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| The Producers |
Welcome to Legitimate Theater: a column dedicated to movie-based stage musicals. The goal of this series is to explore those stories that originated in films and eventually worked their way onto Broadway and beyond. By the end of each entry, there will hopefully be a better understanding of this odd but rampant trend in modern entertainment. Are these stories really worth telling through song and dance? How can it even compare to the technical prowess of a camera and seamless editing? Join me on this quest as I explore the highs and lows of this trend on the third Wednesday of every month and hopefully answer what makes this Legitimate Theater.
Opening
I have been wanting to do a column like this for quite some time now but never put the time and effort into formatting it. While I don't know what will lie ahead, I felt that it was important to start with The Producers for a variety of reasons. For starters, the story of Bialystock and Bloom earned Mel Gibson the Oscar and Tony almost 40 years apart. It also set the stage for modern Broadway comedy with iconic performances by Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick that in some ways usurped the Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder originals (not to mention a film adaptation, which will not be discussed here). It was also about creating a Broadway show so bad that it would close, so what better metaphor for Legitimate Theater to begin on? So with 12 Tony wins (making it one of the highest winners in the award's history), let's get started with The Producers!
A Quick Background
Tony Wins: 12 (Including Best Musical)
Based on: The Producers (1968)
Music: Mel Brooks
Lyrics: Mel Brooks
Book: Mel Brooks
Prominent Actors: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick
Soundtrack
1. "Overture"
2. "Opening Night"
3. "The King of Broadway"
4. "We Can Do It"
5. "I Wanna Be a Producer"
6. "In Old Bavaria"
7. "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop"
8. "Keep It Gay"
9. "When You Got It, Flaunt It"
10. "Along Came Bialy"
11. "That Face"
12. "Haben Sie gehort das Deutsche band?"
13. "Opening Night"
14. "You Never Say Good Luck on Opening Night"
15. "Springtime for Hitler/Heil Myself"
16. "Where Did We Go Right?"
17. "Betrayed"
18. "'Til Him"
19. "Prisoners of Love"
20. "Goodbye!"
Note: Listen to the music here
Song Exploration
Opening Song:
"Opening Night"
I put a lot of stake into how a musical starts off. The first song sets the stage for what's to come, and there's plenty that's brilliant about this one. The Producers is by nature a musical that satirizes musicals, and to open with people singing about awful reviews creates a nice moment of fourth-wall breaking. It may be about a production that we don't see, but it may as well be about The Producers as a show. Will it last? It's an ultimate note of metatextual humor that will continue to play throughout the rest of the story. It may be on the shorter side, but to have the audiences immediately dissuaded with bad reviews suggests that whatever is to come can't be so bad, or can it? Let's hear from Max Bialystock and find out!
Carryovers:
"Springtime for Hitler/Heil Myself"
& "Prisoners of Love"
Unlike most entries on Legitimate Theater, The Producers works because it already has a built in relation to live theater. Who could forget "Springtime for Hitler" from the movie? It's so jarring that it can't help but be funny. It works in this Broadway production because it was originally intended to be viewed as such. As a result, the extended sections actually fit the story very well and make this ridiculous premise work. It's a musical within a musical, and it only adds to the clever subtext that Mel Brooks brought to this show. "Prisoners of Love" is less impressive, though mostly because songs about Hitler are tough to top. Still, it's a carryover worth keeping because it compliments the medium almost too well.
High Point:
"The King of Broadway"
There's a ton of choices to choose from, but I chose the Max Bialystock introduction song because of the performance that Nathan Lane gives. It's one that's full of a deep and pained woe, but it also has that clever Mel Brooks humor that you'd recognize from his best films. This is a song that creates an understanding that this isn't just going to be a peppy rendition of things we already knew. No, Brooks knows how to expand upon his subject and find deeper angst in the struggle to be a theater producer. It's not funny because of how meta it is, but because it feels like a commentary on the show itself. Will The Producers be more than a gimmick? 17 years later, that's easy to answer. And it's thanks to brilliant songs like this.
Low Point:
"Along Came Bialy"
It is tough to say that there's an awful song in this. The only real fault is that as a writer, Mel Brooks' style is from another time. It's got plenty that's edgy, including several infection songs for Nazi characters to sing. However, there's something meandering about the showstopper number where everything finally falls into place. It could be that, unlike Nazis and homosexuals, hearing older women talk about sex is only funny for so long. It pulls itself together by the end, but it's still a bit tiresome at points, especially given the amount of songs that precede it about how funny stereotypes are. Brooks is loving to all of it and none of it doesn't feel cynical where unnecessary, but this particular track leaves something to be inspired in capturing the bravura and excitement of the show finally coming together.
What Does It Bring to the Story?
The movie was among Mel Brooks' first major successes, so of course it would hold a special place in his heart. What's also apparent is that in spite of him aging, he still has a knack for creating whimsical songs that have excellent wordplay and wink at the audience so beautifully. If anything, this is a playful musical that expands upon the plot of The Producers by getting the audience into an actual theater. It creates layers of subtext that are just funny, especially given the expanded nature of "Springtime for Hitler." It's also fun because it's about a show that's destined to fail, and its lack of failure is something that works as an inside joke. It enhances the experience on such a visceral level that the only thing really missing is Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, who probably wouldn't be charismatic enough to pull the roles off anyways.
Was This Necessary?
Yes
As mentioned, the conceit of the original film is that it's about a Broadway production. Considering that Mel Brooks had worn out his energy in film, the move to stage allowed him to expand upon ideas that have always been there. Luckily, he still had a knack for great and witty songs that have more going on than Yiddish punchlines. It's all so clever and fun, especially as a forefather to the modern meta musical. It's also great because it warrants its existence solely about being about making a musical. Odds are that if it were about making a film, TV series, or anything else, it wouldn't fit on stage. Brooks got lucky, and in the process made his most prescient piece of entertainment since the 70's.
Coming Soon: With movie-adapted stage musicals up for Tonys this year, expect columns on Best Musical nominees Mean Girls and Frozen in the next few weeks.
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