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The Producers |
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Author: Book by Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan;
Music & Lyrics by Mel Brooks
Reviewer: Carolyn Albert for Theatre Reviews Limited |
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MEL BROOKS, always a funny man, hits the heights of humor with his musical adaptation of his own first film, "The Producers." He co-wrote the book with THOMAS MEEHAN, gets full credit for the funny and well-constructed songs, and you can bet that he shaped much of the visual "schtick" that ordinarily would be attributed to the Director/Choreographer, SUSAN STROMAN - whose own masterful touches are very much in evidence.
  
Although he's not above reaching down for low humor, a lot of Brooks' jokes and references are wittily satiric about other shows and movies. In fact, the more you know, the more you enjoy "The Producers." It's an intelligent musical - now that's something we didn't anticipate!
For the one of two who never saw the movie, here's a quick take on the plot: Max Bialystock is an over-the-hill Broadway producer whose "angels" have been elderly ladies he romances - or as he admits, shtups! Timid Leo Bloom arrives to audit Max' ledgers, admitting his lifelong dream of being in Max' shoes. When Bloom observes that a producer could score more cash with a failure - raising far more than is needed, and keeping it - as opposed to having a success, where all the proceeds have to be accounted for, Max, ever the opportunist, entices Bloom into co-producing a sure-to-fold turkey. After reading a mountain of scripts, they find one that will offend everyone, a paean to Adolph and his Storm Troopers, called "Springtime for Hitler," written by a local neo-Nazi, Franz Liebkind. Next, they sign on Roger De Bris, an ultra-gay director who works with a coterie of mincing queens - a combination sure to guarantee disaster. The production opens - to raves: "A satiric masterpiece!" To tell more would ruin any plot surprises that still remain after all the publicity this show has garnered.
If, before seeing the show, anyone scoffed about a songwriter who couldn't play an instrument or write down his own music, they'll forget it once they've heard the lively tunes that Brooks wrote to match his riotous lyrics, fresh because nothing is off-limits. Technically, his rhymes are good, often clever. Right now the hip local audiences show they know the Yiddish words dropped into the text by laughing on cue, but when the out-of-towners start filling most of the seats, a glossary might be required.
We can expect nearly everyone connected to the production to walk off with a Tony Award while "The Producers" breaks box office records for advance sales. Star NATHAN LANE could have a job as Max Bialystock for life if he so chooses. Lane doesn't hold back vocally - whether it's to scream in anguish at his rotten luck as a has-been impresario or to belt his big song, "Betrayed," when he's left holding the bag after the swindle is exposed.
Lane is well known for his ability for extemporaneous humor. An opportunity occurred when he caught his sleeve in the office safe where the larcenous producers kept their cash. Such verbal agility becomes the stuff of legend.
As Leo Bloom, the boss-pecked accountant who wants to be a Producer, MATTHEW BRODERICK has played the lovable schnook before. When he starred in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," audiences discovered he has a fine singing voice. In "The Producers," the nimble actor shows he's in top form whether singing, dancing, or displaying his athleticism, all while maintaining Bloom's character as a borderline hysteric. The two co-stars are evenly matched.
Supporting roles are filled gloriously. Authors Brooks and Meehan have provided versatile performers with material that exploits their talents. GARY BEACH's director is magnificent whether prancing about in a silver gown that resembles the Chrysler Building, or goose-stepping as the fey Fuehrer, demonstrating the strong pipes that won him acclaim as Lumiere in "Beauty and the Beast." As Beach's "common law assistant," ROGER BART doesn't have as meaty a role as his award-winning Snoopy two seasons back, but he does get to camp things up and enunciate at least one show-stopping exit line.
It's hard to choose which scene evokes the most chuckles. A contender is the rooftop where neo-Nazi Franz (BRAD OSCAR) keeps little Nazi birds who flap along with his songs. Another grand scene brings in CADY HUFFMAN who co-stars as Ulla, a sexy secretary/leading lady/love interest. Besides being a fabulous actress, Huffman reveals how well she sings, dances, and clowns in "When You Got it, Flaunt it," an audition song that spoofs the casting couch.
Ah, Susan Stroman, clearly God's gift to musical theater! A Stroman signature is incorporating surprising props with dance formations. My personal favorite was the line of old ladies with walkers that tap-danced. The ersatz Rockette-formation of chorines in a Swastika came in a close second.
Sets by ROBIN WAGNER are like reading Mad Magazine - full of gags, so look at everything! Costumes by WILLIAM IVEY LONG are often hilarious as well - notice Huffman's Ginger Rogers garb for her dance routine with Broderick. During the "Springtime" showcase, his Teutonic parody wear jested at all things Germanic. Lighting by Peter Kaczorowski illuminated the visual gags, while Sound by Steve C. Kennedy kept every line of Brooks' lyrics audible - especially some layered shouts that had to be heard above other sounds. With so much going on so much of the time, coordination is breathtaking. Complex technical arrangements breezed along smoothly; Tech supervised by JUNIPER STREET PRODUCTIONS. The cost of this musical is high - but for a handful of cash you get a barrel full of laughs!
Some jokes and lines are fall-off-your-chair funny - and by the way, my seat at the St. James was not the tight little butt-squeezer I've had to wedge my frame in and out of at nearly every other show this season, but newly-upholstered and thankfully commodious.
When friends and visitors ask for a recommendation, here is the certain-to-please show you know they'll thank you for if they can get tickets. Does it pay to send in your check and wait? It sure does! My advice - buy the best you can afford for a show you'll always be glad you saw.
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Produced by Rocco Landesman, SFX Theatrical Group, The Frankel-Baruch-Viertel-Routh Group, Bob & Harvey Weinstein, Rick Steiner, Robert F.X. Sillerman, and Mel Brooks, in association with James D. Stern/Douglas Meyer and by special arrangement with StudioCanal.
CAST: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Roger Bart, Gary Beach, Cady Huffman, Brad Oscar, Madeleine Doherty, Kathy Fitzgerald, Eric Gunhus, Peter Marinos, Jennifer Smith, Ray Wills, and an ensemble of 15.
Theater: St. James Theatre, 246 West 44th Street.
Schedule: Tuesday - Saturday at 8, Wednesday & Saturday at 2, Sunday at 3.
Tickets: $30* - $100 (*may have risen since opening)
Audience: mature teens and up. Contains nearly every blue word you know in English and Yiddish.
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