Wheaton Drama presents 'Forbidden Broadway'

Audience members will enjoy familiar tunes and parodies of popular lyrics when Wheaton Drama opens its 2016-17 season with "Forbidden Broadway Greatest Hits Vol. 1" on Friday, Sept. 17.

Created and written by Gerard Alessandrini, the show promises to be unlike anything audiences have seen before.

"I would like for our audiences to know that this show is really a tribute to the whole genre of musical theater and the people who write and perform it," Director Stan Austin said.

"The authors have taken tunes that are familiar to most audiences and substituted lyrics that poke fun at the style of the show or the performers most associated with the show."

Wheaton Drama's production features an ensemble of eight actors who work together to bring this smart and silly parody musical to life. The show features familiar tunes from "Into The Woods," "Hairspray," "Chicago," and "Spamalot," all recently produced at Wheaton Drama's Playhouse 111. It also includes Broadway staples such as "West Side Story," "Les Miserables," "Fiddler On The Roof," and "Wicked."

"My hope is that the audiences will leave the theater humming the tunes, chuckling at the parody lyrics and anxious to see another Broadway show," Austin said.

"Forbidden Broadway" show times are 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16 through Oct. 9, at Playhouse 111, 111 N. Hale St., Wheaton. Onstage seating is available in limited amounts for this show. Tickets are $20-$23.

For more information and to purchase tickets, call (630) 260-1820 or visit www.wheatondrama.org.