The Producers Question

[dramarama2]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:00pm

Does anyone know or remember what was cut from the show after the out of town try-outs? I'm just curious...

Updated On: 8/25/07 at 11:00 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:05pm

The big Rose's Turn parody in "Betrayed" never got past the 2nd preview in Chicago.

[dramarama2]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:09pm

Is that all? I heard there was quite a bit...

[Mythus]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:14pm

Some lyrics were changed...the JFK bit in Springtime for Hitler was reworked...and the Betrayed bit that Yankee mentioned. That's about it.

[dramarama2]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:16pm

Cool, thanks!

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:17pm

I believe that the show began previews on Broadway already frozen. All the cuts were done to the show during early previews in Chicago. By the time the show was ending it's Chicago try-out, the show was already frozen for Broadway. The cast recording was made prior to the show beginning Broadway previews, so this can be an easy indicator that the creative team already felt the show was set in stone.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:20pm

Yes, I believe Brody's right. The album was released a day or two before the show opened, I think. I remember remarking how funny it was to see in the booklet "The Producers opened on April 19" when that date hadn't even occurred yet.

Another cut line - the joke about the tourist and the orangutan.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:44pm

Does anyone know what the Mama Rose bit was? I know why it was cut, but not what was in it.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:44pm

I don't remember if it was Jeffry Denman's A Year With the Producers or the Producers coffee table book, but one of them mentions a wealth of material being cut after the reviews came in from Chicago and Nathan Lane asked Mel or someone, as a joke, what they would have done if the show had received bad reviews...

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:46pm

If I may be so bold... "Why was the "Mama Rose" bit cut?"

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:47pm

That was a complaint many of the Chicago reviewers had when the show's tour came around (the first post Lane and Broderick reviews). Many complained that without Lane and Broderick, the show wasn't the same, and that the show had nothing cut. That, in hindsight, there should have been some changes.

[zooxanthellae]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:51pm

"…The parody was part of a song called Betrayed, Brooks' own stab at a second-act show-stopper, written for the character of the disgraced Broadway producer, Max Bialystock. To a snippet of the late Jule Styne's famous melody, Nathan Lane, playing a jailed Bialystock, sang: "When is it going to be Max's turn?" and stuttered, Mama Rose-like, "M-m-max, M-m-max." Lane performed the song for the first time at a dress rehearsal last week in Chicago, prompting gales of laughter from an invited audience of savvy show people. They took the Rose's Turn passage as Brooks intended it: a funny, insider tribute to Styne and lyricist Stephen Sondheim's show-stopper. But Arthur Laurents, who wrote the book to Gypsy, didn't see it that way…."

could someone elaborate on why it was cut, please.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:53pm

OOO, OK.

All I've heard is that Laurents did not like it and I think Brooks may have failed to get appropriate permission.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:57pm

"All I've heard is that Laurents did not like it and I think Brooks may have failed to get appropriate permission. "

Since it is a parody, he wouldn't have needed permission. However, a protracted legal battle would not have been worth it.

[zooxanthellae]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:57pm

It's ashame it was cut... it was probably hilarious!

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 8/25/07 at 11:58pm

But, if he used the actual melody, he could get in trouble.

[zooxanthellae]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 12:01am

No I don't think he did... the lyrics suggested it, so really he could have gotten away with it, but like Fosse76 said, it probably wasn't worth fighting Mr. Laurents for it.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 12:15am

According to Jeffrey Denman's book the Gypsy gag was never performed in front of a paying audience and was officially cut at the January 31st rehearsal. The first preview was the following day. He says Arthur Lurents would not give permission and Susan Stroman made the announcement which was greeted by the cast with boos and then Mel added his two cents which Jeffrey purposefully does not print.
Updated On: 8/26/07 at 12:15 AM

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 7:23am

Yea i remeber being in Virgin Times Sq and seeing the CD just 'before' it opened. It jumped straight into hand. I thought that was great to have the CD so soon.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 12:56pm

"But, if he used the actual melody, he could get in trouble."

No, he can't. A song parody cannot exist if the music itself is not replicated. Lyrics can stand on their own as original if without the music. However, it is more ideal for artists to get permission, because the author of the original work almost ALWAYS sues. Much of the time it isn't worth the cost of litigation.

[leefowler]

Posted: 8/26/07 at 3:26pm

Here's what happened with the Roses' Turn parody in The Producers:

Stephen Sondheim, a friend of Nathan Lane's, loved the idea, and it was thought that his permission was all that was needed. Then Laurents found out, and he made it clear it was not acceptable. The spoof used no specific music from Gypsy, but it was obvious that Roses' Turn was being parodied. Lawyers for The Producers thought that Laurents had no real case, but no one wanted to be tied up in court, so it was easier to just cut the section, which at any rate played a small part of "Betrayed". The last performance of it was at the invited dress rehearsal in Chicago.

[SamIAm]

Posted: 8/27/07 at 12:44pm

The original song written for Max was one that Lane felt was way too gentile and quiet. He felt they needed an 11:00 number like 'Rose's Turn' and hence, "Betrayed" was born.

As for other changes...there was a longer speech made by Roger as he played the role of Hitler. His apron speech where he sits and talks about being made Chancellor was trimmed and the tap number with Churchill and FDR was added. If you listen to the OCR, you will still hear the longer version of Roger's dialogue.