''The Producers'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...

, and a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan. It is adapted from Brooks's 1967 film of the same name. The story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich by fraudulently overselling interests in a Broadway flop. Complications arise when the show unexpectedly turns out to be successful. The humor of the show draws on ridiculous accents, caricatures of gay people and

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s, and many show business in-jokes. After 33 previews, the original Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on April 19, 2001, starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, and ran for 2,502 performances, winning a record-breaking 12

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

s. It spawned a successful West End production running for just over two years, national tours in the US and UK, many productions worldwide and a 2005 film version.

Background

David Geffen persuaded Mel Brooks to turn his film into a stage musical. When Brooks met with

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyrici ...

Information from the CNN archives
cnn.com to discuss their working together, Herman declined, telling Brooks that he should do the job himself, as he was a good songwriter. Brooks then asked Thomas Meehan to join him in writing the book for the stage. Brooks persuaded

Mike Ockrent Michael Robert Ockrent (18 June 1946 – 2 December 1999) was a British stage director, well-known both for his Broadway musicals and smaller niche plays. He was educated at Highgate School. Through directing ''Educating Rita'', '' The Nerd'' an ...

and his wife

Susan Stroman Susan P. Stroman (born October 17, 1954) is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director and performer. Her notable theater productions include '' The Producers'', '' Crazy for You'', ''Contact'', and '' The Scottsboro Boys''. She is ...

to join the creative team as director and choreographer. After Ockrent's death in 1999, Stroman agreed to continue as both director and choreographer.Information from the PBS website
pbs.org

Plot

Act I

In New York in 1959, theatre producer Max Bialystock opens ''Funny Boy'', a musical version of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' ("Opening Night"). Reviews are overwhelmingly negative, and the show closes after one performance. Max, who was once called the King of Broadway, tells a crowd of down-and-outs of his past achievements and vows to return to form ("King of Broadway"). The next day,

Leo Bloom The following are fictional characters from the 1967 film '' The Producers'', the Broadway musical based on it, and the 2005 film adaptation of the musical. Max Bialystock Max Bialystock is described as selfish, arrogant, fiery, impatient, s ...

, a mousy accountant, comes to Max's office to audit his books. When one of Max's little old lady "investors" arrives, Max tells Leo to wait in the bathroom until she leaves. She plays a sex game with Max, who eventually persuades her to give him a check to be invested in his next play, to be called "Cash". Leo reveals his lifelong dream to be a Broadway producer. After recovering from a panic attack caused by Max touching his blue blanket, Leo tells Max that he has found an accounting error in his books: Max raised $100,000 for ''Funny Boy'', but the play only cost $98,000. Max begs Leo to cook the books to hide the discrepancy; Leo reluctantly agrees. After some calculations, he realizes that "under the right circumstances, a producer could make more money with a flop than he could with a hit". Inspired, Max proposes a scheme to find the worst musical ever written, hire the worst director and actors in New York, raise two million dollars of investment from "old ladies", produce the work on Broadway, close it as a huge failure, and escape to

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

with the money. However, Leo refuses to help Max with his scheme ("We Can Do It"). When he arrives at work six minutes late, Leo's horrid boss, Mr. Marks, reminds him that he is a nobody. While he and his miserable co-workers toil over accounts, Leo daydreams of becoming a Broadway producer ("I Wanna Be a Producer"). He realizes that his job is terrible, quits, and returns to Max ("We Can Do It" (reprise)). The next day, they search for the worst play ever written, and Max discovers a sure-fire flop that would offend people of all races, creeds and religions: '' Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden'', written by ex-

Franz Liebkind The following are fictional characters from the 1967 film '' The Producers'', the Broadway musical based on it, and the 2005 film adaptation of the musical. Max Bialystock Max Bialystock is described as selfish, arrogant, fiery, impatient, sa ...

