Mock 1

Friday, Nov. 19, 2004 | 8:32 a.m.

In a city where it isn't uncommon for showrooms to seat 1,000, to John Freedson the 250-seat theater at the Westin seems large.

Freedson and Harriet Yellin are the co-producers of "Forbidden Vegas," which premieres tonight at the small hotel east of the Strip on Flamingo Road and Koval Avenue.

The first two months are preview performances (designed to fine-tune the show), with tickets costing $39.95. When the show makes its official premiere in January the price will increase to $49.95.

The satirical revue is patterned after the successful "Forbidden Broadway," a show that lampoons Broadway productions and performers with a biting wit that might sting, but not injure, its victims.

Gerard Alessandrini, the brilliant creator, writer and director of the original "Forbidden," has reworked his brainchild to do to Vegas what he has been doing to Broadway for the past 23 years.

The show's format in Las Vegas will be the same as in New York taking an original song and changing the lyrics for comedic effect.

While many producers aspire to the more substantial-sized showrooms, especially if they are on the Strip, Freedson is content with his Lilliputian venue in the shadows of the bright lights.

"In New York the theater seats 199," Freedson said.

Which is 51 fewer than the Westin.

And the New York venue isn't exactly on Broadway the Douglas Fairbanks Theatre is at 432 W. 42nd St.

Some of the success of the original production might be because of the theater's size and distant location it adds a sort of underground charm to the revue, giving it an anti-establishment feel.

"The theater in New York is kind of old and run-down, which may be part of the audience appeal," Freedson said.

The 825-room Westin hotel is the old Maxim, which was bought by the Columbia Sussex Corp. in 2002 and reopened under its new name and new management in November 2003.

Comedian David Brenner was the first occupant of the Westin's theater, which is leased by Paul Reder (Reder and Rich Super are co-producers of "Forbidden Las Vegas").

Given his choice between the seedy atmosphere of an old New York theater and a shiny new room with plush seats, Freedson prefers the new.

"We'd rather have the new seats and hi-tech lighting," he said.

Freedson has been with "Forbidden" for 20 years, first as a cast member and then, beginning about 10 years ago, as a producer.

When he was one of the actors he was part of the road show.

"We did the show in Japan, in English, with subtitles," Freedson said. "The audience laughed in all the right places, but you have to wonder if the subtitles told them when to laugh."

One of the things Freedson likes about "Forbidden" is that it is in a constant state of change.

"As entertainment changes, you change with it," he said.

Even the title in New York changes.

"Forbidden Broadway" may be "Forbidden Broadway, Special Victims Unit," or "Forbidden Broadway Cleans up its Act," or something else to capture the overall feel of the show.

"We try and reflect the environment," Freedson said.

Freedson described "Forbidden Vegas" as, "A very broad parody of mostly current and classic Las Vegas, with an emphasis on 'current.' "

Freedson said Alessandrini isn't having any difficulty converting the show to a Las Vegas theme.

"He's been obsessed with Vegas," he said. "Gerard has followed Vegas closely for years."

How do you parody what some skeptics believe is already a parody?

"We're sort of staying away from a lot of that -- the impersonators," Freedson said. "That's not what we are. We are really a musical revue; a theater piece; a 'Saturday Night Live' musical; a sketch revue.

"We try, at least in New York, to puncture the things that take themselves too seriously. It seems easy to parody Cirque du Soleil -- there's a lot of hype around it. It takes itself very seriously."

Celine Dion is in Alessandrini's cross hairs.

"And we do Elton John a little bit," Freedson said. "And there's a segment about different themed hotels, and we do something with Siegfried & Roy, though we're trying to tread a little bit lightly on that."

Alessandrini said the four cast members are not impersonators.

"They are actors doing impersonations," Freedson said. "That is not to say the impersonations aren't good, because they are, but they approach it from a different place. They are playing a character rather than impersonating. They get inside the character."

The key to the success of "Forbidden" is its freshness, Freedson said.

"It is very smartly written," he said. "Gerard comes from the old school of well-crafted lyric writing. He has a wicked sense of parody and an understanding of his victims.

"He punctures the egos of the entities that need a little bit of bringing down to size."

But, he said, the shows are done with affection.

"Gerard is very star-struck," Freedson said. "And that comes across. He's only mean enough to be funny. He's not trying to assassinate anybody."

Alessandrini has satirized some of the biggest stars on Broadway, from Ethel Merman to Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews.

He noted that one of the important elements in the production is costume design, which enhances the performances but doesn't get a lot of recognition.

"Forbidden" has one of Broadway's great costume designers, Alvin Colt.

The 88-year-old veteran of design has been creating costumes for more than 60 years, beginning with the classic Broadway hit "On the Town" in 1944.

The musical was directed by George Abbott.

"Right after that, I did another musical for him," Colt said, "and then I landed a job with 'Around the World in 80 Days.'

"I thought it was a plum job. It was produced and directed by Orson Welles, and he eventually starred. It was scored by Cole Porter."

The production flopped.

"It lasted about 10 days," Colt said.

A young man at the time, Colt was a little discouraged until he was at a dinner party and met a psychic who told him things soon would get better.

"She turned to me and said, on such and such a date to remember, 'Something wonderful is going to happen to you on that date.' Her name was Nella Webb."

Colt said he went home, circled the date on his calendar and forgot about it.

Then, on the designated day, he was hired to design costumes for "Guys and Dolls."

Colt has designed costumes for more than 80 Broadway shows (including "Li'l Abner" and "Pipe Dream," for which he won a Tony Award), numerous television shows, a couple of movies ("Destry Rides Again," "Stiletto") and an annual merchandise extravaganza for Neiman Marcus, the famed retailer store in Dallas.

For 20 years, from the mid-'60s to the mid-'80s, Colt helped the store produce its November sale of merchandise from around the world.

"Every year they sent me all over the world to research," Colt said. "I went to places and saw things I never would have seen in my life."

And then there's Vegas.

"It's fascinating," Colt said.

And it's different.

"It's not Broadway," he said. "The public here is used to something a little different, a little more special, a little more elaborate than the usual."

Does going from a city where he worked on "Guys and Dolls" to one where one of the most popular attractions is the Blue Man Group bother Colt?

"A good designer must be versatile," he said. "If you know what you're doing, you can do anything."

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