and Michael Crawford that Craig Wells’ acerbic solo takeoffs on the two men sound as if they might have been created for L.A. Likewise with his Michael Damian in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” which was a big hit here before it went to New York.

Surely there are plenty of customers who’ll appreciate this company’s thorough skewering of “Les Miserables.” And Alessandrini’s Sondheim spoof, “Into the Words,” is almost as dazzling as a real Sondheim number.

Kudos also to wig designer Teresa Vuoso, costumers Alvin Colt and Erika Dyson, and pianist Brad Ellis.

The show concludes with an appeal to bring back shows with “heart”--ironic, perhaps, considering this show’s lack of it. But then satirists shouldn’t worry about being nice, and these folks are the sharpest theater satirists in town.

* “Forbidden Broadway 1994,” Tiffany Theatre, 8532 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m.; Fridays-Saturdays, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends May 29. $26.50-$29.50. (310) 289-2999. Running time: 2 hours.