Back in July, we informed you that an unauthorized Saved by the Bell musical was coming to the New York stage. It looked horrible in the best kind of way. Well, now we have an update. It’s a hit! Just check out this review from the New York Tim-waaaaaaaaaaait a second the New York Times is reviewing unauthorized off-off-off-Broadway musicals that parody Saturday morning TV shows from the ’90s? Huh. Welcome to 2013, I guess.
Anyway…
“Bayside! The Musical!” — a bawdy, ridiculous, unauthorized parody of the show — is now playing to feverishly enthusiastic, standing-room-only crowds in the East Village.
Attending “Bayside!” can seem like a midnight screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”: there are many inside jokes and familiar call-and-response cues. And plenty of audience members dress up like their favorite characters. (Though the sartorial twinning at “Bayside!” is more likely a result of the ’90s fashion now rocking the racks at Urban Outfitters.)
And here’s something else we learn in the review: the actress who plays Jessie Spano also played the lead in the unauthorized Showgirls parody musical. She has the market cornered on campy portrayals of Elizabeth Berkley characters. If I ever get around to making that musical about those handful of CSI: Miami episode where Elizabeth Berkley played Horatio’s scheming ex-wife, I definitely know who to call.
