What I would give to have been a fly on the wall when Mel Brooks was pitching his next satirical hit to Broadway producers. The thought of him describing his idea for a flashy, razzle dazzle number featuring a flamboyantly prancing Führer complete with Germanic paraphernalia and Swastikas would be enough to make anyone’s jaw drop. But in true Brooks fashion, his Tony Award-Winning musical The Producers boasts such a high calibre satirical penmanship, that against all odds, everything goes right!
Based on Brooks’ own 1967 comedy film, The Producers opened on Broadway in 2001 with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in the starring roles and ran for over 2,500 performances. Sydney’s newest production lands at the small but mighty Hayes Theatre, care of Joshua Robson Productions. Such is the fervour for Brooks’ hit show – with audiences anticipating much-loved numbers such as ‘I Wanna Be a Producer’, ‘Keep it Gay’ and ‘Springtime for Hitler’ – that the season completely sold out before it had even opened, and a transfer to Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres was added on to meet demand.
Anton Berezin (The Phantom of the Opera, Evita) and Des Flanagan (Moulin Rouge! The Musical), who are doing their best Lane and Broderick impressions here, lead the cast as the down-and-out Max Bialystoch and the chaotically shy Leo Bloom. The piece sort of pitter-patters through the first few numbers, before the larger-than-life supporting characters swoop in to give it the electric shock required. But overall, this production proves once more that the intimacy of The Hayes’ black box space is more than a match for the biggest of Broadway musicals. This ensemble tackles an impressive variety of quick changes and characters, giving the cast of Hadestown a run for their money as “the hardest working chorus in the gods' almighty world”.
It was shocking, outrageous, insulting... and I loved every minute of it!
Two gridded flats hold up a variety of gold-speckled banners of spoof musicals, making a fun game for you and your seatmate before the show even begins. Ensemble members Paloma Renouf and Genevieve Goldman emerge in classical usher attire, and Shannon Burns’ electrically galvanised choreography for ‘Opening Night’ establishes the intense satirical energy we can come to expect.
Nick Fry’s set design is somewhat simplistic, with flats jigsawed together. It cuts the already intimate space even tighter, which ultimately makes both Burns and director Julia Robertson work even harder to choreograph the manic comedy needed to make The Producers soar. Coupled with Ryan McDonald’s lighting design, there is sometimes so much going on that it can feel a tad claustrophobic, also hiding the ensemble’s faces in larger numbers.
Led by Robertson's careful hand, this production clearly draws on a great wealth of Brooks lore. While it is no doubt provocative, this isn’t just a musical equivalent to shock jock radio, but a sharp satire of Broadway, musical theatre, and the wider entertainment industry. There are wisecracks about Hollywood’s worst kept secrets, and the incredibly flamboyant nature of musical theatre itself, as well as Brooks serving his own slice of payback to the Führer in the biggest number of the show – it’s all laid bare with such zest and appeal that you can’t help but be swept up in it.
The Producers can only falter if the creative team tasked with bringing it to life is scared to throw it all on the stage – and if there’s one thing this team is not, that’s fearful. (As audiences enter the theatre, there’s clear signage about which triggering symbols will appear, and a pre-show announcement reminds us that it’s all satirical, and it’s okay to laugh at it.)
Jordan Shea’s wide-eyed Germanic playwright, Franz Liebkind, is both terrifying and endearing, despite his hailing for You-Know-Who. Shea lifts the stage to sheer comedic heights every time they appear, and the energy and fervour is soon doubled, with Blake Erikson’s Roger De Bris and Mikey Sakinofsky as his partner, Carmen Ghia. It’s a one-two punch of comedy. With flowing black hair and thick moustache, Sakinofsky makes the role entirely their own. As the hopelessly unaware Roger, Erikson’s humour comes to full form in ‘Springtime for Hitler’, with images of a prancing Hitler that need to be captured on film. It’s a flabbergasting moment when you realise that Erikson gives, dare I say it, depth to the Führer in his fantastically gay romp on stage – it’s satire at its finest.
The production team also struck gold when they discovered Alexandra Cashmere. Her big-belting, high-kicking performance fills in the empty spaces of Ulla Inga Hansen, a character often portrayed as little more than an air-headed Swedish actress. Cashmere stands solid and firm, with a passion and intensity in her eyes that demands your attention.
Tying everything together, Burns’ choreography ingeniously transfers this blockbuster to the humble Hayes stage (and it will no doubt shine on the Riverside stage, too). It’s hard to determine where Robertson’s direction ends and Burns’ choreo begins – the two have carefully crafted a show that is dazzlingly funny, underscored by a rarely found height of tongue-in-cheek humour.
To quote the show itself: “It was shocking, outrageous, insulting... and I loved every minute of it!”
The Producers SOLD OUT run at the Hayes Theatre Co ends on April 27, before a transfer to Riverside Theatres in Parramatta from May 15–18. Book tickets over here before they’re gone, again!
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