The Producers

This is the third production of the Producers I have seen on stage (I have also seen the original film on many occasions being a bit of a Mel Brooks fan).  The first was the Original London Production with Nathan Lane in the role of Max Bialystock which had me at times unable to breath through laughing and in many ways this production by BMTG was equal to that London premiere.

To start with the set did not attempt to reproduce verbatim the huge spectacle of a Broadway/London production and was clearly not “bought in” which they so often are, but rather was hand built by the BMTG production team over what must have been many months and still had the “must have’s” including Franz Liebkind’s Pidgeon loft and the “Angel” Chorus complete with Zimmer frames.  The production was all the better for this and fitted the venue perfectly.

As with many shows, The Producers relies on the success of the key Principal characters as a team and as individuals and in this respect, as in many others, the BMTG production delivered!  Adam Guest was Max Bialystock and by that I mean he completely embodied Max and maintained the character throughout the night in every aspect including comedic timing, fourth wall breaks, interaction with all members of the cast and vocal performance.  His delivery of “Betrayed” was quite stunning and in my option was superior to Nathan Lane’s.  

Jarrod Makin also shone as Leo Bloom bringing out the vulnerability of the character from his entrance as a neurotic star struck accountant blossoming into a Broadway producer married to a stunning blond he would never have been able to speak to before being led astray by Max.  Charlotte Howarth attacked the role of Ulla with great panache, energy, fun and initial naivety.  She certainly had it and very much flaunted it! This is one of the first lead roles I have seen Charlotte in and I very much hope there are many more to come.

John Hand and Jorge Diniz were superb as Roger De Bris and Carmen Ghia.  They understood their role in the proceedings and delivered scene after scene that embraced the camp, over the top gay delivery required, and impressively, without going into caricature.  Together with the support of Victoria Appleton, Josh Birchall, Rhodri Denton and Matthew Charlton they provided a great comic troupe.  Sandy Lane delivered a superb “Touch Me Feel Me” which had me laughing all night.

There is very little I can say about the performance of Kevin Chatten as Franz Liebkind other than Sheer Comic Genius!!  It was simply a laugh out loud performance in every scene with amazing mood swings in a single sentence, from frightened child to psychopath...  Genius.

A great production led by George and Lucy who should be suitably proud as should Chris Toon who led the band with great skill and balance.  The vocal performances from principle and chorus alike were a testament to his work in the rehearsal room and together with the costumes, lighting, sound and rapid scene changes brought the production alive.
Martin Holtom

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