Jason Alexander as Max Bialystock

[LeoBloom2]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 11:52am

Who saw it? What did you think?

[Wildcard]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 11:57am

He was pretty good. Physically and vocally, he matched the character. Unfortunately, Martin Short was better opposite him and overshadowed him.

[LeoBloom2]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 12:27pm

Ah, I think the very opposite. I think Jason Alexander was very true to the character, as opposed to Martin Short who basically played himself...pretty much Giminy Glick on fire.

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 12:42pm

I agree with Wildcard.

I think in the end, Jason Alexander was VERY much like Nathan Lane. If Nathan Lane hadn't originated the character, Jason Alexander would've been that much better. As it was, though, Alexander was an excellent choice to play the role, but there was nothing new to his performance.

Martin Short was definitely the stand-out, though. He's my favorite Leo Bloom so far.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 2:32pm

Compared to everyone who ever did it on Broadway (Danza included), they both were awful. Short left no piece of scenery unchewed and Alexander, when he was able to sing the part, was just plain underwhelming.

[MrBundles]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 2:36pm

I enjoyed Jason and Martin better than any other actors I have seen play the roles.

[DARTH]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 2:42pm

I absolutely agree with yankeefan. We saw the show twice with Lane and Broderick in New York and thought when it played here in L.A. that Alexander and Short would likely be something of a letdown. But it was more a train wreck than a letdown. There was not a lick of chemistry between the two, and it was painful watching them chew the scenery under the guise of acting. Who knew it was possible to play "The Producers" too broadly? These two talented actors, at least in this show, were not just awful; they would have had to significantly improve their performances to be awful.

[The Boy From Ohio]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 2:43pm

This was the only production of The Producers that I saw, other than the brief Tony performance. I thought they were both good. I did like Short better. The day I saw it they kept breaking character and forgetting lines and laughing hysterically. It was funny at first, but not by the end of the show. This was not a preview either.

Updated On: 5/21/07 at 02:43 PM

[DARTH]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 2:45pm

Boy From Ohio, yes, in the theatre, that is called "amateur night", which is a kind assessment of the Alexander/Short performances.
Updated On: 5/21/07 at 02:45 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 2:52pm

Yeah, not one ounce of chemistry and neither of them could properly sing the material (which is why Jason Alexander caught the "Nathan Lane" disease).

Thankfully, Gary Beach and Angie Schworer made up for whatever was missing.

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 2:55pm

Just about everything said so far is true.

No chemistry.

Short outshown Alexander.

Short and Alexander didn't bring much to the table other than there names and associations with other characters.

I was expecting Short to be funny... he was, but strangely not very "fun."

I didn't know what I expected from Alexander, but after seeing his tender troubled performance years before in Promises Promises, I was a bit let down.

My favorite moment came during "Betrayed" Alexander sings "Intermission" pauses and says...

(as an audience member)

huh? ... oh,yeah, he's good. But he's no Nathan Lane.

That to me was most original thing Alexander did all evening.

Wasn't Short originally approached to play Leo?

Updated On: 5/21/07 at 02:55 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 3:08pm

Yes! I completely forgot about that!

One of the funniest adlibs I've ever seen on stage was Alexander's "well, he's no Nathan Lane" comment. Just brilliant delivery, plain and simple.

I distinctly remember the way he did it at the performance I saw:
he adlibbed walking to a urinal, unzipped, and began talking to the "person" next to him.

If only his whole performance was as good as those three seconds.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 5/21/07 at 3:17pm

I saw the tour and the man playing Max did the same Nathan Lane comment.