The Producers
Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks
Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
Directed by Patrick Marber
Garrick Theatre, London
Star rating: 4
It’s quite a skill to be outrageous without being offensive but it’s what Mel Brooks’s masterpiece has managed to do for nearly 58 years.
A film for 24 years before it became a stage show, The Producers tells the story of two men who work out that you could make more money out of a Broadway flop than a hit so they set out to make something truly terrible. The trouble is that their gay romp, Springtime for Hitler is a huge hit.
And The Producers is very funny, not least because it sends up theatre in general and Broadway in particular, and since, on opening night, nearly everyone in the audience has industry connections, the jokes and stereotypes went down a storm. The hilarious auditions scene, for instance – with Trevor Ashley as the campest possible Roger DeBris – is only a slight exaggeration of the truth.
Andy Nyman is deliciously sleazy as Max Bialystock who routinely beds rich elderly ladies because he needs their cheques. And Marc Antolin is a good contrast as the nerdy, nervous Leo Bloom who gradually blossoms as he finds love with Ulla (Joanna Woodward – great fun).
Lorin Latarro’s choreography ensures that the ensemble is as tight and slick as it could possibly be. The walking frame number is masterly. So is the upbeat, cheerful “Keep it Gay”.
And, of course, Brooks’s lyrics – all delivered here with immaculately clear diction – are always a delight. Anyone who cheerfully rhymes “true sir” with “producer”, “well aware” with “Delaware” and “elan” with “Milan” gets my vote.
Above the stage is an orchestra on a mezzanine, mostly unseen, doing a fine job especially in “We Can Do it” in which the Jewish/Klezmer rhythms are as prominent as I’ve ever heard them.
Paul Farnsworth’s costumes are quite something too – especially the absurdly excessive ones for Springtime for Hitler. And I don’t know whose idea the naked classical statue was but it’s a coup de theatre when he turns to face the audience.
The Producers is a witty show full of humour, much of it gloriously ribald, but like all the best comedies it has also has a lot of heart: the friendship between Max and Leo and Ulla and Leo’s getting together, for example. This enjoyable production never lets you forget that there’s rather more here than laughter.
And it’s good to see yet another fine Menier Chocolate Factory show transferring into the West End.
