By Mark Ambrogi
The Carmel Community Players will be going over familiar musical territory with a twist.
The CCP will present “Forbidden Broadway: Greatest Hits Volume I” from Feb. 12-14, Feb. 19-21 and Feb. 26-28 at the Carmel Community Playhouse, 14299 Clay Terrace Blvd., Suite 140. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays.
Perry A. Accetturo and Jan Jamison serve as co-directors of the revue. Accetturo works with the staging and Jamison handles the choreography.
“It originated off-Broadway where performers would get together and come up with parody songs, making fun of whatever was on Broadway at that given time,” said Accetturo, a Carmel resident.
Accetturo said it pokes fun of musicals such as “Annie,” “Hairspray,” to “Les Miserables,” and “Momma Mia.”
“It’s a nice blend of pieces that are pretty well known, but obviously it’s making fun of them and using lyrics you never heard before,” Accetturo said.
Jamison said the songs poke fun at the musical or the song itself.
“It’s light-hearted and funny, it’s very campy,” said Jamison, a Noblesville resident. “It’s very entertaining because you are laughing through most of it. In some songs where the characters are over-the-top, for instance in the ‘Hairspray’ group, they can take your choreography and make it their own. It’s fun to see how it evokes once they add to it.”
The show is performed with minimal costumes.
“Just enough to show what the actors are doing and help them personify the character,” Accetturo said. “There are several impressions that are made such as Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin, Liza Minnelli and Ethel Merman. The tunes are ones that we know, it’s the alternate lyrics that are the meat and potatoes of the show.”
Accetturo’s husband Vince is one of the performers. Rebecca DeVires McConnell is another Carmel resident in the cast. The other cast members are Lauren Leigh, Denise Fort, Darrin Gowan and Michelle Wafford.
This will be the first show with beer and wine being served. For Feb. 12-14, the cost is $35 for two adult tickets, two drinks and Valentine’s Day flower. Tickets are $15 or $17 for other performances. For more, visit carmelplayers.org.
