Performance Review- Jacob Young

Performance Review

Jacob Young

The Producers

The Producers is a musical written by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, it tells the story of  two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich by overselling interests in a Broadway flop. Complications arise when the show unexpectedly turns out to be successful. The humor of the show draws on ridiculous accents, caricatures of homosexuals and Nazis, and many show business inside jokes. In New York in 1959, Max Bialystock opens "Funny Boy", a musical version of Hamlet. It is terrible, and the show closes after one performance. Max, who was once called the King of Broadway, tells a crowd of down-and-outs of his past achievements and vows to return to form. The next day, Leo Bloom, a timid accountant, comes to Max's office to audit his books. When one of Max's "investors" arrives, Max tells Leo to wait in the bathroom until she leaves. The investor is a little old lady. She plays a sex game with Max, who eventually persuades her to give him a check to be invested in his next play, to be called "Cash". Leo reveals his lifelong dream: he's always wanted to be a Broadway producer. After a panic attack when Max touches his blue blanket(a recurring theme in the musical), Leo tells Max that he has found an accounting error in his books: Max raised $100,000 for "Funny Boy", but the play only cost $98,000. Max begs Leo to cook the books to hide the error, and Leo reluctantly agrees. After some calculations, he realizes that "under the right circumstances, a producer could actually make more money with a flop than he can with a hit. ... You could've raised a million dollars, put on your $100,000 flop, and kept the rest!" Max proposes the ultimate scheme: to find the worst play, the worst director, and to raise 2 million dollars for it to flop, pocketing all the leftover money.  Max finds the sure-fire flop that would offend people of all races, creeds, and religions: Springtime for Hitler: written by Franz Liebkind, which Max describes as "a love letter to Hitler". Ex-Nazi Franz is on the roof of his tenement with his pigeons reminiscing about the grand old days. The producers get him to sign their contract by joining him in singing Hitler's favourite tune ("Der Guten Tag Hop Clop") and reciting the Siegfried Oath, promising never to dishonor "the spirit and the memory of Adolf Elizabeth Hitler", if broken means 'death'.

Next, they go to the townhouse of flamboyant homosexual Roger De Bris, the worst director in New York. After much persuading and invoking the possibility of a Tony award, Roger agrees. Max and Leo return to the office to meet a Swedish bombshell who wants to audition for their next play: Ulla Inga Hansen Benson Yansen Tallen Hallen Svaden Swanson.The producers are impressed, mostly by her beauty, and hire her to be their "secretary-slash-receptionist". Max leaves to raise two million dollars for "Springtime for Hitler" by calling on all the little old ladies in New York. Hilariously, Springtime for Hitler turns out to be a satiric hit on Broadway, causing Max to lose his money and go to jail. Leo and Ulla journey to Rio, having pocketed the 2 million dollars.

Having previously seen the 2005 rendition of this musical, I had premonitions about how the performance would go. However, it exceeded my expectations. The performers were not only engaging and convincing, but they were equally as funny and even included some original comedic content. The set was moved well, and in particular, Max’s house looked exactly as it did in the movie. Also, the way that the accountants were set in their own cubicles at the bank was very well done. Also, the costumes were dead on with the movie. Max’s large, flamboyant suit and Leo’s stern, conventional attire were well represented in the production. Nathan Lane’s Max Bialystock was boisterous and crude, just as he is displayed in the movie. Matthew Broderick’s Leo Bloom was timid and skittish, just as he is displayed in the movie. I saw this performance on November 14, 2015 at the Lexington Opera House.