The Producers

~~ A step into the unknown! These were my thoughts at going a show which I had never seen. Neither the film nor the stage production. What a surprise.
This had everything. Comedy, romance, political incorrectness, criminal activities, offence and much more. The Company tackled this with verve, enthusiasm, energy and a wonderfully concerted effort to keep it moving without losing the frenetic tempo of this musical.
David Mitchell and Richard Wilshaw as Max and Leo were perfect foils throughout and showed great command of their roles, never losing sight of the object of their dreams. These characters were well thought out and projected extremely well.
Anita Boylan as Ulla, an aspiring Swedish actress was a revelation as her stage presence was superb, her dancing so erotic and her accent very well maintained throughout the show. Barry Foster as Franz Liebkind, a somewhat OTT member of the Nazi party, showed good understanding of the comedy aspect of his role and kept the audience in stitches with his routines as the domineering yet gullible ex fanatic soldier of the Nazi regime.
David Taylor (Roger de Bris) and Adam Wigglesworth (Carmen Ghia) the would be director and his “friend”, took the audience by storm in their interpretations of their “camp” roles, both giving excellent performances.
It is rare that one finds a character with no lines during a show yet here we had Joanne Limb, as Betty, entering at what appeared to be the most inappropriate and unexpected moments with her nonsense poses and stage hogging almost stealing the show.
The music under Pete Lane was obviously well rehearsed and he kept the orchestra under control with a firm baton, whilst the choreography of Gillian Banks was full of precise routines which were well put over by the dancers and cast,
Roger Hazlewood, the Director had obviously put in a great deal of hard work to get this complex show on the road and he is to be congratulated on his achievements in this field. He certainly knows how to get the best out of his cast.
The staging, lighting, costumes and make-up were of a high standard and added to the overall picture.
The Society are to be congratulated on putting on a fantastic show and reaching such a high standard in their performance.
 

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