Gerard Alessandrini (Creator, Writer, and Director) is best known for writing and directing all editions of Forbidden Broadway and Forbidden Hollywood in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, and around the world. He was also a member of the original cast of Forbidden Broadway. Originally from Needham, MA, he is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music. In 1982, Mr. Alessandrini created and wrote Forbidden Broadway, which has spawned 12 editions and a 20-year-and-counting run in New York. In 1991, he co-wrote (with Peter Blue), directed, and performed in Masterpiece Tonight, a satirical revue saluting Masterpiece Theatre’s 20th Anniversary telecast on PBS. Some of his sketches were also featured in Carol Burnett’s television Special “Men, Movies, and Carol.” As a performer, he can be heard on four of the five Forbidden Broadway cast albums, and on the soundtracks of the Disney animated classics Aladdin and Pocahontas. His directing credits include Equity Library Theatre Chicago’s revival of Lerner and Loewe’s Gigi, various industrials for Canada Dry and Mobil, and, on Broadway, the star-studded Circle in the Square Farewell Gala. In 1998, he directed Maury Yeston’s musical In the Beginning. Mr. Alessandrini is a recipient of an Obie Award, four Drama Desk Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Lucille Lortel Award for Forbidden Broadway, and the prestigious Drama League Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre. He won his fourth Drama Desk Award for Best Musical Revue for Forbidden Broadway Special Victims Unit. (Photo by Carol Rosegg)