Forbidden Broadway: Behind the Mylar Curtain by Gerard Alessandrini, Michael Portantiere Page A

"One.']

    "Rant"

    ANTHONY

    BOTH

    ADAM

    ANTHONY

    ADAM

    BOTH

    [Music continues as ANTHONY reveals his 16nnn
camera.]

    ANTHONY
    Close-up on Rent. We're in the East Village, looking
around for some misery to photograph. Cut to Avenue
B. Zoom down the street. No one is left.
    ADAM
    They've all moved to West 41st Street, where they are
now squatting in the rarely used Nederlander Theatre.
    ANTHONY
    Nederlander Theatre! flow are we going to get in
there?!?
    ADAM
    There's only one thing left to do!
    BOTH
    Check the "Lee-Brett-Toe."
    ANTHONY
    Zoom in on copy of an ancient text we found buried
under the crumbling marble of Lincoln Center.
    ADAM
    This "Lee-Brett-Toe" is a strange and wonderful book
of prophecy called ...
    BOTH
    L.A. Bo-heerne.
    ANTHONY
    It tells us what the hell is going on in this show.
    ADAM
    And what happens next.
    ANTHONY
    Check scene two.
    ADAM
    It says we have a "Breaking Back Into the Theatre
Party" tonight.
    ANTHONY
    Yesssssss!!!
    BOTH

    ANTHONY
    [Reading from the libretto.]
    Scene three. Daphne Rubin-Vega plays Mimi. In
Boheme, she's a sweet, shy seamstress. Now she's a
nymphomaniac crack-head prostitute! YEAH!
    [DAPHNE RUBIN-VEGA leaps onto the stage.]
    "Ouch, They're Tight!"
    DAPHNE
    Meow!!!!!

    [Third chorus.[

    [She strikes a pose, and we hear the loud sound of her
pants splitting.)
    "Too Gay 4 U"
    ANGEL

    [Christmas music plays.]
    ANTHONY

    ANGEL
    [Joins ANTHONY.]

    DAPHNE
    [Enters and joins in.]

    ALL THREE

    "Think Punk"
    KAYTHOMPSON
    Oh! What is this fabulous, ratty sweater! Look at those
gorgeous shit-kickers! They'll look fabulous in my new
Rent boutique at Bloomingdales. Angel, take a memo:
"To the fashion scene of America-no, to the fashion
scene of the world: Chuck the chiffon! Tear the taffeta!
Banish the pink! And from now on, world ...

    HORUS BOYS

    [DAPHNE enters wearing a sweatshirt covered with
garbage.]

    KAY

    CHORUS

    KAY

    ALL

    KAY

    CHORUS

    KAY

    CHORUS

    KAY

    CHORUS

    ALL

    "Seasons of Hype"
    COMPANY

    FEMALE SOLOIST

    MALE SOLOIST

    ALL

    "This Ain't Boheme"
    ANTHONY

    ALL

    ANTHONY

    ALL

    ANTHONY

    KAY THOMPSON

    ALL

    ADAM

    DAPHNE

    ALL

    ADAM

    DAPHNE

    KAY

    ALL

    ANTHONY

    ALL

    ANTHONY

    ALL

    "Death and Resurrection"
    DAPHNE

    ANTHONY
    Zoom in on Daphne, now dying of exhaustion after
doing Rent for only six months. Will Adam be able to
revive her with his new hit song?
    [ADAM sings, thinking DAPHNE is dead; the music is
Musetta's waltz from La Boheme.[
    ADAM

    [DAPHNE revives as the music surges.l

    DAPHNE
    Mooo.. .
    [ADAM and ANTHONY jump back and cry in horror.]
    ADAM and ANTHONY
    She's back!
    DAPHNE
    I swear I died! I was going through a tunnel-the
Lincoln Tunnel, I think-going towards a warm white
light, leaving dingy New York for good.
    ADAM and ANTHONY
    Oh my God!
    DAPHNE
    ... and I swear I saw an angel in gold lame. She looked
like Lady Thiang from The King and I [LADY THIANG
enters.], and she said ...
    [LADYTHIANG speaks as DAPHNE mouths along.]
    LADYTHIANG
    Go back. Back home to Broadway. It isn't dead yet.
    ADAM
    Wow!
    [ANTHONY starts looking through the libretto.]
    ANTHONY
    Hey! According to the Boheme libretto, you're not
supposed to come back. You're supposed be dead!
    DAPHNE
    Yeah, but ... [She gyrates.) ... uh-uh-uh, this ain't
Boheme ...
    [Music chord or pickup as DAPHNE thrusts her pelvis.]
    DAPHNE, ANTHONY, and ADAM

    [They go off, dancing.]
    "Grand Finale"
    LADY THIANG

    [Two MEN and one WOMAN enter, in turn.]
    MANI

    WOMAN

    MAN 2
    YOU'LL ALWAYS PAY THE PRICE,

    ALL

    LADY THIANG

    ALL

     

Why did I stay with Forbidden Broadway for so many years, from 1985 to 2009? I wore
many hats during that time, as performer, director, assistant to Gerard, understudy,
dance captain, teacher to anyone who joined the show, casting director, occasional
prop artist, and friend to all-I hope!
    I traveled around the world performing countless numbers, directed more than
ten productions across the country, did a series of interviews