The Producers

Musical (2001)
Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
Music and lyrics by Mel Brooks
Based on the film The Producers (1967)
Original Direction and Choreography: Susan Stroman
Original Direction and Choreography recreation: James Gray
Music Supervisor: Jesse Kissel
Music Director: Brian P. Whitted;
Ogunquit Playhouse
Ogunquit, ME
August 27 – September 26, 2026

Scenic Designer: Eric Luchen; Lighting Design: Richard Latta; Costume Design: William Ivey Long; Costume Coordinator: Jill E. Tarr; Sound Design: Kevin Heard; Wig/Hair & Make-up Design: Roxanne De Luna; Casting: ARC; Music Contractor: Haley Bennett; Production Stage Manager: Daniel Everett; Associate Director & Choreographer: Angie Schworer; Associate Music Director: Jason Liebson; Assistant Stage Manager: Megan Belgam; Assistant Stage Manager: Cameron Fleck

With Jason Kravits (Max Bialystock); Dan DeLuca (Leo Bloom); Stephanie Gibson (Ulla); Nathan Lee Graham (Carmen Ghia); John Rapson (Franz Liebkind); John Scherer (Roger DeBris); Delaney Bailey (Swing); Wendi Bergamini (Ensemble: u/s Hold-Me Touch-Me); Jim Borstelmann (Ensemble: u/s Franz); Colin Bradbury (Ensemble: u/s Roger); Faith Jordan Candino (Ensemble); Jaclyn De Nicola (Ensemble); Adam Furgal (Ensemble); Connor Harman (Ensemble); Naomi Kakuk (Ensemble/Dance Captain); Jalen Kirkman (Ensemble); Liesl Landegger (Ensemble); J. Elaine Marcos (Ensemble/Hold Me/Touch Me); Steven Mooney (Ensemble); Kaylee Olson (Ensemble); Tyler Pirrung (Ensemble: u/s Leo/Carmen); Sam Sanderson (Swing); Gabriella Scarpace; Delaney Bailey (Ensemble)

Jason Kravits as Max Bialystock, Dan DeLuca as Leopold Bloom in 'The Producers' — Jason Kravits as Max Bialystock
Dan DeLuca as Leopold Bloom
in “The Producers”
Image: Courtesy of Ogunquit Playhouse

A nicely produced, very funny and entertaining, take on the now classic 2001 musical based on the even more classic 1967 Mel Brooks film about two guys who thought they could make a fortune by producing a Broadway flop.

Max Bialystock (Jason Kravits) is a Broadway producer with a talent for shows that flop. When his sheepish and neurotic accountant, Leopold Bloom (Dan DeLuca), comes to review Max’s books, Leopold gets the bright idea that Max could put his talent for producing flops to great personal financial benefit. Leo’s idea is that if Max got investments of thousands of percent of the show by unwitting investors and the show was a flop, Max would not have to pay out any of the profits nor return any of the investments.

Max is thrilled with Leo’s idea and goes to work building his investment profile with dozens of old rich women whom he has flattered and seduced and who are all too willing to put money behind his show. Max and Leo go into this business venture together with the explicit intent of finding a production that is sure to fail. They come across a script called Springtime for Hitler and go about finding a loser director and casting it with actors sure to make the whole thing a disaster. The result is hilarious, and for those of you who have been living in a cave for the last sixty years and don’t know what happens and want to be surprised, the outcome is revealed in the spoilers section below.

This very nicely put-together production features a lot of terrific dancing, great one-liners, and some very funny performances.

As Bialystock, Jason Kravits is spot-on. Without mimicking Zero Mostel, who made the film role memorable, or Nathan Lane, who made the stage role memorable, he gives it authentic character with lots of seat-of-the-pants humor. Irreverent would be far too modest a term for Bialystock’s character, and Kravits fills every devil-may-care fiber of Bialystock’s persona with all of it. He’s very funny and anchors the show beautifully.

As the nervously unsettled Bloom, Dan DeLuca does a fine job, especially when he gets to sing and dance which he does very well. He’s funny, but not crack-em-up funny, and the role of Bloom is more of a straight man for Bialystock. The two – Kravits’ Bialystock and DeLuca’s Bloom – make a fun and almost touching pair of rogues and fit together the neurotic energy of Bloom and the indulgently irreverent mania of Bialystok very nicely.

David Geffen first approached Mel Brooks to turn his film of The Producers into a musical.

As Ulla whatever-the-heck-her-name-is, Stephanie Gibson gives it her boisterous all and manages to radiate charm through all the silliness. As Carmen Ghia, sidekick to crazy Springtime for Hitler director Roger DeBris (John Scherer), Nathan Lee Graham is very out-there, over the top and full of sidesplitting maneuvers. As DeBris, John Scherer does a bang-up job of conveying, with a solid and convivial presence, what a truly over-the-top lunatic director might be like. As Franz Liebkind, the playwright of the great and hopefully disastrous script, a deranged Nazi and keeper of a trove of carrier pigeons, John Rapson takes the nut cake and delivers it with a cherry on top – he’s very amusing indeed.

Stage design by Eric Luchen is very well done, and, except for a glitch – one imagines it was something staging related – which caused a delay during the second act of the performance I saw, it was very impressively put together. Susan Stroman’s choreography still shines and the company pulls it off beautifully here. Richard Latta’s lighting had some bright moments and supported the goings-on nicely. William Ivey Long’s lovely and outrageous outfits worked very well all around. And the music managed by Jesse Kissel and Brian P. Whitted came off well, with a big band sound.

Mel Brooks first approached Jerry Herman, who wrote the music for Hello, Dolly! (1964) to do the music for The Producers, but Herman declined, and suggested that Mel Brooks, whom he regarded as a capable songwriter, write the music himself.

Thomas Meehan, who co-wrote this musical with Mel Brooks, had previously written the great book for the iconic musical hits Annie (1977) and Hairspray (2002), so he really knew what he was doing. He does not miss in his co-effort with Mel Brooks who, miraculously, co-authored the script and wrote the music and lyrics.

The book is full of witty lines and Mel Brooks’ talents and outrageousness are evident at every juncture. Indeed, it is a wonder that Brooks is so talented on all fronts – musical, lyrical and narrative – and does it all with gusto and endlessly outrageous humor. He’s a master of whatever it is that he does, and has made himself an international treasure in the process of realizing his talents.

The Producers was Mel Brooks’ first film. He directed it, never having directed a film before. It opened to mixed reviews. Subsequently, Brooks won the 1969 Academy Award for Best Screenplay for The Producers when the award was given two years after its release.

Capitalizing on bad taste towards humorous ends is, of course, one of Brooks’ strengths, and this show relies completely on that. In fact, that this show is about someone who tries to offend – and to make a success of it – is right out of the book of Brooks. As a self-reflection, it’s a great self-testament to Brooks’ success at being funny at being crude and offensive, an approach which might well have doomed others less talented at pulling it off.

Extra info: contains spoilers

Of course, Springtime for Hitler is a big success, which means a big failure for Max Bialystok. It looks as though Leopold might skip out and betray Bialystok, who, after the success of Springtime for Hitler and the exposure of his financing ruse, has been indicted for his deception. But Bloom doesn’t skip out on Bialystok. He returns, they both get five year jail terms, and, naturally, they go right to work producing a show in jail. Leopold and Ulla seem to remain a going thing, though we’ll have to wait for the sequel to see what develops on that front.

– BADMan (aka Charles Munitz)

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