Review: THE PRODUCERS at City Springs Theatre Company

City Springs Theatre Company is back with its 8th season, opening with THE PRODUCERS, directed by James Gray. The production will make you laugh and remind you what a good show really is. 

THE PRODUCERS got its start in 1967 as a movie written and directed by Mel Brooks. It’s a satirical comedy, full of dark humor around Adolf Hitler. Due to its controversial nature, the movie didn’t gain success until later on, originally becoming a “cult film”. It was adapted to a musical in 2001, and later to a movie of the musical in 2005. 

The show follows con-artist Max Bialystock, as he pulls straight-laced accountant Leo Bloom into one of his schemes. They’ve learned that a producer can make more money from creating an onstage flop than a successful show. They decide to pick up the worst show (Springtime for Hitler) and the worst director (Roger De Bris) to create a show that will close in just one night, after raising $2 million from a score of old ladies. To their utter dismay, the show is a roaring success!

Beyond THE PRODUCERS’ satirical nature, there are also over-the-top caricatures of Jews, gay people, and foreigners. If you’re new to the show (like I was), it might come across as quite a lot.

However, to put it in perspective in Mel Brooks’ own words: “After all the people that he was responsible for killing and after utterly destroying half the world, I just thought the only weapon I’ve really got is comedy. And if I can make this guy ludicrous, if I can make you laugh at him, then it’s a victory of sorts. If you stand on a soapbox and trade rhetoric with a dictator you never win. But if you ridicule them, bring them down with laughter, they can’t win. You show how crazy they are.” (Parsed from a few interviews throughout Mel Brooks’ career, and included in CSTC’s playbill.)

There was no shortage of enthusiasm from the cast. They heard “over-the-top satire” and committed fully. This show relies heavily on comedic timing and quite a bit of physical acting as well. Once you make it past the ridiculous accents and campy acting, there was a lot of talent on the stage.

Adam B. Shapiro was a delight in his portrayal of Max Bialystock. Even as a con man, you found yourself rooting for him. Shapiro also had quite a few scenes where he was alone onstage, and that was okay. He commanded the stage in a way that you weren’t wishing for the scene to be over, but to see what happened next.

Tyler Pirrung as Leo Bloom was also the perfect foil to Shapiro. He was perfectly awkward and just the right amount of lovable that you were glad he got the girl. His youthful excitement at his dream of becoming a theatrical producer was infectious too.

The combination of Jeff McKerley as Roger De Bris and Frankie Marasa 5th as Carmen Ghia almost shifted the entire show. The pair was outrageously over the top, bringing a different style of levity to the show. Where Bialystock and Bloom are more straightforward businessmen, De Bris and Ghia are raucous and fantastical. 

Blake Fountain was unexpected (in a good way) in his role of Franz Liebkind. As a matter of principle, you never want to root for the Nazi, but Fountain was so talented! Seeing beyond the goofy or dopey mannerisms, he really shines in “Haben Sie Gehort Das Deutsche Band”. 

Rounding out the named cast, Celine Sullivan stunned as the airheaded Ulla. Sullivan is a lovely dancer, and her belting section of “When You Got It, Flaunt It” clearly showed her talent beyond being just a pretty face. I watched Sullivan in scenes where she was a bit more in the background, and her smile did not waver once. She fully embodied her character.

This production consists of 24 actors, only 6.5 of which were named (counting Hold Me, Touch Me/Ensemble as a half). The ensemble did a ton of heavy lifting. I even caught a few actors enter stage, disappear behind a door, and then enter the stage again dressed as someone completely different! It was tremendous to watch them go from snotty theatre-goer to old lady to German tap dancer, all with their own personalities. 

Ample credit should also be given to Eric Luchen for his stage design. He played with angles in a way that brought proper depth to sets that were simple and relatively flat. It created new dimension to the show, especially the jail cell during “Betrayed”. Combined with Alyx Jacobs’ lighting especially, it was a powerful number for only taking up a few square feet of stage space. 

While THE PRODUCERS did not get its start as a musical, the stage production does have elements of that “old school musical” style, especially through its dance numbers. James Gray’s choreography was appropriate for the time of the musical as well as the talent of his cast. Any time you can fit two tap numbers into a show, you’re bound to have a hit.

THE PRODUCERS is a successful 8th season opener for City Springs Theatre Company that will have you holding your sides from laughing so hard.