“Leo and Max, up off our backs…back on the Great White Way! Leo and Max, back on our tracks, we’re back on top to stay!”
That’s an example of one of the songs, “Prisoners of Love”, from the hit Broadway musical, The Producers. A highly acclaimed comedy musical adapted by the 1968 Mel Brooks film, The Producers concerns two producers of the theatre that scheme to become wealthy by overselling production interests in a Broadway dud. When the show surprisingly turns out to be a success, complications evolve.
The production’s humor is accessible to a vast array of audiences, as it draws on ludicrous accents, Nazi and homosexual caricatures, and a number of in-jokes of show business. The Producers was a bonanza in New York, spawning tours in Las Vegas and across the nation, with box office productions in London and in many international countries.
Musical Different from Film
Although the Broadway musical of The Producers has many jokes and scenes directly from the motion picture, there are many differences nonetheless. Ulla, a Swedish bombshell that auditions for Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, has a larger role. The director for Springtime for Hitler has a larger role in the musical as well. In the 1968 movie, Lorenzo St. Dubois, a hippie, played the role of Hitler.
His character doesn’t appear in the musical version of The Producers. The musical is known to be more upbeat with a happy ending. The Nazi character of Franz Liebkind has a more sympathetic portrayal with a happy ending.
Success of The Producers Musical
In Las Vegas, The Producers had a premiere on February 9, 2007 at Paris Casino. The production starred Brad Oscar and Larry Raben, as Max and Leo respectively. Leigh Zimmerman played Ulla and David Hasselhoff played Roger De Bris—until Lee Roy Reams replaced him in May.
The production in Las Vegas is a trimmed version of 90 minutes of the Broadway musical. The intermission and many of the songs were deleted. The Producers has been a big success in many nations around the world. In Great Britain, the tour had a opening in Manchester for about three months, starting in February.
After the opening on Broadway in 2001, The Producers broke the box office theatre record for the greatest single day gross in history—taking in an incredible over $3 million. In 2003, The Producers broke its very own record when Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane returned to their roles of Leo and Max—with more than $3.5 million on a single day in ticket sales. Touring companies played 74 cities across the United States since September 2002 with a gross of more than $214 million.
