Forbidden Broadway’s Greatest Hits – Jan 19-29

Shows Jan. 19-29:
Thurs., Fri. & Sat. at 7:30pm (new time this season!)
Sundays at 2pm

Musical Revue by Gerard Alessandrini

Director: Marianne Phinney
Music Director: Dan Moore
Choreographer: Vincent Ratsavong
Stage Manager: Samantha Eaton-Roberts

This hilarious revue features parodies of famous Broadway hits. Come enjoy musical theater that pokes loving fun at musical theatre!

Among the stars that will be spoofed are Bebe Neuwirth, Chita Rivera, Rita Moreno, Ben Platt, Liza Minelli, and Ethel Merman. Shows on the block include Frozen, Wicked, Fiddler on the Roof, Chicago, Annie, Mamma Mia, Into the Woods, Book of Mormon, and (of course) Les Miserables. No show or star is safe!

Cast List

(in alphabetical order)

Julie Bellini

Jim Braunstein

Ali Coletta

Solange Elkallassi

Dan Goldstone

Jerry Kates

Mark Prokes

Maddie Welch

THE CAST

Julie Bellini is very excited to be a part of Forbidden Broadway here at Mass Arts Center. This is her third show with this company, as she was previously seen in Freaky Friday and The Miracle Worker. Julie is a full-time American Sign Language (ASL) teacher and a busy mom of 3, but she is thrilled to be in her happy place on stage and share it with this amazing cast.

Jim Braunstein left Chicago Theater in 1995 and returned with his sons in Pirates of Penzance in 2015. While watching his kids enjoy the stage, he has been acting in various theaters in Mass for the last 7 years. His most memorable experience was playing Adolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone and seducing his wife of 28 years who was the Drowsy Chaperone. When not acting, Jim is a cyber security salesman and avid outdoorsman.

Ali Coletta is making her comeback to the stage after an almost 15-year hiatus! Growing up, Ali performed in several shows such as Anything Goes (Reno Sweeney), Les Misérables (Madame Thenardier), and Pippin (Fastrada) but explored other fields in the performing arts world while attending college in New York. She has taken classes and performed at The PIT (NYC) for improv, Gotham Comedy Club (NYC) for stand-up, along with a musical theater ensemble class at Old Town School of Music (Chicago). Ali would like to give a shout-out to Marianne, Dan, & Samantha for having her be part of this journey. She’d like to thank her loving and supportive family and friends who have always believed in her. Ali will be dedicating her performance to her incredible husband Nick, who has been her #1 cheerleader since day 1, and her son Cameron, who has inspired her to pursue her passions further. 

Solange Elkallalssi is happy to be back for her second show at Mass Arts Center, following Sweeney Todd this past Fall. She sends a big thank you to everyone who has made this possible at MAC and to her husband for his support through both shows!

Dan Goldstone is happy to make his debut with MAC. Recent credits include: Mitch Mahoney in The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Needham Community Theater – EMACT Dash Award), El Gallo in The Fantasticks (Bay Players), Dr. Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein (Hingham Civic Music Theater), Amos Hart in Chicago (Quannapowitt Players), and Buddy Fidler in City of Angels (F.U.D.G.E Theater Company). Special thanks to Marianne and Dan for inviting me to join this talented cast and crew in this zany show! Be sure to check out www.danielgoldstone.com

Jerry Kates is performing for the first time at Mass Arts Center and is happy to be back on stage again. It has been years since he performed as Curly in Oklahoma, as Sid Sorokin in The Pajama Game and as Thomas Jefferson in 1776. Over the years since then, he has performed in many musical reviews, sung as a church soloist, and has been the National Anthem singer at the Boston Celtics, the New England Revolution, and the Pawtucket Red Sox. Wanting to stay sharp, he continues to hone his skill by taking voice lessons with Joanne Mouradjian at Wheaton College. Jerry lives locally in Norton, MA with his wife of 40 years and he is proud to be the father of two grown sons, Matthew and Stephen, and grandfather to Teddy and Clementine. 

