The Producers (Musical)
| Musical dates | |
|---|---|
| Original title: | The Producers |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Mel Brooks |
| Book: | Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan |
| Lyrics: | Mel Brooks |
| Premiere: | April 19, 2001 |
| Place of premiere: | New York, St. James Theater |
| Playing time: | approx. 2:30 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | New York (1959) |
| Roles / people | |
|
|
The Producers is a musical based on the 1968 film Spring for Hitler . The music and the lyrics come from Mel Brooks , who wrote the book and produced the musical together with Thomas Meehan . The musical ran from April 19, 2001 to April 22, 2007 at the St. James Theater in New York . The premiere cast included Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick .
It is one of the most successful musicals of the last thirty years, which was also reflected in the Tony Awards in 2001, where The Producers was nominated in fifteen categories and won twelve times. After 37 years, Hello, Dolly! as the musical with the most "Tony Awards". The great success led to a film adaptation of the musical, see: The Producers .
From October 3, 2004, the musical was also shown in London's West End at the Theater Royal, Drury Lane . The German-language premiere took place on June 30, 2008 at the Ronacher in Vienna with Andreas Bieber (Leo Bloom) and Cornelius Obonya (Max Bialystock). The Bavarian premiere was in the Regensburg Theater in 2016 .
From May 15, 2009 the production of the Ronacher could be seen in the Berlin Admiralspalast . There the unconventional promotion of the piece in particular caused a national and international sensation. Among other things, large banners and flags had been installed on the house in Berlin's Friedrichstrasse , which, although reminiscent of National Socialist flags in their area, displayed a black pretzel in front of a white and red background instead of a swastika .
action
- 1st act
A spring evening in New York, 1959. The musical begins in front of the Shubert Theater , Broadway's most famous theater known for its successes. Unfortunately not today, because when the curtain fell, it was clear that the musical version of Hamlet by theater producer Max Bialystock was a gigantic flop (opening night). Later, when the audience has disappeared, Bialystock stands alone in front of the theater and at midnight he begins to sing "The King of Broadway" with a choir of beggars, believing that he will soon be back on top.
A few days later, Leo Bloom, a distraught, frightened counterattack who takes care of Bialystock's finances, appears. Bloom makes a comment that a flop could make more money than a hit. It would only take a surefire flop to pocket the money and then disappear to Rio. But if the show were to be a hit, Bialystock would have sold more than 100 percent of the show and could never pay off the financiers. Max is on fire. He is ready to take the risk and tries to persuade Leo, who is not convinced of it (We Can Do It). Leo leaves Max and flees to the office of his place of work.
While he works, he sees how badly he is under his dictatorial boss and dreams of being a Broadway theater producer (I Wanna Be a Producer). After this play he quits and returns to Max. Max breaks her plan down into five steps:
- To find the worst play
- Finding the worst director in town
- Collect money
- To hire the worst actors in the region
- To leave with the money after the premiere in Rio
The plan begins. Leo and Max are looking for the worst musical of all time. When they are about to give up, Max finds the ultimate flop: "An insult to all worldviews, races and religions", a piece that will definitely be canceled after one evening. It is the piece Springtime for Hitler (Spring for Hitler) . You go to the author, the crazy old Nazi Franz Liebkind. They convince him to perform the play on Broadway (Der Guten Tag Hop Clop).
Next up, they visit Roger DeBris, a gay director with some of the worst productions on Broadway. He is very enthusiastic about the piece, but does not want to perform it because it is too depressed and too dark (Keep It Gay). With the lure to Tony, Max manages to convince Roger.
Back home, Max wants to start step 3 when Ulla - tall, blonde, curvy - walks through the door. She is applying for a role in the play (When You Got It, Flaunt It). Ulla gets the job, but now works as a secretary at “Bialystock & Bloom”. Now Max disappears for a few days to collect the money from his financiers - old, little ladies (Along Came Bialy).
- 2nd act
Bialystock comes back with the money while Ulla and Leo fell in love (That Face). A little later the casting for the role of Adolf Hitler begins. There are just no suitable applicants to be found. Finally, an American screwed up the evergreen “Did you hear the German tape?”, Which angered Franz Liebkind so much that he played how the number should be performed correctly and got the role himself.
A few days later the musical premieres on Broadway. Bloom wishes everyone “good luck”; Roger, Franz and Carmen (Roger's assistant and lover) point out in horror that it would be better not to wish luck because it would mean bad luck - whereupon Max wishes all passers-by good luck (You Never Say 'Good Luck' on Opening Night).
Shortly afterwards Franz falls down the stairs and breaks his leg, he has no understudy and Roger has to step in. The curtain goes up and the piece "Springtime for Hitler" is sung. Many spectators leave the concert hall in rage. When everything seems to be going down the drain, Roger takes the stage as Hitler. He plays the main role so “ gay ” (in both senses) that hardly any viewer can resist laughing. The performance is a complete success. The newspapers headlined "Springtime for Hitler - a satirical masterpiece". Max and Leo are horrified and sing "Where Did We Go Right?".
Then Roger and Carmen take the stage and a little later Liebkind, who tries to shoot everyone else, because they would have smeared Hitler's name. The police show up. Carmen and Roger hide and so does Leo. However, Max and Liebkind are caught and the forged financial books are found. Max is arrested. Leo and Ulla, on the other hand, are faced with the difficult choice whether Leo should face the police or both should leave for Rio with $ 2 million. You choose to flee.
In prison, Max receives a postcard from Leo and Ulla in Rio. In a rage he sings "Betrayed". The trial is pending. Shortly before the conviction, Leo suddenly shows up, returns the money and stands up for Max, his friend ('Til Him). The judge is so touched that he doesn't have the heart to separate the friends and therefore has both (and Franz Liebkind) locked up.
While in custody, Max, Leo and Franz rehearse with the other prisoners on a musical (Prisoners of Love). In the middle of the chant, a prisoner appears and tells them that they have been pardoned (“Because they put a smile on the face of every murderer, rapist and sex offender”). Now the play is off to Broadway - a huge success! Max and Leo stand outside and run together into the sunset. At the finale, all actors stand on stage and sing “Goodbye” together.
The pieces of music (German titles in brackets and italics)
(German dialogues: Michaela Ronzoni, German lyrics: Philipp Blom, additional lyrics: David Bronner, revision for Berlin: Titus Hoffmann)
|
|
Awards
In 2001, The Producers received the Tony Award in the following categories :
- Tony Award for Best Musical
- Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Original Score
- Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Nathan Lane)
- Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical ( Gary Beach )
- Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical ( Cady Huffman )
- Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Choreography
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
- Tony Award for Best Orchestrations
- 2009: Honorary Ernst Lubitsch Prize for Mel Brooks at the German premiere in the Admiralspalast Berlin
literature
- Glen Kelly: Mel Brooks: The Producers - Vocal Selections (PVG) . Publisher: Hal Leonard (2002),
- Mel Brooks, Tom Meehan: The Book, Lyrics and Story Behind the Biggest Hit in Broadway History - How We Did It . Miramax, 2001. ISBN 0-7868-6880-5 , ISBN 978-0-7868-6880-3
Web links
- The Producers in the Internet Broadway Database (IBDB)
- The Producers The Guide to Musical Theater (English)