47th Street Theatre
02 August 2008, 2000
Tonight, I decided to have a made-for-tourists NY adventure. Armed with a book, a strong set of elbows and a few twenties in my wallet, I headed to the Times Square TKTS booth (they only accept cash or traveler's checks). Elbows strong, I knocked families of blond-haired, blue-eyed mid-westerners out of the way as I reclaimed the sidewalks of 7th Avenue and Broadway for NYers everywhere. The TKTS booth provides discounted tickets for some of Broadway's most popular shows as long as you don't mind waiting in line for a while and are flexible as to what you would like to see. I hadn't a clue what I wanted to see because I am not a big Broadway fan. When I was a kid, I thought Broadway was aces; the glitz, the glamor, the costumes and music. Once I hit my teenage years, the allure quickly faded and I became jaded by the production of it all. Sigh...another youth lost to the indie-scene.
Outside the TKTS line of tourists (and locals who just really like Broadway), there are hawkers. A hawker is a person who is paid to get your attention and promote their play/restaurant/service. If you have ever picked up a paper from the guys who incessantly shout, "Daily News $.25," you will notice that the top of the paper says, "Hawker Edition" or "Hawker Copy" or something similar. When you stroll down Restaurant Row on 46th Street, there are hawkers that try to bring you into their restaurants for the pre-fixe Broadway special. My hawkers name was Mike and he got my attention for three reasons. First, he was the first hawker to shove an advertisement at me. Second, he said the show he was promoting was only $35 as compared to most shows where even the discounted seats go for $50-65. Third, he said that the show, "Forbidden Broadway" was actually off-Broadway and was a parody of all the other Broadway shows. Sold. I got on line amidst the sea of people and arrived at the little window. No dice. All sold out. I got off line ready to pick another show for which I could get cheap seats when I spy Mike talking to some other eager theatre-goers. I inform him of the situation and he tells me to try again at a different window. I queued again with the same outcome. I was about to give up after realizing that I really didn't want to blow $60 on a show that I didn't want to see when I saw Mike again. I relayed the information and he told me to go directly to the theatre and tell the guy at the window that Mike sent me. Hooray! An adventure! I headed to the theatre and was awarded a nicely discounted ticket thanks to my persistence, Mike's help, and the manager of the theatre not being in the lobby to overhear the transaction.
The show was indeed quite funny. Since I am not a Broadway aficionado, I am sure that I missed some of the more subtle, insider jokes, but for the most part, I chuckled my way through the performance. The actors were superb. Forbidden Broadway was conceived of in 1982 at Palsson's Supper Club in the Upper West Side by Gerard Alessandrini. It is a musical parody of all of Broadway's best and worst shows. The lyrics from recognizable songs from the shows are rewritten to poke fun at the actors/actresses and highlight the flaws. A good time indeed.
100 in 6 budget: $772
Sea of tourists
Set of Forbidden Broadway
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