Cosmopolitan Cabaret opened with the September 2008 to September 2009 run of “Forever Plaid,” which remains the biggest success as a show. “Forbidden Broadway,” which opened Friday night, may just rival “Plaid.” There are lots of similarities. Both have talented creators, lots of hysterically funny scenes, songs, costuming, props and more. "Forbidden Broadway" creator and continuing writer, Garrard Alessandrini, aims his sharp pen at mostly easy targets but in incredibly funny ways. You may never have seen “Annie,” “Les Miserables” or “Lion King,” but are still very aware of them and lots of other Broadway shows through popular culture. Both have four very talented actors, who understa

Cindy starts her work day at the laundromat. It’s her birthday. It’s going to be a great day. Then the mailman arrives. Letter one is from the IRS. Her aunt has died, and somehow Cindy is on the hook for back taxes. Letter two is from her pen pal boyfriend saying he has fallen in love with someone with better handwriting and is leaving her. Letter three informs her that her cat is sick. Cindy’s response: tie one leg of a pair of leggings to her neck and the other around an agitator. Suicide by washing machine. So begins “Suds, The Rocking ’60s Musical Soap Opera.” The play is well into its run at California Musical Theater’s Cosmopolitan Cabaret. As with most Cosmo Cabaret productions, t

 America is in the depths of the Great Depression. Audiences flock to movies where they can forget their troubles enjoying a couple of hours of singing and dancing paying a mere dime for a ticket. The musical “42nd Street” is based on the 1933 movie of the same name. The basic plot is that Broadway producer Julian Marsh is producing a big new Broadway show called “Pretty Lady.” He is worried that his big star, Dorothy Brock, doesn’t have it anymore, but he has to cast her since her sugar daddy is putting up the money. Competition for the chorus is very tight, especially since it’s the Great Depression and jobs are scarce. Newly arrived from Allentown, PA, (pronounced P. A.) Peggy Sawye

Step into the Wells Fargo Pavilion and be transported back to Springfield High School’s 1958 Senior Prom, “Marvelous Dreams.” The evening’s entertainment was supposed to be provided by The Crooning Crabcakes. Alas, Crabcakes lead singer and preacher’s son Billy Ray was caught smoking behind the school. So as not to set a bad example, the principle has canceled their show. The Marvelous Wonderettes are brought in as a last-minute substitution. The Marvelous Wonderettes are Cindy Lou Huffington, Missy Miller, Betty Jean “B.J.” Reynolds and Suzy Simpeon. They are all Springfield High School’s (Go Chipmunks) Song Leaders. For the next couple of hours, we learn about the Wonderettes’ relati

“Funny Girl” is a star maker. It made a star out of Barbara Streisand first on Broadway, then in film. Vicki Lewis most certainly shines as Fanny Brice the title “Funny Girl” in this the latest Music Circus production of the show. Everything in the play centers on the character of Fanny Brice. Brice herself was one of the biggest stars of her time. From 1910 through the 1930s on stage, screen and radio, Brice was wildly popular and influential. Legendary Broadway producer David Merrick worked with lyricist Jule Styne and equally well-known composer Bob Merrill to turn what had started as a screenplay into a Broadway musical. Having seen Streisand in her first role on Broadway in “I Can

Sophisticated, debonair Lawrence Jamison conspiring with local Chief of Police Andre Thibalult fleeces wealthy vacationing American women of their fortunes. The location is an exclusive French Riviera beach town. Jamison runs into a brash American swindler, Freddy on a train returning from Switzerland where he has banked his latest loot. Freddy blackmails Jamison and Thibault into taking him on as an apprentice. Much humor ensues. The musical "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" is based on the 1988 movie of the same name starring Michael Caine as Lawrence Jamison and Steve Martin as Freddy. The movie itself is based on a 1964 movie, "Bedtime Story." "Bedtime Story" was written by Stanley Shapiro,