Well, I finally saw the producers, and.....

[Born2cthelightsofbway]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:12pm

Today I went to get a student ticket to see "The Producers" for my first time. I was really excited and thought I was going to enjoy it...but I was wrong.

I found the songs very boring, and none of them were memorable. The choreography was good, but the chorus just looked tired and at one point in the opening number there were about 6 guys doing the same move, and they were all out of sync!!! I also found some of the "jokes" very offensive and just stupid. Within the first two minutes of the show they manages to say ass and t**s. Then there were so many sex jokes, and gay jokes, it was so old. I also found some of the comments to be dated, like the gay jokes, and the jokes about the women.

The cast was good, but IMO, I have seen better. Brad Oscar was good in the part and I thought he was better than Hunter Foster. I thought Hunter Foster was funny, but I didn't think much of his voice. It had a nasal quality that I really don't like. The supporting cast was good, but none of there performances were memorable.

I was very dissapointed after hearing all of the amazing reviews. Was it just better with the original cast? Plus, while I was watching it I was thinking that this show most certainly did not deserve to win 12 Tony Awards. Does anyone else feel that way?

I did enjoy some of the numbers like "Springtime for Hitler" and the Little Old Lady number. But overall, I really wasn't impressed. I was expecting a much better show.

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:19pm

i know what you mean. i was really excited to see it, and overall was kinda dissapointed. i however thought hunter foster did a great job-maybe it was just the performance i saw? i thought the ulla (is that it?) wasn't too great. at the performance i saw her voice was kinda weak... maybe she lost it? i don't know. but overall, i had much more fun at spelling bee.

[Born2cthelightsofbway]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:20pm

I agree, I also had much more fun at Spelling Bee.

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:22pm

go spelling bee!

[flaemmchen]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:22pm

I was pretty disappointed with Producers as well, especially with the reputation that preceded it. It's why I'm so reluctant to see Spamalot.

[LaVieBoheme2]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:22pm

I've never been too crazy about The Producers either, so don't feel bad.

[Born2cthelightsofbway]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:25pm

Good, I'm not alone!

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:27pm

well in all fairness, flaemmchen, spamalot didn't win 12 tony's... so the hype ain't quite as big...

[WickedShopofQ]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:33pm

i liked it when i saw it first but i was just in a production of THE PRODUCERS(illegal no doubt) and now i hate the show. it really isnt that funny

[JoMarch]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:36pm

Count me in as another person who was disappointed with The Producers. I didn't find any of the songs memorable, some of the 'ad-libbing' seemed faked and it ran too long. I don't understand why it holds the record for most Tony wins.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:36pm

First, I wouldn't spread around that you did an illegal production of The Producers.

Second, I didn't find the show that great when i saw it too. It's been blown out of proportion.

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:37pm

wicked, who did you play?
lolol

[DAME]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:40pm

Not my kind of show either.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:41pm

Wow, great icon, Dame. Is that Lucy?

[DAME]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:43pm

yep

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:45pm

I really really enjoyed it. I just didn't think it was all it was cracked up to be.

[flaemmchen]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:45pm

I dunno, I think the hype for Spamalot is pretty friggin big without the 12 Tonys. Everyone's saying it's the best and funniest show in town.

[justme2]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 8:59pm

I'll post here what I said about Producers in another thread:

I couldn't believe how little I liked the show. I was expecting a Tony award winning show and instead got a show with two hams cavorting onstage between overblown, "look at me, I can use props in my choreography" dance numbers that were in no way original or amusing.

Well, the bratwurst hat was amusing. But that's IT!!

[Demitri2]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 9:11pm

Disappointed here too. I bought tickets early in the run and Nathan was out due to voice problems which put a damper on the show to begin with. Brad Oscar worked hard yet seemed to be channeling Nathan's performance which made me feel all the more cheated. During the first act I noticed the woman next to me wasn't laughing much either and at intermission she turned to me and said, "Sounds like you're enjoying this show as much as I am". As you stated I also found the jokes old, offensive and mostly unfunny. It's also one of the rare times I've seen a musical and had no desire to listen to the CD afterwards. The score sucked. I'll be curious to see what I think about the forthcoming movie version.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 9:41pm

When I saw the show early in it's run, I felt like I was the only one not let in on the joke. Everyone around me was holding their sides and howling with laughter. I did not find it funny, I did not like the music, and I felt as though the performers were phoning in their performances. It's a shame that this show is tying up the St. James. Remember that the same year, "The Full Monty" was robbed of several Tonys and I think "Monty" was a far superior show overall.

[Mahatma Kane Jeeves]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 9:44pm

I completely agree!!! The Producers, in my opinion, is 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." For any lucky soul who's still not seen this abysmal version do youself a favor, save yourself 100 bucks and rent the classic, screamingly funny 1968 film; you'll be SO much better off.

[Pinguin]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 9:51pm

I loved The Producers when I saw it, but I saw it when Nathan and Matthew came back, and I was more excited that they broke character and made a crack about "those people on the internet" AKA US.

It made my evening.

[Millie42]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 10:30pm

I agree, Born. I thought it was so terribly overrated. Funny... but not worth the hype.

I saw it just to see Hunter Foster And while I liked him, I just didn't particularly love the show. (I wouldn't have even bothered to see it if Nathan Lane had been in it)

Updated On: 8/24/05 at 10:30 PM

[theatreboi11]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 11:09pm

It was trhe third show on Broadway I had seen and thought it was absolutly hilarious! I have yet to find a comedy to reach that standard! I say lighten up and leave your narrow-mindedness at the door!

[Jesus]

Posted: 8/24/05 at 11:35pm

I've heard these same sorts of comments from other "theatre goers," comming out of The Producers. They seem to go in expecting things, especially seeing as it's a Tony award winning show. However they are oft' dissapointed. When i first saw the prodution I absoloutly loved it. And the majority of my theatre going friends loved it, and we've deduced a reason for our love of the show. We are SCTV fans, as well as fans of films like Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and things along the same lines. The Producers is a farce. A complete and total satire of the traditional musical. The phoney acting, the sometimes boring songs, and the extremely offensive humor are all intentional. It is the cast's responsibility to make these things come off as such, in the most subtle way. Thats a bad way to explain it.

THe cast's responisbilty is to give a very over the top show, and make everything seem natural, and make asses out of themselves, and make us think their are serious. But at the same time there has to be a sense of delibrate foolishness. As in films like Waiting for Guffman, and so on. They have to have the ability to laugh at themselves. I think that is why the show appeals so greatly to the general public, beyond the normal music theatre demographic.

The cast has an amazingly difficult job, and alot rests on their shoulders. But when done right, the show seems to be a great mockumentary. That idea, combined with a select group of actual good songs and bits of clever diolouge make the show quite good in my opinion. In the style of Mel Brooks, and from him, one should expect nothing less.