FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: ALIVE AND KICKING Extends Run Through April 28, 2013

Due to overwhelming popular demand, the producers of Gerard Alessandrini's brand- new Forbidden Broadway: ALIVE AND KICKING have announced the show will be extending its run at the 47th Street Theatre (304 West 47th Street – just west of Eighth Avenue) through April 28th, 2013. The production is co-directed by Phillip George. Forbidden Broadway: ALIVE AND KICKING opened on September 6th after a three-year absence from New York.

Forbidden Broadway; ALIVE AND KICKING, features Gerard Alessandrini's parodies Broadway's biggest shows and brightest stars, including Annie, Newsies, Once, Book of Mormon, Spiderman, Evita, Porgy and Bess, Anything Goes, Follies, as well of send-ups of Catherine Zeta Jones, Matthew Broderick, Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin, among others.

Featured in the cast are Natalie Charlé Ellis, Scott Richard Foster, Jenny Lee Stern and Marcus Stevens, with David Caldwell on Piano.

This edition is created and written by Gerard Alessandrini, and directed by Mr. Alessandrini and Phillip George, with musical direction by David Caldwell, and additional dialogue by Phillip George. Costumes are designed by Philip Heckman, lighting design by Mark T. Simpson and wig design by Bobbie Cliffton Zlotnik. Forbidden Broadway: ALIVE AND KICKING is produced by John Freedson, Harriet Yellin and Paul Bartz, in association with Paul G. Rice, Carol Ostrow, Paxton Quigley, Robert Driemeyer, Jamie deRoy, Lawrence Poster and Tweiss Productions.

What started as a small cabaret act at West 72nd Street's Palsson's Supper Club, is now one of New York City's best-loved and most highly anticipated musicals. Now celebrating its 30th year, Forbidden Broadway is a theatrical institution joining the ranks of A Chorus Line and Phantom of the Opera as one of the longest-running shows in New York.

Forbidden Broadway was born in 1982, when Alessandrini, a frustrated performer looking for a place to showcase himself and his friends, booked a weekend performance at Palsson's. The cast of five, had no producer or backer, and used costumes from the cast's own closets to spoof stars like Yul Brynner and Ethel Merman. Hailed by critics, Forbidden Broadway became an overnight sensation, quickly expanding to eight performances a week and running at Palsson's for over six years. Needing a bigger venue, Forbidden Broadway moved to the 125-seat Theatre East, where it ran until 1994. Since then, Forbidden Broadway was presented at the Triad until 1997, the Stardust Theatre from 1997-2001, the Douglas Fairbanks Theatre from 2001-2005, and the 47th Street Theatre, where it opened in 2005. The show now returns to the 47th Street Theatre after a three-year absence. Forbidden Broadway has also enjoyed both national and international success, performing over 10,000 shows on four continents with engagements in over 200 U.S. cities, at London's famed Menier Chocolate Factory, and a concert version with major symphony orchestras. A recent production in Manila, Philippines guest-starred Lea Salonga, and the show is currently nominated for 9 Ovation Awards in Los Angeles.

Over the last 30 years, the show, which changes as often as Broadway, has been a favorite among theatre lovers and Broadway stars as well including Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Hal Prince, Raul Esparza, Tyne Daly, Mike Nichols, Christine Ebersole, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg, and Cameron Mackintosh to name a few, who often stop by to laugh at themselves alongside the public. The show has also launched the careers of several previously unknown actors, including Jason Alexander, Bryan Batt, Michael McGrath, Chloe Webb, Barbara Walsh, Dee Hoty and Daniel Reichard, while many Forbidden Broadway alumni are currently appearing on Broadway. Forbidden Broadway has won numerous awards in its history including a Special Tony® Award, 9 Drama Desk Awards, , the Drama Critics' Circle Award, and Obie, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel Awards.

Recent backstage visitors have included Carol Burnett, Stephen Sondheim, Mike Nichols, Lesley Stahl, Diane Sawyer, and Michael Kors.

Pictured: Marcus Stevens (left) and Scott Richard Foster (right). Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg.