Mel Brooks sent a congratulatory telegram that was read out to one and all
What can you do with a timeless classic Mel Brooks’ film from almost 60 years ago? Merely make the small changes that puts your own stamp on it and hope for the best, writes Michael Holland.
And that is precisely what Patrick Marber has done. His background in comedy allowed him to add many visual gags that made this stage version just as memorable as the movie.
The Producers tells of Max Bialystock, a hotshot theatre producer with a sleazy backroom sideline of selling sexual favours to old rich women to pay for his productions, and Leo Bloom, a nerdy accountant who dreams of being a rich producer. This clash of personalities actually equalled a match made on Broadway when Bloom comes round to Bialystock’s office to audit the books. An arrival that was badly timed on a couple of levels. Nevertheless, the two men agree to produce a monumental flop ($2m worth of flop) by a far-right Nazi (Harry Morrison) that includes gays and a transvestite playing Adolf Hitler because flops can earn dollars. ‘What could go right,’ they confidently sang at one point.
Of course, these now are different times from 1967 when there was worldwide discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community. With a more enlightened world Marber has ramped up the camp to dazzling heights and gained a different audience from what Brooks had all those decades ago, when they would laugh at gay people for all the wrong reasons – The Garrick auditorium twinkled like a disco ball almost as much those on stage.
The opening numbers and pastiche choreography mirrored the sardonic vibe that Brooks’ brought to his work to mock the status quo and laugh at it. They set up the mood for the rest of the evening.
There is a brilliant dance of the Zimmer frames and lots of high-kicking, goose-stepping moves, but mostly The Producers sparkled and glowed with Trevor Ashley, perhaps, sparkling more than anyone and loving every glittery second of it.
Andy Nyman (Bialystock) struggles to balance out his sleazoid character with no redeeming features to work with, but he didn’t care, he was the best thing in it as he made the unlikeable likeable, and we loved him anyway because of his comic timing and ability to belt out a big song.
Marc Antolin as Leo Bloom surprised with his light-as-a-feather fancy footwork and singing skills that helped him blossom from office geek to geezer of the week when he and Ulla (Joanna Woodward) became a pair.
But nothing works without the company coming together to make this one hell of a razzamatazz night. They tapped and kicked and shuffled to create a fantastic chorus line and a great show that will go down as one of The Menier Chocolate Factory’s finest West End transfers.
I was a little surprised at how the dodgy duo turned out doing fine instead of doing time for fraud at the end, but it’s human nature to like a happy ending, which we had that as a winning double because Mel Brooks sent a congratulatory telegram that Nyman read out to one and all after the cast had taken their bows.
The Garrick, 2, Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0HH until 21st February 2026.
Booking and full details: https://thegarricktheatre.co.uk/tickets/mel-brooks-the-producers/
