Review - The Producers - 1/27/07

The Producers – 8:00 pm

After Juniors, we attempted to do Lotto for the first time. First we went to Avenue Q and lost. Then we walked over to Spelling Bee and lost. We were going to give up and just head back, but then walked past TKTS. We had never done it before either, but were still undecided. So we continued walking, just to decide that since we were in NYC already, we might as well just do it. At 7:30pm, we walked right up to the window (not much of a line surprisingly) and got left Mezz tickets to The Producers. So after all of that, we ended up right back on 44^th Street.

Preface:

We are big Mel Brooks fans, so we had wanted to see this for awhile, just never got off our butts to do it. We saw the most recent movie (with Lane & Broderick) and laughing so hard we were crying.

Cast:

Tony Danza (Max Bialystock) - I’m torn about this. Tony is definitely not who I think about when thinking Max. He also did not help this fact during the show, however, he did put 100% into the roll it just wasn’t him. His singing was good and his acting was there, so I definitely give him an A+ for effort. I thought it was going to be a sinking ship after the opening number, but he did improve. I think anyone had tough shoes to fill after Lane left, but Tony’s Italian accent and low voice were tough to ignore.

Hunter Foster (Leo Bloom) – I was upset when Roger Bart shortened his original time in the role last week. I had really wanted to see him play Leo, because I just adored his Carmen! I had also never really heard much about Hunter, other than that he was Sutton’s brother and Seymour in Little Shop revival. He blew me away as Leo. It was like he was born to play that role. He has a beautiful voice and his acting/timing was perfect. He perfected every little quirk and look of the character. I had liked Broderick’s portrayal in the movie, but Foster trumped it. His reactions in “Keep it Gay” were hilarious and probably my favorite moments of the entire play.

Bill Nolte (Franz Liebkind) – Great job as Franz. “Der Guten Tag Hop Clop” was very funny and well done. “Haben Sie…..” was well done also, but I think could have been done just a bit better. I love the birds!!!

Brad Musgrove (Carmen Ghia) – Hysterically funny! I would have loved to see Bart in this role, but wow, Brad knocked it out of the park. Every look and gesture had the audience cracking up. He also looks really good in those tight black pants!

Lee Roy Reams ( Roger Debris) – Perfect in the role, don’t know what else to say.

Angie Schworer (Ulla) – Is Ulla’s accent supposed to be that annoying? She had a very pretty voice, and obviously is a beautiful woman, but that accent just killed the role. I just don’t know if it was her doing it, or the role actually required it. Everything she said was SOOO slow, and threw off the scene a little bit. Also, I know I will be shot for saying this, but I actually preferred Uma Thurman’s “When You Got It, Flaunt It” in the movie, it just had more oomph and pizzazz that what I saw last night.

Chorus, etc. – All did nice jobs.

The sets were great. I LOVED how they did “I Wanna be a Producer”. Foster rocked the song, and I loved the staging!

Seating wasn’t bad either. We were in left Mezz, and since it wasn’t sold out everyone spread out and we were comfortable. Several rows in the Mezz section were completely empty, which definitely makes me believe this will be closing soon. I hope to see it again before it closes with a real Max.

Stage Door – I really wanted to meet and get my playbill signed by Hunter after his performance. So we waited and got right up to the barricade thing. Now I know Tony has been around for a while but is he really THAT big of a star? They put the barricades right up to the car door that was waiting for him. So we waited and waited. It started raining, and we still waited. Franz & Ulla actors just walked right out of the stage door and into the street. Then, like lightning, Hunter came out and sped away. No one even realized he went by until I got all pouty. I would’ve just left then if I hadn’t waited so freakin long already. Tony finally came out escorted (really, you need to be escorted??), and started signing the playbills. He said he wouldn’t take pictures with you but you could take them of him (that kind of rubbed me the wrong way). He was very nice to all and signed for everyone I think. But is that normal that only 1 cast member signs and everyone else takes off? I was really disappointed!

I'm really glad we decided to do all the lottos/shows/stage doors, but I was very tired by the end of the day. I hope to do 2 shows in a day again, but not too often, at least not with out pre purchased tickets.