, which Max describes as "a love letter to Hitler". They go to the playwright's home in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

to get the rights to the play, where Franz is on the roof of his tenement with his pigeons reminiscing about the grand old days ("In Old Bavaria"). The producers get him to sign their contract by joining him in singing

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

's favorite tune ("Der Guten Tag Hop Clop") and reciting the Siegfried Oath, under penalty of death, promising never to dishonor "the spirit and the memory of Adolf Elizabeth Hitler". Next, they go to the townhouse of the flamboyantly gay

Roger De Bris The following are fictional characters from the 1967 film '' The Producers'', the Broadway musical based on it, and the 2005 film adaptation of the musical. Max Bialystock Max Bialystock is described as selfish, arrogant, fiery, impatient, sa ...

, the worst director in New York. At first, Roger and his "common law-assistant"

Carmen Ghia The following are fictional characters from the 1967 film '' The Producers'', the Broadway musical based on it, and the 2005 film adaptation of the musical. Max Bialystock Max Bialystock is described as selfish, arrogant, fiery, impatient, sa ...

decline the offer to direct because of the serious subject matter. After much persuading and invoking the possibility of a Tony Award, Roger relents and tells them that the second act must be rewritten so the Germans win

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

("Keep It Gay"). Max and Leo return to the office to meet a Swedish bombshell named Ulla Inga Hansen Benson Yansen Tallen Hallen Svaden Swanson, who wants to audition for their next play ("When You've Got It, Flaunt It"). The producers are impressed, mostly by her sex-appeal, and hire her to be their "secretary-slash-receptionist". Max leaves to raise two million dollars to produce ''Springtime for Hitler'' by calling on all the little old ladies of New York ("Along Came Bialy"), and succeeds at raising the money ("Act I Finale").

Act II

Leo and Ulla are left alone in Max's office ('redecorated' by Ulla), and they start to fall in love ("That Face"). Max walks in and sees the tempting form of Ulla's covered behind ("That Face" (reprise)). At the auditions for the title role, Hitler, one terrible actor after another is rejected by Roger in summary fashion. Finally, a frustrated Franz performs his own jazzy rendition of "Haben Sie Gehört Das Deutsche Band?", at the end of which Max approves Franz's audition. Opening night arrives, and after Leo curses the production by wishing everyone "good luck" ("You Never Say 'Good Luck' on Opening Night"), Franz literally breaks his leg falling down the stairs. Roger is the only one who knows the part of Hitler, and he rushes to the dressing room to get ready. The curtain rises, and Max and Leo watch the theatrical disaster unfold (" Springtime for Hitler"). Unfortunately, Roger's performance is so campy and outrageous that the audience mistakes it for satire, and the show becomes a surprise smash. Back at the office, Max and Leo are horrified as they read positive critical reviews for ''Springtime'' ("Where Did We Go Right?"). Roger and Carmen come to congratulate them, only to find them fighting over the accounting books. Franz bursts in, waving a pistol, outraged by Roger's portrayal of his beloved Führer; fearful for his life, Max finally admits to Leo, "We're in too deep." Max suggests that Franz shoot the actors (not the producers) as a way to close the show. The police are summoned by the commotion and arrest Franz, who breaks his other leg while trying to escape. They also arrest Max and take the books. As Leo hides, Ulla finds him and persuades him to take the two million dollars and run off to Rio with her. In jail awaiting trial, Max receives a postcard from Leo (who is now in Rio with Ulla) and, feeling betrayed, recounts the whole show ("Betrayed"). At his trial, Max is found "incredibly guilty", but the now-married Leo and Ulla arrive in the nick of time. Leo turns in the stolen money and tells the judge that Max is a good man who has never hurt anyone despite his swindling, and the only man he has ever called a friend ("'Til Him"). Touched by their friendship, the judge decides not to separate the partners, sending them both (plus Franz) to

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...

prison for five years. In prison, they write a new musical entitled "''Prisoners of Love''", and they are pardoned by the governor for "having, through song and dance, brought joy and laughter into the hearts of every murderer, rapist, and sex maniac in Sing Sing." Soon after taking ''Prisoners of Love'' to Broadway (starring Roger and Ulla), Leo and Max become the kings of Broadway and walk off into the sunset ("Leo & Max"). Everyone comes back for one last song, telling the audience that it's time for them to leave ("Goodbye").

