By Ken Knox

Taking a break from the Big Apple, Gerard Alessandrini's hilarious Forbidden Broadway settles into a limited run at San Diego's Theatre in Old Town.

Southern Californians who feel they are missing out on the joys of Broadway theater can rejoice: Forbidden Broadway is coming our way. Gerard Alessandrini's long-running spoof of the Great White Way is taking a break from the Big Apple and setting up shop in San Diego's Theatre in Old Town for a limited engagement, and the show's creator and director couldn't be happier. "We recently moved to a new theater in Manhattan, but it was pre-booked for April and May, so we're just going to bring the show to San Diego during that time," Alessandrini tells IN Los Angeles. "It's been almost 10 years since we last played the Old Town, and it's nice because the show is almost completely changed from the last time it played there."

Taking a cue from television's obsession with procedural crime dramas, Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit features "cameo appearances" from Law and Order detectives Jerry Orbach and B.D. Wong. The two are investigating the murder of Little Orphan Annie, who was gunned down while belting out her signature song "Tomorrow." From there, the laughs fly fast and furious as some of Broadway's biggest hits and most notorious flops are spoofed left and right in the show's effort to prove that bad theater is a crime. From pointed ribs at surprise blockbusters ("Did you see Mamma Mia?/It's like furniture from IKEA" goes the hilarious "Everything Old is New") and spot-on impersonations of stage icons like Liza, Carol, Julie and Patti to a hilarious number depicting Harvey Fierstein's desperate desire to play Fiddler of the Roof's Tevye ("If I Were a Straight Man"), Forbidden Broadway holds nothing sacred in its scathing but affectionate roasting of all that Broadway loves about itself.

"Forbidden Broadway isn't spoofing specific shows as much as it's spoofing the hype of Broadway," Alessandrini says. "Not just the overblown advertising and the awards, but the idea that theater has some kind of self-importance -- that it's more artistic than film or TV. That still permeates the theater industry, and it's fun to poke fun at that."

If you think that means that the jokes might fly over your head, think again. "The show has been altered somewhat for the San Diego run, but we've learned that audiences in Southern California are very sophisticated," Alessandrini says. "If we do a spoof of Wicked or Avenue Q, most people at least know what it is, even if they don't know it specifically. The show isn't completely inside. I think that's a misconception."

Indeed, Forbidden Broadway has been delighting not only New York audiences in its unprecedented 25-year-long run, but also audiences in virtually every major city in the United States in several regional productions and national tours. Though Alessandrini admits that he is surprised at the show's success outside of Manhattan, he is happy that his efforts to appeal to the masses have paid off. "I always try to make the show sort of self-explanatory, and make sure that we are hitting big targets and not things that are too [New York-based]. Usually people think of Forbidden Broadway as being very insular, but it really isn't. We just opened a production in Pittsburgh; we've had long, successful runs in places like Kansas City and Florida. Broadway is everywhere." Even so, he adds, the show's longevity still comes as a bit of a shocker. "I had no idea that it would be this successful and this loved as I was writing it," he admits.

And if production numbers like "La Cage Aw-ful," "Mamma Mi-diocre" and "Fiddler With No Jew" don't bring out the theater queens, there's always the fabulous costumes and a rather, um, hefty endowment to bring out the size queens. "Even if you really don't understand it on a theatrical level, to look at the parade of costumes is visually entertaining," Alessandrini enthuses. "And it's a collage of Broadway, so you hear a lot of good music and a lot of varied entertainment very quickly and very succinctly. You really feel like you're getting your bang for your buck, because it's like you've seen 25 shows."

Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit runs through June 4 at The Theatre in Old Town. Tickets may be purchased by calling the theater's box office at 619-688-2494 or online at www.theatreinoldtown.com.