Why is "The Producers" Popular?

I have seen many shows and I have seen "The Producers" on tour and on Broadway and I regret to admit that I have seen the movie and I honestly cant understand why the show is so popular or why it won all of the Tony's that it did, except for the lack of new material that year. When I saw the stage show I was extremely disappointed and I thought that maybe I just needed to see the original cast to understand why it is looked at as being good. So when the movie came out I waited a few weeks and then I saw it and not to my surprise it was terrible. The show is redundant, the jokes are used and old and the material just seems to be Regurgitated jokes.

So can someone explain to me the phenomenon behind "The Producers?"

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It seems like a closed question to me. Why is Spelling Bee Popular? Why is Wicked Popular? The Producers is fuuny, has good music, star cast and well... its Mel Brooks. All the times i have seen the producers (the original movie, the b-way show and the movie musical) I laugh my butt off and come out feeling wonderful.

::head desk::

WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL THESE NEWBIES COMING FROM!?!?!

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Susan Stroman is an incredible talent. When you pair her genius directing skills with a brilliant cast - Lane, Broderick, Beach, Bart and Brad Oscar - along with the twisted, insane and BRILLIANT mind of Mel Brooks, all you can get is success.

I found the show to be a joy when I saw it with the original cast. Since then, yes, it's become stale. It has become very rehearsed and a lot of the performances are very phoned-in each night. But Stroman's choreography and vision are incredible.

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There was another major hit that year called The Full Monty which many people feel deserved the awards and the attention a lot more than The Producers. I think you can't really answer that question. I believe The Producers has one of the most mediocre scores on Broadway right now (along with Spamalot). I've heard that without the original cast the show is not too good.

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You know, Eddie my dear, that I totally agree with your assessment of The Producers. Haven't we enjoyed many a smile upon leaving the theater?!

Double Post

Updated On: 1/8/06 at 11:07 PM

Because it's what people want to see, I suppose, would be a solid answer.

I spent one of the most enjoyable nights of my theater going life with our own CaTheatreGirl sitting front and center at the St. James, smiles indeed, I think we stopped the show that night!

THE PRODUCERS is a good example of a show being in the right place at the right time, coming as it did as a breath of fresh air after a long spate of turgid LloydWebberian pop operas. It initiated a revival of COMEDY musicals on Broadway that is blissfully still with us today.

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Updated On: 1/8/06 at 11:16 PM

Is saw Matthew and Nathan, and enjoyed the show immensely. I then saw the tour... and hated it. The performances just seemed to be carbon copies of the originals, nothing really new. Then, I saw the movie - and I realized how redundant it all was. The jokes get really old, really fast.

It's popular because it won 12 Tonys.

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Shows that are really popular usually don't demand too much of the audiences. PRODUCERS promises nothing more than 2 1/2 hours of old-fashioned musical comedy, and it delivers. It's candy floss: Not much substance but so good on the tongue! The movie was ok but didn't bring in anything new. (10 or 20 new jokes would have helped. So would the director coaxing a better performance from Broderick. Am I alone in thinking he was the weakest link in the movie?)

As for the Tony awards, FULL MONTY and opened and was a hit but when PRODUCERS came along it was a big old-fashioned Broadway smash and opening just prior to the Tony deadline it had momentum that FULL MONTY was losing 8 months along into its run.

Haveing seen both shows, I would have to say that if I were a voter, I would have gone with PRODUCERS too. It was bigger, slicker, funnier and more tuneful. Still not the greatest musical comedy of all time (GYPSY wins that award!) but given the competition at the time it was the best of the 2001 season.

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