| Great unsubtle, un-PC humour |
The Producers |
| Consortium lead by David Ian Productions , Wales Millennium Centre , November 30, 2007 |
Mel Brooks' hilarious new musical has finally arrived at the Wales Millennium Centre. The Producers is the tale of down-on-his-luck theatrical producer Max Bialystock and his hapless accountant Leo Bloom, who hatch the ultimate theatrical scam - to raise more money than they need to produce a sure-fire Broadway disaster: ‘Springtime for Hitler’ - the musical! Based on the hilarious film, The Producers, the show has been hailed as one of the funniest musicals of all time. On Broadway the production swept the boards with its awards and has played to over a dozen countries around the world. It opened in London 2004 and this touring production kicked off at the beginning of the year. Experienced American musical performer, Cory English, now settled in London leads this over thirty strong cast in a show of great unsubtle, un-PC humour and reveals to us the seedy underbelly and the lascivious machinations of early American stage production. There’s some great music from the swinging band lead with gusto by Adam Rowe and a slickly choreographed chorus line of long-legged beautiful blonds as desirable as any red-blooded man could wish for. In fact its one long-legged sexy blond who steals the show, as far I was concerned. Emma–Jane Appleyard was the only one of the leading players that really made a strong connection with the audience and captured the spontaneity the show demanded. The tour is nearing its end and English’s Bialystock and his side-kick, the mild accountant, would-be producer, Leo Bloom played by Reece Shearsmith can’t quite bring to their roles the right spark to give the show the perfect lift. Neither of them is lacking in energy or stamina, they are on stage for most of the near three hour run and they are still having a good go at belting out the numbers to the very end. I’m sure that all the cast are out there doing their best to entertain the audience but whilst we do get some good laughs, without the skillful comedy animation and the ability to strongly captivate us, some of the inherent weaknesses in the production’s construction start to show. Things did move at a fairly good pace but much of the low humour seemed to sag a bit, letting its slight distastefulness undermine the fun. But there were moments of joy and spectacle. Stephen Weller, standing in for Peter Kay, who will be onstage from the 3rd December, with his well over the top camp entourage made a bit of an impact and had the crowd howling. The tap dancing, Zimmer frame welding, prettily attired old ladies were greatly appreciated and the presentation of the big chorus number Spring Time For Hitler recaptured some of the impact of the original production. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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