Musical numbers

;Act I * Overture – Orchestra * "Opening Night" – Usherettes and Company * "The King of Broadway" – Max and Company * "We Can Do It" – Max and Leo * "I Wanna Be a Producer" – Leo, Showgirls and Accountants * "We Can Do It" (reprise) – Leo and Max * "In Old Bavaria" – Franz * "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop" – Franz, Leo and Max * "Keep It Gay" – Roger, Carmen, Max, Leo, Brian, Kevin, Scott, Shirley * "When You Got It, Flaunt It" – Ulla * "Along Came Bialy" – Max and Company * "Act I Finale" – Max, Leo, Ulla, Franz, Roger, Carmen, Brian, Kevin, Scott, Shirley, and Company ;Act II * "That Face" – Leo, Ulla and Max * "Haben Sie Gehört Das Deutsche Band?" – Franz and Max * "Opening Night" (reprise) – Usherettes * "You Never Say 'Good Luck' on Opening Night" – Roger, Carmen, Franz, Leo and Max * " Springtime for Hitler" – Lead Tenor Stormtrooper, Ulla, Roger and Company * "Where Did We Go Right?" – Leo and Max * "Betrayed" – Max * "'Til Him" – Leo, Max and Little Old Ladies * "Prisoners of Love" – Convicts * "Prisoners of Love" (reprise) – Roger, Ulla and Company * "Leo and Max" – Max and Leo * "Goodbye!" – Company

Notable casts

Notable Broadway replacements

* Max: Fred Applegate, Tony Danza,

John Treacy Egan John Treacy Egan (born July 10, 1962) is an American actor and singer. Early life Egan was born in New York City. He attended the Rye Country Day School and graduated from SUNY Purchase. Career Egan first appeared off-Broadway in '' When Pig ...

Henry Goodman Henry Goodman (born 23 April 1950) is a RADA trained British actor. He has appeared on television and radio, in film and in the theatre. Early life He attended the Central Foundation Boys' School and joined the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, ...

, Richard Kind, Brad Oscar,

Lewis J. Stadlen Lewis J. Stadlen (born March 7, 1947) is an American stage and screen character actor. He is best known for playing Ira Fried in ''The Sopranos''. Career Born in Brooklyn, New York, to voice actor Allen Swift, Stadlen studied acting with Sanfor ...

* Leo: Roger Bart, Hunter Foster,

Alan Ruck Alan Douglas Ruck (born July 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Cameron Frye, Ferris Bueller's best friend, in John Hughes's film ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986); Stuart Bondek, a lecherous, power-hungry member of ...

Don Stephenson Donald Ragan Stephenson IV (born September 10, 1964), known as Don Stephenson, is an American actor and stage director. He has numerous credits on both television and in the theatre. Biography Early and personal life Don Stephenson was born in ...

, Steven Weber *Ulla: Sarah Cornell,

Angie Schworer Angie Schworer is a stage actress and dancer best known for originating the role of Angie in '' The Prom'' on Broadway and for being the longest-running Ulla in '' The Producers''. Life and career Schworer started dancing lessons at age 5. Alth ...

* Roger: Jonathan Freeman, Lee Roy Reams *Carmen: Brooks Ashmanskas, Jai Rodriguez *Franz:

, Bill Nolte

Productions

Chicago tryout and Broadway (2001–2007)

''The Producers'' had a pre-Broadway tryout at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

's Cadillac Palace from February 1 to 25, 2001, starring Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock and Matthew Broderick as Leo Bloom. The production opened on Broadway with the same cast at the St. James Theatre on April 19, 2001. It ran for 2,502 performances, closing on April 22, 2007. The director and choreographer was

. Glen Kelly was the musical arranger and supervisor. The production won 12

s, breaking the record held for 37 years by '' Hello, Dolly!'' which had won 10.Jones, Kenneth
Broadway Record-Breaker The Producers Closes April 22"
, Playbill.com, April 22, 2007 After the opening, ''The Producers'' broke the record for the largest single day box-office ticket sales in theatre history, taking in more than $3 million. The loss of the original stars later in the run had a detrimental effect on the success of the production, prompting the return of Lane and Broderick for a limited run from December 2003 to April 2004. The show's sales then broke its own record with over $3.5 million in single day ticket sales.

