Daily News from New York, New York • 639

entertainment 4 WW -n WW fir" U- vV SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM: At left, Zero Mostel and a bewigged Jack Gilford in the original "Funny Thing At right, revival's Nathan Lane serenades Mark Linn-Baker. 1 Bin mf, FROM COVER erything about the show is ersatz, so it seems pointless to split hairs about interpretations. At least its original production had a kind of winning innocence. The current one overdoes guished, though both come across well on records. For both, the original cast albums are definitive.

In the case of "Company," however, there is a superlative 1996 London cast album everything, but the album and Shields are full of energy. 'SHOWBOAT' There are, of course, many versions of "Show Boat." In 1988, John McGlinn recorded every known bar of its score with a classy cast. This album also offers every word of The recording is historic. I admire McGlinn's guts in insisting on retaining the word "niggers" in "Old Man River," which gives us a sharp sense of the distance we've traveled in 70 years. The album, however, is marred by McGlinn's flaccid conducting.

Another historic recording is that of the 1946 revival, which has "Nobody Else But Me," Jerome Kern's last song, sung fetchingly by Jan Clayton. I have always been fond of the 1966 Lincoln Center revival recording with Barbara Cook and an unusually winsome Constance Towers. Worth looking for is the London cast recording with Cleo Laine as Julie. But all in all, you can't do better than the current album, which contains an amazing amount of the score. The conducting and singing are absolutely first-rate.

headed by Adrian Lester, whose "Staying Alive" is the most shattering I've ever heard. Also in both cases, there are gorgeous jazz versions by the Terry Trotter Trio. Pianist Trotter has also re-corded "Passion" and "Sweeney Todd," bringing more yearningly sung than they are here by Joohee Choi, Jose Liana and Taewon Kim. Murphy is radiant as Anna. Her rich, emotion-laden voice is at its best in "Shall We Dance," but she infuses even the lighter songs with surprising force.

A wonderful tenderness and vulnerability in Phillips' voice balances the expected authority and power, making his an unusually moving King. 'COMPANY' A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM These Sondheim musicals were revived on Broadway last season. Neither of the productions was distin- THEATER REVIEW human dimensions to music that often seems merely cerebral. 'GREASE! Somehow, I never got around to seeing Brooke Shields in "Grease!" Ev- dialogue, the only memorably delivered line of which is the one by the old lady who remembers Kim when she was a girl in this version, the words are spoken by Lillian Gish. mm Irau! EJew 'Forbid By HOWARD KISSEL Daily News Drama Critic FORBIDDEN BROADWAY STRIKES BACK! Written and directed by Gerard Alessan-drini.

With Bryan Batt, Donna English, David Hibbard, Christine Pedi. Costumes by Alvin Colt. Wigs by Robert Fama. Musical direction by Matthew Ward. At the Triad.

lERARD ALESSAN- I drini makes me look like I a wuss, and I'm glad. "Crazy Girl," rather than "Crazy World." One of the funniest numbers is a send-up of Elaine Stritch. Parodying "Zip," a song Stritch once sang in "Pal Joey," Christine Pedi brings a gravelly voice to bear perfectly on lyrics like, "Stritch! Would you like a job at Rainbow and Stars? Stritch! We need someone downstairs parking the cars." As for David Hibbard, I can only express gratitude for his dead-on imitation of Anthony Rapp, perhaps the most obnoxious performer in "Rent," here wittily dubbed "Rant" In some ways, Alessan-drini's most extraordinary ally is Robert Fama, whose wigs make the four actors look eerily like the stars they lampoon. Yes, the more you've seen, the funnier the show is. But you don't have to have seen any current shows to find Alessandrini's material and those who perform it absolutely hilarious.

Close (who usurped LuPone's role in "Sunset and Madonna (who has done the film version of the role that brought LuPone stardom, how to act. Even funnier is the juxtaposition of "A Chorus Line," the longest-running show on Broadway, with "Cats," the show that is about to overtake it. "Meeow! I hope I get it," auditioning felines sing, parodying the opening of "A Chorus Line." "How many pussies does he need? Does he want strays or Siamese?" Although the material is always on target, the show would not be as funny if it were not for the performers Alessandrini has assembled. When, for example, Bryan Batt does Mandy Patinkin in "So Miscast," a wicked look at a theoretical upcoming production of "Kiss Me, Kate," he matches Patinkin's head tones uncannily. When Donna English plays Julie Andrews, you almost believe it's Andrews herself, except she's singing Perhaps I should explain.

Alessandrini writes and directs "Forbidden Broadway," which attacks the theater with almost breathtaking vicious-ness. Alessandrini doesn't know the meaning of "kid gloves." Thus, he makes all of us who make our living as critics look like Mr. Nice Guy. For this we must be grateful. His current no-holds-barred edition, "Forbidden Broadway Strikes may be the funniest yet He gets great mileage out of some brilliant juxtapositions.

For instance, he has Patti Lu-Pone, who now plays Callas in "Master Class," "teach" Glenn CD I rW i I a JO ATTIHED FOR SATIRE: Cast of "Forbidden B'way Strikes Back!".