Laughs continue with 'The Producers'
By Jen Pontzer, Staff Writer
January 25, 2008 | 12:49 a.m.
“The Producers” became the new title for the film, which Mel Brooks finds funny because the main characters are anything but producers. It is about two men, Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, who start a production business together. The catch is, they make money when they swindle investors into giving more money than is needed to the produce a show, and then they make sure the show will be a failure.
The investors are old ladies and the show is “Springtime for Hitler.” Hitler is portrayed in a flamboyant light, and there are chorus girls in pretzel and beer costumes dancing in a pinwheel swastika. Somehow the show is a success, and the boys are in trouble.
Mel Brooks said in an interview on the original “The Producers” DVD that the idea for the story came from his own producer when he was young. In fact, that is where the inspiration for the old ladies as financiers for the flop comes from, except the real old ladies probably didn’t do fancy dance numbers with their walkers.
“Somewhere in the back of my head I knew there was a good story in the adventures of this producer that I was working for when I was 16-years-old. He used to produce plays by having his investors come to his office, and they were all over 80, and he would make love to them and they would give him money. They’d usually make out a check to the current title of his play, which was always ‘Cash,’” Brooks said in the interview.
This was the first time Brooks wrote a screenplay and the first time he directed a movie. He wanted to direct it because he already saw all the scenes in his head while he was writing it and knew that by not hiring someone else to direct, money could be saved. “The Producers” showcases Brooks’ off-kilter brand of comedy, willingness to push the envelope and ability to make great entertainment. It was also the movie that made Gene Wilder (Leo Bloom) a star. However, the public mostly forgot about the movie until 2001.
The musical version of “The Producers” opened on April 19, 2001. It ran for 2,502 performances and was exceptionally well received, both by the critics and the public. It won 12 Tony Awards, breaking the record previously held by “Hello, Dolly!” which has 10. It also holds the record for the largest single day box office gross with 3.5 million dollars. Mel Brooks wrote the music, lyrics and book for the show. While the musical is basically the movie, if people spontaneously burst into song and choreographed dance, there are some differences. The character of Ulla (Max and Leo’s Swedish secretary) is expanded and the tone of the musical is more upbeat than the movie, with a happier ending for all the characters, including the Nazi Franz Liebkind, the writer of “Springtime for Hitler."
The wave of success from the musical carried over to the movie version of the musical, where everyone from Broadway, including Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, reprised his or her roles, except Ulla and Franz Liebkind. The movie premiered in 2005, as a movie based on a musical based on a movie about a musical. Three songs from the musical were cut: “King of Broadway,” “In Old Bavaria” and “Where Did We Go Right?” It makes up for this by introducing new songs such as “There's Nothing Like a Show on Broadway.” The pictures of the old lady investors from the original movie appear again in this movie.
There is something for everyone when it comes to this timeless and brilliant Mel Brooks story. Slapstick, romance, Nazis and big musical numbers can all be found in the different variations. Ohio University will be hosting the touring production of the musical in Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium on Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 for students and $25 for general admission.
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