Jan 30-Feb 15, 2009

  The Producers

A New Mel Brooks Musical

Book by

Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan

Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks

Original Direction and Choreography by Susan Stroman

Director - Steven Glaudini

Musical Director - Daniel Thomas

Choreographer - Matthew J. Vargo

Click to read

"The Producers" Show Program

Honorary Producer

Kathryn Baker Campbell

Associate Producer

Arlene Solomon & Sydney Schulman

"In loving memory of

Avis Dunahoo Hallamore"

REVIEWS

***CRITICS CHOICE***

Reviewed by Les Spindle

Mel Brooks' 2001 tuner, based on his 1968 cult-film classic of the same name, earned a record 12 Tonys and proved there's still an audience for the old-fashioned musical frivolity that flourished during Broadway's golden age. Credit for this four-star crowd-pleaser goes to director Steven Glaudini and company, who bring renewed vitality to Brooks' irreverently goofy spoof.  Click HERE to read more...

“The Producers”

Elicits Bliss, Laughter

By James Scarborough

Go See 'The Producers'

by Marchelle Hammack

Run, run, run to your computer, log onto www.musical.org and order tickets immediately for Musical Theatre West’s production of “The Producers.” This is the last weekend of their run and hopefully they are not sold out because this may be one of the funniest shows you will ever see in your life. God knows we need some laughs right now and Mel Brooks’ stage adaptation of his film of the same name is gut-bustlingly hilarious.  Click HERE to read more...

Poster from the original feature film starring Zero Mostel as Max Bialystock and Gene Wilder as Leo Bloom.

REVIEWS

"Producers" is Revived in All it Zany Glory

by David C. Nichols

It is hard to argue with success, though flop sweat might actually benefit a theatrical entity scheming to make a fortune from a guaranteed failure. That needn't worry the stellar forces at Carpenter Performing Arts Center, where Musical Theatre West mounts Mel Brooks' record-breaking "The Producers" in brazenly enjoyable manner.  Click HERE to read more...

Wednesday, February 4, 2009
'The Producers' in Long Beach is Worth Investing In
Musical Theatre West stages Mel Brooks' 2001 musical,

which skewers everything that's show biz.
By ERIC MARCHESE
Special to the Register

Had Mel Brooks not musicalized "The Producers," his zany 1968 film comedy, the world would have never known what a superb composer and lyricist he is – "Springtime for Hitler," the film's famous song-within-the-show, aside. An even more compelling reason for adapting film to stage is that "The Producers" is all about the all-or-nothing, zero-sum world of the Broadway producer – so what better medium for it than the stage? When surveying the landscape of Southern California theater companies, none is better suited for Brooks' show than Musical Theatre West, which specializes in mounting big-budget versions of musicals suitable for Broadway at its home base, Long Beach's Carpenter Performing Arts Center. Click HERE to read complete review...

There is always excitement when a Broadway megahit like Mel Brooks’ The Producers makes its regional theater debut, and when the regional premiere is as all-around sensational as the one currently being staged by Musical Theatre West, it is a theatrical event of major proportions.

Having seen both the First National Tour and the film adaptation featuring most of the original Broadway cast, I am happy to announce that MTW’s production tops them both.  Click HERE to read more...

'The Producers' Navigates Way to Laughs
By Chris Ledermuller, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/03/2009 12:34:53 PM PST

Musical Theatre West's ship has come in. And it's the "Titanic."

(Cue rimshot) I kid, I kid.  What can I say? I'm left giddy by the Long Beach company's staging of the unsinkable, Tony Award-winning, multimillion-dollar-grossing musical that needs no introduction.

Come to think of it, "Titanic" is an apt metaphor for Mel Brooks' "The Producers" - well, the 1997 fictionalized film about the ship, not the craft itself. Click HERE to read more...

***CRITIC'S PICK***
The Producers

What is left to be said about The Producers? It has toured and been produced many times over. You either love Mel Brooks or you hate him. I happen to be one of those who like what Mel Brooks does. Whether it be staged or on film, the incredible silliness of the words, story and music latches onto your private laugh track for all time. This Producers is exceptional because it has the original touring sets and costumes, tip-top direction and choreography and best of all, a truly smart cast headed by Larry Raben, Michael Kostroff and David Engel. Click HERE  to read more...There is no attempt here to copy the antics of Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick or Jason Alexander and Martin Short. The actors - all - play their roles as written, with no personality excesses or quirks, or unnecessary shtick. It's good solid work. Raben is a natural as Leo Bloom, making the annoying mannerisms totally believable. Kostroff, reminding me of Jon Lovitz, fits Max Bialystock like a glove, and like Raben, plays the character without pushing for laughs. Brooks makes the dialogue funny enough; there's no need to go over the top! Engel, who never ceases to surprise, makes Roger Debris one diva of a director, and his Hitler is hilariously loveable. Kudos also to Michael Paternostro as his 'queenly' partner Carmen, to the beautiful (is she 7 foot tall?) Sarah Cornell as delicious Ulla, to Nick Santa Maria as a wanna-be butch Franz Liebkind and to Tracy Lore, an adorable standout as Hold Me-Touch Me. This is a wonderful evening of fun and camp - and yet another triumph for Musical Theatre West. 5 out of 5 stars