The Producers- Memories from The Producers- Lee Roy Reams

Lee Roy Reams shares anecdotes from The Producers (Ch.42 from Fifty Key Stage Musicals by Robert W. Schneider and Shannon Agnew) at 54 Below. MD: Michael Lavine THE PRODUCERS COMPOSER: Mel Brooks LYRICIST: Mel Brooks BOOK: Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan SOURCE: Mel Brooks’ film The Producers (1967) DIRECTOR: Susan Stroman CHOREOGRAPHER: Susan Stroman PRINCIPLE CAST: Matthew Broderick (Leo), Cady Huffman (Ulla), Nathan Lane (Max) OPENING DATE: Apr 19, 2001 CLOSING DATE: Apr 22, 2007 PERFORMANCES: 2,502 SYNOPSIS: Broke Broadway producer Max Bialystock meets accountant Leo Bloom who offhandedly mentions that under the right circumstances a Broadway show that fails could make more money than one that succeeds. Seeing a way out of his current financial situation, Max decided to produce a musical that is guaranteed to flop: Springtime for Hitler.  Finding waning success in Hollywood, Mel Brooks was eventually convinced to adapt his Academy Award winning screenplay, The Producers, into a musical. Brooks, director Susan Stroman, and co-writer Thomas Meehan reinterpreted the cult classic film into a two act Broadway musical. Additionally, analysis of The Producers as a uniquely comic piece among the weightier subject matters of other popular Broadway musicals in the early 2000s and a look at how the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center affected attendance at Broadway shows is provided. The musical’s record-breaking success at the Tony Awards, including for Nathan Lane, heralded a wave of musical comedies based on Hollywood films such as Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hairspray, and Shrek.  SOURCES The Producers, Original Cast Recording, Sony (2001) The Producers: The Book, Lyrics, and Story Behind the Greatest Hit on Broadway by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, published by Miramax (2001) The Producers, starring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, directed by Susan Stroman, Universal Pictures (2005) Recording The Producers, starring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, directed by Susan Froemke, Rhombus International (2001) A Year With The Producers: One Actor’s Exhausting (But Worth It) Journey From Cats to Mel Brooks’ Mega-Hit by Jeffry Denman, published by Routledge (2002)