US Tours (2002–2005)

From September 2002 to July 2005, there were two touring companies that played 74 cities across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, grossing over $214 million. The first touring company starred

and

. They were replaced during the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

engagement in 2003 by Jason Alexander and Martin Short for the duration of the show's run in that city, as well as in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

Michael Kostroff Michael Kostroff (born May 22, 1961) is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program '' The Wire'' as defense attorney Maurice Levy. Kostroff starred in the fifth season of the series and appeared in all four earlier seasons as a guest star ...

, who had several supporting roles in that production and understudied Max, published a 2005 memoir of his touring experience, ''Letters from Backstage''. A second national tour opened in mid-2003 at the Colonial Theatre in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

starring Brad Oscar as Max and Andy Taylor as Leo. The cast also featured Lee Roy Reams as Roger and Bill Nolte as Franz. This company toured the US for two years before playing in Tokyo, Japan.

West End (2004–2007)

''The Producers'' opened in London's West End at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, on November 9, 2004 and closed on January 6, 2007, after 920 performances. The production featured Nathan Lane as Max, after Richard Dreyfuss was "let go" by the producers after finding that he was unable "to fulfil the rigours of the role", with four days to go before first previews. Lee Evans played Leo (Lane and Evans had worked together in the 1997 movie '' MouseHunt''), with

Leigh Zimmerman Leigh Zimmerman is an American actress, singer and dancer. She has appeared on Broadway in ''The Will Rogers Follies'', '' Crazy for You'' and ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' with Nathan Lane and created the role of Go-To-Hell- ...

as Ulla, Nicolas Colicos as Franz Liebkind,

Conleth Hill Conleth Seamus Eoin Croiston Hill (born 24 November 1964) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has performed on stage in productions in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the United States. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards and received two T ...

as Roger De Bris, and James Dreyfus as Carmen Ghia. The show enjoyed excellent box office success as it had in New York. Despite the departure of Lane from the show, it continued to enjoy strong sales. Max Bialystock was then played by Brad Oscar, Fred Applegate,Inverne, ame
"Fred Applegate Named New Max for London "Producers'"
Playbill.com, April 7, 2005 and

Cory English Cory English (born 1968) is an American actor. Early life Born into a blue collar family in Rochester, New York, English was the youngest of four boys. English attended Wayne Central High School in Ontario, New York. He lived for several years ...

.Shenton, Mar
"'The Producers', Review"
''The Stage'', 31 March 2006 Leo Bloom was later played by John Gordon Sinclair and Reece Shearsmith.

UK tour (2007–2008)

A United Kingdom tour opened in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

on February 19, 2007, where it played for three months before moving on. English and Sinclair reprised their roles of Max and Leo, respectively, and

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books. Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...

was cast in the role of Roger. For the majority of the tour, which ran until early 2008, Joe Pasquale took over the role of Leo and Russ Abbot played Roger.

Subsequent productions

, California, production opened ran from May 2003 to January 2004 at the Pantages Theatre. Co-starring were Jason Alexander as Max Bialystock and Martin Short as Leo Bloom. The

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

production ran for a year in 2007 to 2008 at the Paris Hotel & Casino. It starred Brad Oscar as Bialystock, Larry Raben as Bloom and

as Ulla, with

David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on '' The Yo ...

receiving top billing as Roger De Bris. Once Hasselhoff left the production, top-billing went to Tony Danza, who stepped in as Bialystock. The production was a 90-minute version. In 2007, the first U.S. regional theater production played in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

at the Marriott Theatre from September to November 2007 and starred Ross Lehman as Bialystock and Guy Adkins as Bloom. In 2009, the show played at the Walnut Street Theatre in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, Pennsylvania and at the Diablo Light Opera Company in California, starring Ginny Wehrmeister as Ulla, Ryan Drummond as Leo, and Marcus Klinger as Max. This production received the 2009 Shellie Award for Best Production. Oscar and Roger Bart reprised their roles as Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, respectively, in a production at Starlight Theatre in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

in August 2010. A production at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

