The original version of the long-running revue Forbidden Broadway opened Jan. 15, 1982, at Palsson’s Supper Club in New York City. It upgraded from Off-Off-Broadway to Off-Broadway status on May 4 and ran for 2,332 more performances at the venue. Alessandrini updated the show several times during its original run, premiering modified versions on Oct. 27, 1983, on Jan. 29, 1985, on June 11, 1986, and on June 26, 1987. He has created more than a dozen other editions since then. In the original 1982 edition, Alessandrini was among the performers, who also included Wendee Winters, Bill Carmichael, and Nora Mae Lyng, for whom Alessandrini created the show. The director was Michael Chapman, who was succeeded by Jeff Martin, then Alessandrini, and finally Phillip George, who has directed all of the show’s editions since 2004.
Below is a music video of original cast members Lyng and Alessandrini performing a duet from the original 1982 show, with original music director Fred Barton on the piano.
The 1991 edition received an Obie citation, and the 1993 edition a Lortel for Outstanding Musical. The 1996 edition, Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back, and the 1998 edition, Forbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its Act, both won Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Lyrics, while the 2000 edition, Forbidden Broadway 2001: A Spoof Odyssey, won for Outstanding Revue, as did the 2007 edition, Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening. The 2013 edition, Forbidden Broadway: Alive & Kicking!, received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Revue, and the 2016 edition, Spamilton, for Outstanding Lyrics. In 2006, the show and Alessandrini won Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre.
Below is a montage of the 30th anniversary edition of the show, Forbidden Broadway: Alive & Kicking!