Mark Prokes is freshly back from his extended European galavanting and is back on stage for your viewing… pleasure? Sure, let’s go with that. Before his extended absence from the Massachusetts stage, he appeared in such roles as Geoffry in A Lion in Winter, Einstein in Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and his most glamorous role as Shrek in… Shrek. In case you aren’t absolutely sick of him by the end of this, consider coming out in March to see his directorial return as he lampoons government corruption and gets himself on Putin’s hit list with Gogol’s The Inspector at the Milford Performing Arts Center. Sit back, relax, and enjoy~

Maddie Welch is thrilled to be working on her first production at the MAC. She has appeared locally in a number of shows, most recently as Snow White in Walpole Footlighter’s Disenchanted. Some of her favorite past roles include Mrs. Potts (Beauty and the Beast), Caroline (Titanic), Claire (Rumors), Bird Girl (Seussical), and Miss Minchin (A Little Princess). Of course, Maddie’s favorite show before this one was the 2016 production of Forbidden Broadway at Needham Community Theater, where she also got to work with Marianne and Dan. Off the stage, Maddie enjoys playing the roles of Mom, Wife, Entrepreneur, and Teacher. She would like to thank the fantastic cast and crew, as well as her family and her trusty EV that took her on the long ride back and forth to rehearsals without breaking the bank.

THE PRODUCTION STAFF

Marianne Phinney (Director, she/her) is delighted to return to Forbidden Broadway, which she directed for Needham Community Theater in 2016. Other recent productions include the musical Disenchanted!, Calendar Girls, Radium Girls, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Summer and Smoke, Something’s Afoot, The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and the New England premiere of Hollywood Arms for the Walpole Footlighters. She directed the first Gazebo Players Shakespeare in the Park production, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which she rebooted in 2022, plus All’s Well That Ends Well, The Winter’s Tale, Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew, and Much Ado About Nothing. Other directing credits include The Odd Couple (Female Version) (MMAS) and Return Engagements (Milton Players). Her most recent stage appearances include the title role in Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins (Walpole Footlighters, Roundabout Productions), Mrs. Gottlieb in Dead Man’s Cell Phone (MMAS) and Queen Gertrude in Hamlet (Dragonfly Theater). Marianne has served as a judge for the METG High School Drama Festival since 2005. She thanks Gerard Alessandrini, Fred Barton, and Harriet Yellin for their support! www.mariannephinney.com.

Dan Moore (Musical Director) is very pleased to be joining so many talented performers in this production of Forbidden Broadway. Musical theater is Dan’s passion. A retired high school music teacher, he taught Music/Musical Theater at Framingham High School and musically directed the musicals. He has his own private voice studio in Roslindale and at the Arlington Street Church in Boston. He recently was the musical director for Disenchanted at the Walpole Footlighters. In the 2022-23 season, he will be musically directing I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change at the Curtain Call Theatre in February and Something Rotten at the Walpole Footlighters in May. Recent acting credits include: Maurice in Beauty and the Beast, Von Hussler in Mary Poppins, and George in It Shoulda Been You. Dan would like to thank Marianne Phinney for this opportunity, the cast/crew, and his partner, Robert, for their kindness and support. 

Vincent Ratsavong (Choreographer) is a second generation Laotian American director, choreographer, and actor. He graduated from Emerson College in 2018, obtaining an M.A. in Theater Education. He devised three original shows for Emerson’s Theater Education Graduate Association: Relationship: A Noun; After Antigone: A Response to The Antigone Project, and his Master thesis, Hey, Brown Boy! Vincent is a two-time Irene Ryan Nominee and Semi-Finalist for The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region 1 and placed first at the 2015 NATS Boston Song Festival. Some of his favorite directing credits include: The Drowsy Chaperone, It Shoulda Been You, Cabaret, Into the Woods, and Little Shop of Horrors.

Samantha Eaton-Roberts (Stage Manager/Dance Captain, she/her) is excited to continue her adventure at Mass Arts Center, her home away from home. While stage managing has been her focus as of late, she loves performing onstage, as well. Some of her favorite onstage credits include Jamie Keller in The Miracle Worker (MAC), tribe member in Hair (MAC), Kristine in A Chorus Line (Massasoit & Norwood), Reggie Fluty in The Laramie Project (Wheaton College), and Robin in Godspell. Some favorite behind-the-scenes projects include stage managing and assistant directing Freaky Friday (MAC), stage managing and lighting operation for The Marvelous Wonderettes (MAC), lighting design and operation for Sweeney Todd (MAC), and soon-to-be stage managing and assistant directing Urinetown: The Musical (MAC). Special thanks to Marianne and Dan for taking me along for this hilarious ride; to the cast and crew for their hard work and dedication; to the wonderful loves, muffins, and snugs in her life for supporting her passion for the amazing and crazy world of theater; and to Joshua who cast her in the greatest role of her life as Mommy.