What the hell is Mel Brooks thinking?- Page 2

[LeoBloom2]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:26pm

No I heard the opposite. But I could be wrong. Sorry if I am.

[Kalimba]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:27pm

But for guys with a background in theater, how bad could they have been? I don't know anyone who saw them in LA.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:28pm

I heard Alexander did not cut it & you know about SHort

Short was great in Fame so doubt he was bad but .....

[LeoBloom2]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:34pm

I heard that Martin added a little too much silliness to the role but wasnt a bad singer...but I Heard his dancing was hurrendous.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:38pm

Many people who cannot dance a lick are in musicals

[LeoBloom2]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:41pm

This I've noticed.

Matthew was a good dancer in the beginning....well now that's history.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:43pm

I saw the show was with Mssrs. Alexander and Short, in the summer of 2003 when I was out West.

Jason Alexander just didn't cut it as Bialystock. The show wreaked havoc on his vocal chords, worse than it did to Nathan Lane. At first glance, it's perfect casting, but he just couldn't handle the show. As I recall (half based on reading reviews as a refresher, half on my own), he went to the Rex Harrison school of speak-singing because he couldn't do it.

Martin Short spent the entire show screaming and doing his standard shtick (which you could have seen en masse in Fame Becomes Me). A very passable singer, he, too, didn't have the vocal stamina or range to do Bloom. Again, perfect casting, but he just couldn't do it.

Neither of them had chemistry with their fellow cast members, either. The supporting talent stood out: the ever-effervescent Gary Beach and the longest-running Ulla, Angie Schworer.
Updated On: 3/6/07 at 10:43 PM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:49pm

Thanks for setting the record straight

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:52pm

No problem.

Mind you, neither of them were terrible. They had original takes on the parts, but just weren't up to snuff.

[LeoBloom2]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:54pm

Well put.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:58pm

"I'm kind of curious as to why Jason Alexander and Martin Short weren't brought to Broadway after their LA engagement of the show."

I went to a talk with Mr. Alexander at Boston University's Hillel House, and I asked him a question about his experience with the Producers in LA. He said he didn't like the show and went on to say he felt it was all jokes and no heart. Perhaps that's part of the reason why he never came to Broadway.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 11:00pm

Wasn't Alexander talked about for Strouse's Marty ?

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 5:41am

"all jokes and no heart"

wow... don't know why that never ocurred to me... this is exactly what i think about the producers... and i've seen it twice and liked it both times... actually like the movie too... but yeah... explains why i laughed because of the jokes... but explains why i felt something was missing at the end of the musical... hmmm...

[MrBundles]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 6:07am

i enjoyed short and alexander in the roles MUCH better than broderick and lane

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 6:24am

"all jokes and no heart"

I agree as well, I think that the show stands or falls on the two central performers - without a good pairing that can add a little something extra, the show just really isn't that great.

[Producer2]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 7:45am

I saw The Producers for the first time the other night.
It was like watching the movie but with Tony Danza instead of Nathan Lane. I feel Tony did a great job considering he's not our typical musical comedy star! He's not Nathan Lane and didn't try to copy his performance. He was original and fresh. Tony would make an excellent Billy Flynn as others have suggested in the past.
There were many Leo similarities between Hunter Foster and Matthew Broderick. It was as if Matthew were there that night!

[LeoBloom2]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 8:10am

Tony Danza can barely speak let alone sing.

[DirtyRottenGirl]

Posted: 3/7/07 at 11:15am

Who cares bring on Young Frankenstein!!!!