Forbidden Broadway

Forbidden Broadway, currently running at the Menier Chocolate Factory, is to transfer to the West End.

The show will move to the Vaudeville Theatre on September 9, and run until November 22, with press night on September 15. It is running at the Menier until August 30.

Cast members Anna-Jane Casey, Damian Humbley and Ben Lewis will transfer with the production. Christine Bianco, who has appeared in the show in the US, will join the cast when it moves, replacing Sophie-Louise Dann.

The show parodies recent productions from the West End, including The Book of Mormon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Once.

Menier artistic director David Babani said he was “delighted and overwhelmed” with the critical response and “speed at which tickets have been sold out for Forbidden Broadway at the Menier Chocolate Factory”.

“I can’t think of a more fitting way to celebrate our 10th anniversary year than to transfer our wonderful production to the Vaudeville Theatre in the West End so that many more people will get the opportunity to enjoy it,” he said.

The multi award-winning Forbidden Broadway has been an unstoppable force in New York theatre since 1982 when Gerard Alessandrini created the first parody lampooning the Broadway shows and stars of the day. It is a favourite among theatre lovers as well as Broadway stars (Angela Lansbury, Whoopi Goldberg, Kathleen Turner, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Stephen Sondheim, Cameron Mackintosh, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Hal Prince among others), who have been known to stop by and laugh at themselves!

This updated version of the show, from Broadway's director Phillip George, showcases some of the best productions from both Broadway and the West End, including The Book of Mormon, Once, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Miss Saigon!