APRIL 24-27, 2025 AT THE HOBBY CENTER
TICKETS ON SALE TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19 AT 10 AM
WHO: The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
WHAT: Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole A Song
WHEN: April 24–27, 2025
Thursday at 7:00 pm | Friday at 7:30 pm | Saturday at 1:30 & 7:30 pm | Sunday at 7:30 pm
WHERE: The Hobby Center | 800 Bagby Street | Houston, TX 77002
TICKETS: Start at $39. Available online at TheHobbyCenter.org and in person at the Hobby Center Box Office (800 Bagby, Houston, TX 77002).
Houston, TX – The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts presents the Tony Award®-winning FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, Gerard Alessandrini’s legendary and hilarious musical spoof of Broadway’s biggest shows and brightest stars playing the Hobby Center April 24-27, 2025. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, November 19 at 10 am and are available at TheHobbyCenter.org.
The all-new edition FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: MERRILY WE STOLE A SONG wowed critics when it opened in September, with the Wall Street Journal proclaiming it “DEVASTATINGLY FUNNY! MERRY MUSICAL LARCENY WITH FLAGRANT AND FUNNY ABANDON!”; The NY Observer dubbing it “MAD MAGAZINE WITH JAZZ HANDS!”; and the New York Times calling it “Top Notch! The long-running spoof slings its affectionate arrows!”
Feeling “completely inspired” by the latest crop of Broadway musicals, Alessandrini lampoons The Great White Way’s biggest shows and stars in this edition, which he directed. Gerry McIntyre (Spamilton, Once on this Island, Anything Goes) is the choreographer. The musical is produced by John Freedson and Harriet Yellin.
Up to the minute spoofs include comic looks at Eddie Redmayne in Cabaret, Audra MacDonald in Gypsy, The Outsiders, & Juliet, Six, and Back to the Future, plus classic looks at Les Miz, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked and The Lion King.
FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has been a theatrical institution since 1982, when Gerard Alessandrini created the first edition that lampooned the Broadway shows and stars of the day who often stop by to laugh at themselves alongside the public. FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has garnered international acclaim and awards that include 7 Drama Desks Awards, an Obie, a Drama League Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, 2 Lucille Lortel Awards and a Special Tony® Award along the way.
ABOUT GERARD ALESSANDRINI (Creator, Writer and Director) Spamilton (creator/writer/director): New York, London, Chicago, Los Angeles, and National Tour. Forbidden Broadway (creator/writer/director): 25 editions all over the world. Also Forbidden Hollywood (writer/director), Madame X: The Musical (NYMF) (cowriter/director), The Nutcracker & I (lyrics), Maury Yeston’s revue Anything Can Happen in The Theater (director), New York. Television: special material for Carol Burnett, Angela Lansbury and Bob Hope. Film: “Aladdin”, “Pocahontas” (vocals). Recordings: 12 Forbidden Broadway cast albums, Forbidden Hollywood & Spamilton cast albums. Special Lyrics: Barbra Streisand “Duets 2.” Awards: Drama League Lifetime Achievement Award, Obie Award, 2 Lucille Lortel Awards, 7 Drama Desk (2 Best Lyrics, 2 Special Achievement, 3 Best Musical Revue), and a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre.
For more information on Forbidden Broadway please visit forbiddenbroadway.nyc.
TICKETING: Tickets on sale Tuesday, November 19 and will be available online at TheHobbyCenter.org and in person at the Hobby Center Box Office (800 Bagby, Houston, TX 77002).
Patrons can become a “Hobby Center Insider” by signing up at thehobbycenter.org/news/stay-connected where they receive perks such as access to purchase tickets before the public.
The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts serves as a connector, convenor and incubator for all Houston audiences, artmakers and arts organizations. Opened in 2002, the campus houses two theaters including the 2,650-seat Sarofim Hall and the 500-seat Zilkha Hall. Delivering a best-in-class patron experience, the Hobby Center welcomes over 400,000 audience members annually to engage with high-quality arts programming including the Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center series. The Hobby Center is also home to a full season of musical theatre produced by Principal Resident Company Theatre Under the Stars, as well as a variety of diverse performances from both Houston-based and touring artists and companies. Education and accessibility initiatives are central to the Hobby Center’s impact in Houston through programs like the ExxonMobil Discovery Series that welcomes thousands of students to performances every season. Please visit TheHobbyCenter.org. Follow the Hobby Center on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
