The Producers

I was delighted to be invited by Theatre Guild Glasgow to my first official outing as the new NODA Representative for District 1. The opening number from the Usherettes played by Lisa Dutch and Ashleigh Fry got the show off to a great start. Moving swiftly on with the introduction of Max Bialystock (Jim McPhee) and Leo Bloom (Bobby Weston),they brought excellent story telling, comedy timing and musicality and talent to the stage, drawing the audience into a world of musical theatre and entertainment. Adding a well cast Ulla (Claire Robertson) into the mix led to no end of fun. Roger De Bris (Robert Marshall) and his assistant Carmen Ghia (Robin Cameron), brought glitz and glamour, while Franz Liebkind (Gordon Muir) and his stage pigeons brought additional humour to the show. There was never a dull moment with the funny, witty and often risky script, well delivered with excellent timing and ability from the entire cast.

Direction and choreography was slick and it was great to see an entire cast being challenged in all aspects of the production, bringing energy and enthusiasm to the stage. 

The Producers, like many shows can be a technical challenge.  However, this was well under control by the dedicated stage crew under the direction of Stage Manager, Stuart Poole, with Tess Byrne “on the book” making sure the show ran smoothly.  MD David Fisher led an excellent band, and on this occasion they did not use the orchestra pit, but played from a room somewhere else in the theatre.  It can be challenging to maintain continuity linking sound to the stage and the auditorium.  While at times I would have preferred to hear the band live in the pit, this did not take way from an overall excellent production that fully entertained the audience.  Well done to all involved in this very entertaining and well presented production of The Producers.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.