Well, I finally saw the producers, and.....- Page 2

[C is for Company]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 12:52am

I think the reason I loved it so much is that I expected it to be overrated and went in with a low expectation, being all pissed that they had the distinction of 12 mostly-undeserved tonys. I only did it cause I was in a rush to get a ticket and sat in the balcony. To add to my dismay the only other reason I saw it was for Hunter, but I open the playbill and Oh look, hes out! Max and leo were understudied, plus the max understudy plays franz liebkin so I had 3 lead roles understudied. I sat there in the last row distraught and miserable. It took me 5 minutes before I got into the show. I went out totally turned around from before and loved it. I didnt sit close, see the leads, really go in liking the show, or see one of my favorite actors I went specifically to see and LOVED IT. I think i can speak for it more than most others cause of my situation that you cant expect a hit. Go in with modest expectations and just go with it. Its OK to laugh at offensive jokes. We all know they are cruel but its true mostly and funny. Its mel brooks for God sakes, he doesnt go to offend, he just wants to give people a good time, mostly which are missing nowadays when they see the show.

[admanrich]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 12:58am

I really like it and would definitely see it again, but I didn't find it so amazing and worthy of 14 Tony's.

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 1:54am

I dont understand what all these people are going in "expecting" from the producers. It does say, "The new mel brooks musical" directly above the title. Are all you folks with the countless elphaba picture icons going in expecting the same empowering feeling you got when you saw Wicked? Because thats just moronic. Like Jesus said (i just love saying that), its a great farce, a spoof of a classic, but forgotten genre. And like any spoof, it holds its material of origin in the highest regard. I mean, it single-handedly brought the musical comedy back to life on broadway. At lease give it credit for that. And to be offended by words like tits and ass from a show that features, outside of its entrace doors, countless pictures of tap dancing nazis, I doubt picking the show at all was a good choice.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 2:01am

Lol you very skillfully cement a valid point

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 2:04am

thanks C. i try to back up my reasoning, but most often am just criticized. nice to hear fellow producer support.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 2:19am

i agree! the jokes were offensive and the show was mediocre with bad songs and bad everything ...it sucked!

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 2:37am

well put. very acute.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 2:58am

apparently you people are not Mel Brooks fans.......

it was an amazing play

[Whiteguy2088]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 3:11am

Jesus preached it best!

The musicals requires a humor that not everyone has. As a fan of Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, The Royal Tenebaums etc. I watched The Producers and was literally crying from the laughter. Some things were just hilarious. A few moments that really got me...and it is crazy I remember this because i saw this over a year ago.

The Hand dissapearing in the closet before Keep It Gay

Keep It Gay in general

The Couch scene the grandma in the beginning :)

The Nazi scenes with the Chickens...

Who am i kidding. I was laughing like crazy throughout the whole thing. I loved it and thought it lived up to its name. I'm not sure if you have a bad cast...I saw the tour at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Sorry it did not entertain you because its easily on my top 10 list

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 3:18am

Yeah, I'm not getting the criticism either. Even with the hype, I thought it more than delivered. I saw it twice with the original cast, so perhaps a little of the spark has dwindled...but it's still difficult for me to process statements like this:

"...the most overblown, overstuffed, overrated "musical" in the history of musical theater. The score is about as lame and forgettable as the musical version of 'Lost Horizon'."

Let me understand, Mahatma...you're honestly questioning The Producer's right to be called a credible musical? Or am I misreading your quotation marks?

[TabooPhan1]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 4:09am

I just don't understand when people talk about it like it's supposed to be some classic work of art. The reason The Producers is one of the best shows running right now is because it delivers something you don't see much anymore: a show built simply to entertain. If you look at many of the classic musicals that are highly praised, they were simply written to make you laugh, and in essence entertain, not deliver some extravagant message through abstract symbolism and transcendental view points. Give it a rest. Can't we just go to the theater to enjoy ourselves? Criticizing The Producers as illegitimate theatre is like walking into Rocky Horror expecting Raisin in the Sun, you're simply in the wrong ball park...or for that matter, probably on the wrong planet.

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 5:25am

What I like about it:
1. Parts of certain songs - ESPECIALLY the "we believe you, we believe you, we believe you, yes we do" in Along Came Bialy or whatever it's called.
2. Broderick's singing voice on the OBCR. I can see him making my top five for actor or supporting actor performances in 2005 films.
3. The stylized sets. Gorgeous.

What I dislike about it:
1. Intentionally offensive or not, this isn't a show that I can enjoy with my boyfriend while sitting amongst senior citizens who aren't quite laughing "with" the gay jokes. If I'm unhappy or embarrassed during a show, then sorry folks, I don't consider it extremely entertaining.
2. It's a little too dependent on the performances. The plot isn't compelling enough (or even funny enough) to withstand performances that are just credible, and it should be.
3. I've really enjoyed (or at least thought I was beginning to notice) a trend toward writing musicals about serious subject matter, i.e. Parade, Ragtime, Rent. Call me crazy, but it really bothers me that the "heaviness" of Rent actually figures as a negative against it in debates over which film adaptation - Rent or The Producers - will be the bigger success. I guess I'd appreciate The Producers more if it weren't one of way too many "just for the heck of it" shows.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 11:46am

just a note on hunter's nasal quality, i am reasonably sure its a character trait common to most of the blooms to some extent. Take for instance the cast recording version of i wanna be a producer compared to matthew's voice in the H2$ revival, or even the *groan* abc version of the music man. Bloom is supposed to be nebbish and a bit annoying.