, with Kind, Bart, and Beach reprising their roles as Max, Carmen Ghia and Roger DeBris from the original Broadway production, ran July 27–29, 2012. The cast also starred Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Leo and featured Dane Cook as Franz and Rebecca Romijn as Ulla. A UK and Ireland tour began at the

Churchill Theatre The Churchill Theatre in Bromley, southeast London was built by the London Borough of Bromley to designs by its borough architect's department. The Churchill is an example of a repertory theatre built in the style of European opera houses, wit ...

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

on March 6, 2015, starring

as Max, Jason Manford as Leo,

Phill Jupitus Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is an English stand-up and improv comedian, actor, performance poet, cartoonist and podcaster. Jupitus was a team captain on all but one BBC Two-broadcast episode of music quiz ...

(until May 16) and Ross Noble (from May 18 onwards) as Franz Liebkind, David Bedella as Roger De Bris and Louie Spence as Carmen Ghia (until May 2). The tour continued until July 2015 in Dublin. ''The Producers'' has been presented professionally in many cities around the world, including Toronto, Berlin, Breda,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Cairns,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Tokyo,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Halifax,

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, Panama, Bratislava,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

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, Caracas,

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Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, Oradea,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, Varde, Moscow,

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, Manila, and

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

.Kimmelman, Michael
"The Führer Returns to Berlin, This Time Saluted Only by Laughs"
''The New York Times'', May 18, 2009

Adaptations

In 2005, the musical was adapted into a musical film. It was directed by Stroman and starred most of the original Broadway cast, except for Brad Oscar – who was unable to reprise the role of Franz because he had signed on to play Max on Broadway and, instead, had a brief cameo as the cab driver – and Cady Huffman. Their roles were played by Will Ferrell and Uma Thurman, respectively. The songs "King of Broadway", "In Old Bavaria", and "Where Did We Go Right?" were not in the theatrical cut of the movie; "King of Broadway" and "In Old Bavaria" appear on the DVD as deleted scenes. It opened on December 16, 2005, and received mixed reviews.

Popular culture

On the television show '' Curb Your Enthusiasm'', ''The Producers'' was featured in almost every episode of Season 4. Mel Brooks offers Larry David the part of Max, with Ben Stiller as Leo. When David and Stiller have a falling out, Stiller is replaced by David Schwimmer. When David forgets his lines, his ad-libs keep the audience laughing. It is revealed that Brooks cast David, believing he would fail, to end the show and "free" Brooks of its success. Brooks and his real-life wife, Anne Bancroft, laugh at how bad David is, but to their dismay David ends up being a hit.

Awards and nominations

At the 2001 Tony Awards, ''The Producers'' won 12 out of its 15 nominations, setting the record for most wins in history and becoming one of the few musicals to win in every category for which it was nominated – it received two nominations for leading actor and three for featured actor. Its record for most nominations was tied in 2009 by '' Billy Elliot the Musical'' and broken in 2016 when ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

'' received 16 nominations, but its record number of wins still stands, as of 2022. ''Hamilton'' is second, with 11 wins.Viagas, Robert
" ''Hamilton'' Tops Tony Awards With 11 Wins"
Playbill, June 12, 2016

Original Broadway production

Original London production

References

External links

*
''The Producers''
at the Music Theatre International website
Official site for the London productionRoger Bart and Brad Oscar
– ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Producers 2001 musicals Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler American plays adapted into films Broadway musicals West End musicals Musicals based on films Laurence Olivier Award-winning musicals LGBT-related musicals Plays set in New York City Plays set in the 1950s Musicals by Mel Brooks Musicals by Thomas Meehan (writer) Tony Award for Best Musical Adaptations of works by Mel Brooks Tony Award-winning musicals Plays about Jews and Judaism Backstage musicals Fraud in fiction