The Producers a lively musical romp
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There’s no business, like show business, like no business I know!
It is true and Theatre Tillsonburg’s production of The Producers proves that old adage.
Max Biallystock is a Broadway Producer of questionable morals. Down on his luck, his latest show – Funny Boy, the musical version of Hamlet has just closed: on its opening night! Leo Bloom is a meek-mannered accountant who has dreams of being a Broadway producer.
Fate pushes these two characters together and a scheme to make $2 million by producing the worst show in Broadway history is hatched. To create the biggest musical flop in history you need a bad play and Springtime for Hitler is the most tasteless script Max and Leo can find, but they have to jump through hoops to get a contract signed by the author, pigeon-loving, Franz Liebkind.
And who better to direct the worst show in town than the worst Director on Broadway, Roger DeBris, who has the creative brainwave to make the show a musical, gay romp full of showgirls and chorus boys ‘in very tight pants?’
No musical would be complete without the love interest so, in walks Ulla, a sexy Swede who dreams of being a Broadway leading lady. This leads to all sorts of confusion and mayhem between Max and Leo. Add to this a chorus of dancing grannies, a whole team of camp theatricals, a spell in prison and of course, a happy ending… and you have the ingredients for a fantastic, musically-hilarious night out at the theatre.
Only Mel Brooks could think up a plot like this and only Mel Brooks could write a musical which could offend almost every member of the audience, but instead of walking out, they laugh until they cry and to top it all the show won a dozen Tony awards!
As per our patron’s wishes, Theatre Tillsonburg is trying to produce a musical every other year. Musicals however are very expensive and take a cast and a virtual crew of thousands. For example: the copyrights for a play costs hundreds of dollars while the copyrights of a musical cost thousands of dollars. Most plays, take place on one set, often a living room, with all the furniture that an apartment or house have. The Producers has three main sets, eight minor sets all of which are changed 17 times.
We use two curtains and three backdrops to divide the stage into smaller sections and while they are acting downstage, near the audience the crew is busily changing the scenery behind the curtain or backdrop, to another scene. To help do this even faster, we use two turntables which not only change the walls of the scene but assist in moving furniture on and off the stage. In one position the two turntables will represent either Max’s office or the Courtroom; in another position they represent Shubert Alley in New York City or Roger, the Drag Queen’s elegant home.
One of the biggest challenges with a musical is the music. That may sound funny to many of you, but until you are involved in a musical you don’t understand the extra people, time and effort that goes into a musical. As usual we have a director, for which we are very grateful and pleased that Janice Lundy was able to take over directing this show.
We need a musical director and often an accompanist, although we are fortunate in this show that Dianne Clark can do both and very handily, her husband Paul Clark stepped in to produce the show. Thank you Paul!
Then we need several musicians, the rental of the actual music, a choreographer, who happens to be our very own Halley McAra, who has both designed and taught the dances, and of course actors that can also sing and dance. So if you were a lead in this show, you would have to memorize your lines and blocking, (which is where you stand and what you do when you are saying your lines), go out extra nights to learn your songs and what to do when you are singing, as well as another rehearsal to learn your dances. It is a lot of work.
Backstage we need costumes and makeup for 20 people instead of four or six. We need props for offices, a rooftop pigeon coop; prison cells, courtrooms, a New York alley, elegant living room, the show within a show Springtime for Hitler, and a dance sequence with walkers. We need people to gather the props, organize them for every person and scene they are used in and store them back stage. Lighting and sound have 17 changing scenes locations for which we need two people to just work the backdrops and curtains; two to turn the turntables to the correct positions and people to run the props on and off stage, all in a small space, very little light as fast as possible so you don’t sit in the dark waiting for the next scene.
Musicals are big, they are exciting and they are fun, not only for you but especially for us. So come and join the fun May 2-5 and 8-12. Please note that curtain rises sharply at 8 p.m. except for the Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Because of the expense of the musical, we have added an extra show on Wednesday the 8th and our ticket prices are $20 for adults and $18 for seniors and students.
Please call the box office (519) 688–3026 for your ticket which can be picked up at our partner, The Station Arts on Bridge St.
To also help with all the extra expenses we must especially thank these sponsors: the Town of Tillsonburg, Bossy, Nagy, Geoffrey Chartered Accountants, E & E McLaughlin Ltd. Warehousing, Bell, Tillsonburg Town Centre and Varro’s Floor and Wall.