Is THE PRODUCERS the most overated musical ever? — Page 2

Good points TheaterGuy.

I never saw the original cast, I did however, see Jason Alexander (who was excellent) and Martin Short (who was great, but not as good). I enjoyed it tremendously.

However, in light of Avenue Q and Wicked (please no bashing, etc...)I think that the Producers has become ridiculously overrated in terms of quality. Being a huge fan of both the movie, Mel Brooks, and the show, I mean no disrespect, but to sweep the Tonys? It's wonderful, hysterical, and deserving of some, but not all, and I think the critics were just laughing so hard they didn't stop to realize that maybe there are other shows that are just as good, if not better.

Thats my rant. Have a great night!

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I saw The Producers with Louis G. Spradlin and Don Stephenson, both of whom were terrific, and loved the show - it doesn't need Lane and Broderick to work! What I did notice though was that there seemed to be something of a generation gap at work in the audience. The kids in the crowd didn't seem to enjoy it half as much as those of us who remember the movie.

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I don't think you can call Wicked overrated for the simple fact that the "ratings" for it weren't very good. It opened to good to mediocre reviews. It lost the Tonys for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, wasn't nominated for Best Director. So can you consider it to be "over"-rated, when it wasn't "rated" that well in the first place?

As far as The Producers, it is The Funniest Show I Have Ever Seen. Does that make it worthy of all the praise it has received? Perhaps not. The score is good, although certainly not Broadway's best.

To answer the original post, No. Producers is not the most overrated. It is Cats. A show with no plot, cool costumes, and bad songs. I say this as a person who likes most of ALWs stuff. How that show ran so long baffles me.

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Cats was innovative for its time, entertaining, appropriate for audiences of all ages, and provided a memorable score with one of musical theatre's most famous ballads. Its logos and costumes are instantly recognized internationally. Why are people surprised it ran a long time? It's definitely not my favorite show, but I liked it. I was thoroughly entertained. I found the choreography brilliant, sets and costumes imaginative, and the score quite catchy. I know it's considered "cool" to diss a popular show and try to appear "above it", but to question why Cats ran so long without objectively analyzing the show is just silly. You don't have to like it to understand its mass appeal. The same can be said of The Lion King. The work Julie Taymor did with the set and costume designs were breathtaking and innovative. Alvin Ailey's choreography was wonderful. When the show first opened, the opening number alone received standing ovations for the sheer artistry of the staging and music (when was the last time that happened?). Ragtime had the stronger book and score, but it just couldn't compete with the phenomenon that was happenening down the street. To have an opinion that a show is overrated is one thing, to question a show that was long-running means you need to give it a little more thought.

secret-soul - "I realize that many people on this board do not LOVE phantom as I do. But I find that it is successfully a staple of american theatre"

Except that Phantom is not American. It is a staple of British theatre running in America, but it can't be a staple of American theatre without being an American show. I do think Phantom is overrated, but I can certainly understand why it is a worldwide sensation.

I also agree that The Producers is a bit overrated. It's funny and splashy, but I wouldn't classify it as a Best Musical.

Rent overrated? How so? I think it depends on your level of expectations when you first saw the show. If you look at the structure of the score and lyrics, it is quite masterful. Some people think the show wasn't "realistic" enough or "gritty" enough, but the show was not written specifically for them. There is nothing "real" about musical theatre at all and how "gritty" does it have to be? The show is a milestone in American musical theatre and will be regarded as a classic with the likes of Hair and A Chorus Line.

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Updated On: 6/9/04 at 11:40 AM

To understand the (over)reaction to THE PRODUCERS, you have to understand that when it opened, Broadway was in the last throes of a pretty unimpressive cycle. Excepting MONTY, most of what was running was the tail end of the Brit-Wildhorn-pop-opera trend all of a similar flavor. Unabashed musical comedy was pretty nonexistent. To borrow what Ethan Morden said about KISS ME KATE (that it "Couldn't wait to be a film") THE PRODUCERS transformation into a big splashy specifically AMERICAN Broadway musical seemed inevitable - preordained - and audiences were intrigued that Brooks was writing the lyrics AND music. From the start THE PRODUCERS seemed like a breath of fresh air, a bawdy blast from the vaudeville past, bolstered by its talented stars and a first-class cast of character performers who were all given a chance to strut their stuff. Expertly constucted and crisply paced with not a wasted minute, its score took a back seat to the on-stage hijinks (it's probably better to classify THE PRODUCERS as a Comedy musical rather than a musical comedy). It made hundreds of people excited about Broadway again and it was welcomed like the return of the Prodigal son.

Since then, its luster has been dimmed somewhat by such shows as HAIRSPRAY (same emphasis on fun, but with a better score) MILLIE (which cribbed a fair amount from THE PRODUCERS) and MAMMA MIA (more colorful and MUCH LOUDER). At the 2001 Tonys where THE PRODUCERS swept, I remember the clip from JANE ERYE. No offence to those partisans of the show, but it seemed positively antiquated - a big, trilling dinasaour.

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Smallish correction: The great Alvin Ailey passed away in 1989. Garth Fagan choreographed "The Lion King."

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Funny, all the Wicked people say that it at least should have received the Tony for best score. If I remember the reviews correctly the score was the part least liked by the critics.

Personally, I think Schwartz is vastly overrated. Pippin was all Fosse and Godspell was right place, right time for him. It not a fluke that he has not had a Broadway hit in decades. He had to hide out in Hollywood. Pure pop fluff.

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David Parsons Group is great. They are playing at the Joyce through Sunday and anyone who hasn't seen them should go.

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i saw the producers without nathan and matthew and it was fantastic. it isnt overrated at all, in my opinion.

i saw webber and oscar in it to, they were great.

Updated On: 6/11/04 at 02:03 AM

First of all, there are still a lot of people alive in this country that DO remember the years that the Producers represents...not everyone is 19.

Secondly, it's only the PRESS that tried to make this 'the best musical of all time'. It was funny, smart and enjoyable and had hummable tunes...all necessary for the good musical formula.

Thirdly, it brought energy and crowds back to Broadway...so why is that every few months we drag out the 'let's beat up on the Producers' thread? It may not be the best musical of all time but it has brought life and money back to Broadway and that's always good.

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I attended the 2001 Tony Awards when The Producers swept and won 12. I would like to say that beforehand I was young and naive, thinking that winning the award was an honor. Afterwards, it was clear that it's the biggest joke going.

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or perhaps the producers really deserved the twelve awards they won...