[worrell4077]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 11:48am

You know everyone has different types of humor, and if you can't find something that has Mel Brooks's name on it funny, then you shouldn't see it despite who's in the show. I don't know why everyone has to bad mouth something that does extremely well in the box office, jeez lighten up, it's a comedy.

Also, The Producers and SpamAlot are not the biggest overhyped, overrated musicals on broadway, Wicked is because although I liked it, it wasn't as enjoyable as The Producers or Spam.
________________________________________________________________
"A flute without holes, isn't a flute. A doughnut with a hole, is a danish."
-Caddyshack

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 11:52am

Full Monty is much, much better. It should have won most of The Producers' Tony awards.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 12:01pm

The problem is, the reputation that proceeds it is that of Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. When the show returned to Chicago for the first time since its pre-Broadway tryout, the critics all agreed that the show doesn't hold-up as well as it did when MB and NL were in the cast. I thought it was funny the first two times I saw it, but after that it seems to have lost its luster, especially when compared to some of the other shows out there.

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 12:14pm

Hmmm... I love this show.

[JMVR]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 12:30pm

I LOVE the show. I think it's really funny and it is a good old-fashioned musical COMEDY. I do believe that the only reason it won 12 Tonys is that it opened in the right year, with right cast, etc. Had it opened in a much more competitive season, it would porbably have won 4 or 5. Still, I have a very good time each time I see it, although it is pretty much a star-driven show. It makes a huge difference who is playing the leads, it's not actorproof by any means.

[CaTheatreGirl]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 1:10pm

I also loved the show and have seen it a number of times. Though it's a treat to have had the chance to see Nathan and Matthew in the leads, others have played these roles quite well, too. The show is a lot of light-hearted fun. Um, I loved Spamalot, too. Occasionally, I like to go to a show and just laugh for its total enjoyment.

[justme2]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 1:34pm

Jesus, theatreboy and all others claiming we who didn't like The Producers must not enjoy farce,

I love farce...loved Best in Show, SCTV, MIght Wind, etc. I loved the Producers movie...I love Mel Brooks movies in general.

The Producers just didn't do it for me. It was a combination of the acting (forced and hammy) and the "jokes" (lame, forced and overlapping until you finally lost track of what the hell the scene was about).

As for coming in expecting something, there is nothing unusual about someone walking into a theater and thinking..."gee, it's written by Mel Brooks and won a Tony. I expect this will be good."

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 1:51pm

I never said that you must "not enjoy farce." Why would I make such a broad statement? Im just saying that when you go into a mel brooks musical, some things are to be expected:

haminess: Have you ever SEEN marty feldman's portrayal of Eyegor, or Zero Mostel's performance of Max in the film or Rick Morannis as Dark Helmet? I would hardly say subtlety is a virtue attributed to any.
lame jokes: of course the jokes as written by mel brooks are going to be obvious, big, and yes, lame. but thats the man's style! But all the lameless, the haminess, the obviousness, is presented in a big and committed style. Its the style of the show.

Make no mistake, Brooks is no idiot. The man knows comedy and treats it as a very serious venture, but sadly, as Woody Allen once said, "in hollywood (or broadway) in this case, the comics are always at the kids table." Maybe it didnt do it for you, personally, but im just trying to defend the show from broad and poorly constructed criticism.

[justme2]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 1:55pm

That's why my opening says "and all others claiming we who didn't like the Producers must not enjoy farce"...I didn't want to single out a single response.

What I didn't understand (and still don't) is how I could manage to love the movie so much, yet dislike the show. You are right with your point of:

"of course the jokes as written by mel brooks are going to be obvious, big, and yes, lame. but thats the man's style! But all the lameless, the haminess, the obviousness, is presented in a big and committed style. Its the style of the show."

I guess it just didn't work on a stage (for me) as well as a movie.

[Elphie]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 1:55pm

I read all these posts and what I was going to write is basically summed up in Theatreboy33 and JMVR's posts. The Producers came to Broadway in the perfect season and it is an acquired taste. Its not Wicked, thats for sure.
I found it very funny, bought the CD afterwards because I thought the score was very clever, and the cast very strong. I did see the original minus Nathan Lane who was out sick, so may be that had something to do with it. I remember the show having a great energy that is lacking in many shows I see today.

Updated On: 8/25/05 at 01:55 PM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 2:11pm

"The Producers" is far from the funniest show on Broadway. I personally think that "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is the funniest show on Broadway right now. "Spamalot" is overrated. Personally, I like the music in "The Producers", but the show isn't that funny. The last time I saw it, only the scene where they Roger DeBris for the first time really got any laughs. "Springtime for Hitler" didn't get the big laughs I remembered it getting.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 8/25/05 at 3:02pm

I saw the Producers in December 04, simply because I wanted to see Hunter Foster in the role. I found it hilarious- its a satire and is supposed to be offensive. I have never laughed so much at a show before. It may be because I am a history/politics guru, but I thought the lyrics were brilliant. Its not meant to be a big spectacle with umpteen special effects and set changes or provide some deep message, but its an entertaining show. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it.