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Fast forward to the present day...

You didn't think I was going to describe the whole play for you, did you? I'm sure Mel Brooks wouldn't like me giving everything away. I wouldn't like me giving everything away. You should, no make that, must, go see The Producers yourself, in person. If there's any way you can get a ticket and go, do it. Beg. Borrow. Steal. Go. If you can't get to New York, buy the CD. It won't be as pleasurable, but it's a pretty fair substitute. Even if you can get to New York and are lucky enough to secure a ticket for The "sold out through June 2002" Producers, buy the CD. You'll thank me for my insistence.

"Now Sue review." [That's the Sue version of "Now Ulla belt"; buy the CD, then you'll understand]

I can however, give you a short review of The Producers that I don't think will spoil too much.

My Playbill from the show - © Playbill

I'm sitting here on the morning of May 7, typing this column. I am dressed in my Bialystock and Bloom T-shirt. I have my Playbill close at hand and, of course, the CD is playing (for atmosphere, don't you know). I guess you could say I liked The Producers a lot.

The Producers publicity cast photos © Norma Jean Roy, Paul Kolnik

As with the movie, the show has Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom plotting to get millions by overselling the worst play they can come up with. I always loved the movie, but the musical version is better. It still has the problem the movie suffered from. Mainly, how do you top Springtime For Hitler? After that big production number, the show drags a bit. But for me, it was a small thing.

Nathan Lane plays cheesy theatrical producer, Max Bialystock to the glorious hilt, and I really cannot imagine this show without him. Carroll and I were having a discussion about who could replace him when the time comes. We couldn't come up with anyone. I, for one, wouldn't want to see anyone else do Betrayed, Max's lament after Leo has run off and left him in jail. During this number, Lane recaps the entire show, right down to intermission. The first time I heard it on the CD, I couldn't stop laughing, largely due to a line at the end of the song, which is unprintable here. There is another line from Betrayed that I never understood until I saw the show. It relates to the unprintable line and after you get the joke, it's pretty darned funny.

When we first meet Max, he's hot off his latest production, Funny Boy, a musical version of Hamlet. Mel Brooks' clever lyrics tell you everything you need to know about Max Bialystock,

The songs were rotten
The book was stinkin'
What he did to Shakespeare
Booth did to Lincoln*

Responsible for such shows as The Kidney Stone, 100 Dollar Legs, and This Too Shall Pass, Max spends his time fending off his army of ardent admirers / financial backers. "Did you bring the checkee, my little turtledove?" "Yes, but first, Bialy, can we please play one dirty little game?"

The Producers publicity cast photos © Norma Jean Roy, Paul Kolnik

Choreographer / Director Susan Stroman pulls out all the stops at the end of the first act, which concludes with Max in Little Old Ladyland with an entire chorus of walker-toting little old ladies.

The Producers publicity cast photos © Norma Jean Roy, Paul Kolnik

Matthew Broderick is literally hysterical as the accountant Leo Bloom, pulling out his little piece of blue security blanket at every turn. One of his big numbers starts out in the accounting office Bloom works in. Ebenezer Scrooge could run the place. The accountants are all unhappy campers. The song begins to sound like it should be in Showboat instead of The Producers and in no time, breaks into Leo's dream of being a big-time Broadway producer complete with tap-dancing showgirls and a Broadway producer's hat and cane, lunching at Sardis every day. When Leo's boss steps in and breaks the illusion, Leo quits the firm,

"Here's my visor, my Dixon Ticonderoga number two pencil, and . . . My big finish . . . "*

I just love that line.

The Producers publicity cast photos © Norma Jean Roy, Paul Kolnik

One of my favorite actors is Gary Beach. I adored him in Beauty and the Beast as wonderful Lumiere. In The Producers, he plays Roger De Bris, the man picked by Max and Leo to direct "Springtime For Hitler." He made me forget all about Lumiere.

Some of the funniest bits in the show come when Max and Leo go to Roger's apartment. They are greeted by Roger's "common-law assistant" Carmen Ghia, played by Roger Bart. Who do I praise first, Beach or Bart? It's a tie. I loved them both and when they were on the stage, I couldn't decide which to watch. Both actors looked as though they were having the best time with their parts. I don't think you have lived though, if you haven't seen Gary Beach playing Roger De Bris playing Hitler doing the best Judy Garland impression Hitler can come up with. We do, after all, learn the "little known fact" that Adolph Hitler's middle name was Elizabeth.

The Producers publicity cast photos © Norma Jean Roy, Paul Kolnik

Wisely, the film's Hitler, Lorenzo Saint DuBois (L.S.D.), has been replaced by Roger De Bris, who takes over the role after the author / actor of "Springtime For Hitler," Franz Liebkind, breaks his leg. In an act of life imitating art, Brad Oscar stepped into the Liebkind role in the Chicago run of the show when actor Ron Orbach injured his knee during a rehearsal. Orbach came back briefly, but was permanently replaced in the role in late February when it was determined he wasn't sufficiently recovered from his injury to continue.

The Producers publicity cast photos © Norma Jean Roy, Paul Kolnik

Before I saw the show, I have to say I skipped over the Franz Liebkind numbers when listening to the CD. But, Brad Oscar was so superb that since returning from New York I find myself humming Haben Sie Gehürt Das Deutsche Band? and wondering why the pigeons I see aren't wearing little red armbands.

Perhaps you love the movie and are thinking, "Does the musical manage to do justice to the original's big number, 'Springtime For Hitler'?" Let me just say, the answer is yes. To describe it would be to give away too much, but I can assure you, there is no disappointment. William Ivey Long's costumes are a riot, and Susan Stroman manages to work in a little Busby Berkeley-esque bit that'll leave you rolling in the aisles.

This morning, before I started to writing this article, my main mission was to check out the Tony nominations. I wanted to know if The Producers had received any. When Carroll and I walked out of the theatre on the night of April 27th, we were both of a mind that what had been previously thought of as a sure thing for best musical, was probably going to be left by the wayside and that Nathan Lane would most likely be adding another Tony to the one he received in 1996 for his role as Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum.

The Producers publicity cast photos © Norma Jean Roy, Paul Kolnik

With 15 nominations, The Producers broke the record for most nominations set by Company in 1971. For a list of all the nominees visit www.tonys.org / nominees. Who will win? I usually root for the underdog, but I have to confess that even though it's the favorite, I'm pulling for The Producers. It's a good old-fashioned, have- a- great- evening- at- the- theatre musical and I wish I could have seen it a dozen more times. I would have gladly blown the limit of my credit card to have done so.

I'm sorry that I can't be this year's audience for the Tonys as I was last year. But, you can bet I will be watching it on television, rooting for all my favorites. Whether you are cheering for The Producers, or any of the other fine nominees, make sure you watch this year's presentation of the American Theatre Wing's 55th Annual Tony award ceremony. It will be broadcast at 8 PM on PBS and continue at 9 PM on CBS, on June 3, 2001.

Now, if I could just get Haben Sie Gehürt Das Deutsche Band? Out of my head.

Mit a Bang
Mit A Boom
Mit A Bing-Bang Bing-Bang Boom!*

The Producers publicity cast photos © Norma Jean Roy, Paul Kolnik

Page One

The Tony Nominations

Best Musical
Best Book of a Musical
Best Original Score Written for the Theatre
Best Performan by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Best Scenic Design
Best Costume Design
Best Lighting Design
Best Choreography
Best Direction of a Musical
Best Orchestration

Theater Information