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The film's absurd core vignette--the infamous "Springtime for Hitler"--if anything gains a few notches in hilarity when framed by a character-rich musical that comes off as both parody and valentine in its mimicry of Broadway's "golden age." Brooks (with the help of idiomatically expert arrangements by Glen Kelly) has cooked up a variety of numbers constituting a virtual primer of old-fashioned American musical comedy styles (there's even a toying with Cabaret-style decadence), but they're always coated with an extra layer of zaniness. In fact, the whole show becomes a Chinese box of parodies within parodies. But what really gets the whole mix working is a surefire cast headed by Nathan Lane playing Max Bialystock and Matthew Broderick doing a delightfully nebbish turn with delusions of misplaced glory as his sidekick, Leo Bloom.

From his first big number (musically winking at Fiddler on the Roof), Lane hungrily lays claim to the role, undaunted by his formidable predecessor, Zero Mostel. Even on disc, you can visualize his over-the-top mugging as a dethroned "king of Broadway" who was "the first producer ever to do summer stock in the winter." Comedy, as they say, is all about timing, and that's exactly what Lane gets right. His interactions with Bloom, Franz Liebkind (Brad Oscar), and Roger de Bris (Gary Beach) are priceless, even when only in sound. As for the tunes, Brooks crafts a number of truly memorable ones--don't be surprised to find yourself horrified as you hum along with "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop" and, of course, "Springtime for Hitler." --Thomas May

When the overture begins and the first strains of "Springtime for Hitler" are heard, you know you are in for an engaging, disarming event. Nathan Lane's mugging, particularly in his "Fiddler on the Roof" takeoff as "The King of Broadway" comes shining through. "West Side Story," "The Pajama Game," "Cabaret," and other Broadway classics are spoofed in beguiling musical parodies.

If you don't see the actual production on stage you may miss the sex-starved old ladies dancing desperately with their walkers or the sight gags and the cameo appearance of Stormtrooper Mel Himself, but this CD is worth every penny for its high energy performances captured for everyone to enjoy. And as a special bonus, the gloriously nutty repartee within the songs has been recorded so the listener gets the full flow of the story.


Back to the Future with Uncle Mel   April 29, 2001
 19 out of 20 found this review helpful

My wife and I were lucky enough to see the show in previews on Broadway and we haven't stopped laughing yet. The CD contains music which SOUNDS like tunes you've heard before -- even a casual listening will prompt you to think of Gypsy, Bye Bye Birdie, A Funny Thing Happened . . ., How To Succeed . . ., Fiddler on the Roof and at least a half-dozen other shows. It's as if someone dug this recording out of a circa 1950 time capsule.

This isn't meant to say the show is merely derivative. In fact, I consider the broadly familiar sound a strong positive factor. So is the madcap humor and pacing, both of the songs and the production as a whole.

Indeed, one of the show-stoppers on this cast recording is "The King of Old Broadway" and that's what this entire show is: a fabulous throwback to the old Broadway of classic American musical comedy of the mid-20th century. Three minutes into this CD you'll know you're NOT listening to a Disney show nor one composed by a Brit with three names.

Mel Brooks' tunes are catchy and singable and his lyrics are Noel Coward-sharp. (Just see if you can get these ditties out of your head!) The CD comes with a nice extra: extensive liner notes which include the complete lyrics and spoken interludes of every song.

The songs on the recording are well-played by an enthusiastic orchestra -- Glen Kelly's fine arrangements and orchestrations flesh out Mel's tunes. The singing is uniformly good, an occasional flat note not withstanding, and the interpreations are inspired. When Max/Nathan Lane tells Leo/Matthew Broderick near the end of the show, "I never realized you're a good singer" it's more than a line of dialogue. It's actually true.

If you're lucky enough to see the show, the CD is the ultimate souvenir. If you haven't seen it, the CD will more than tide you over until you do. And if "The Producers" inspires a renewal of the American musical comedy genre in the next few years (let's face it, success breeds imitation), then we all have Mel Brooks and company to thank or, to parody one of his own songs from the show:

Broadway going nowhere in a hurry . . . 'til him.

Bland and spiceless, never ever curry . . . 'til him.

Mel's schtick changed the Great White Way.

It's no longer prim.

Oi vay, let's hope there's at least another one . . . like him.


AT LAST, A "REAL" BROADWAY MUSICAL!   April 21, 2001
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

Shocking? Outrageous? Insulting? Of course, it wouldn't have been a Mel Brooks' movie classic if there hadn't been something in it to offend almost everyone. When I first saw The Producers thirty-some years ago I said to myself, "Self, wouldn't this be great as a musical? And I would have loved to do it myself (in my dreams), but Mel Brooks has finally beat me to it and now The Producers, The Musical is destined to become a Broadway classic!"

This recording allows you to forget the last several years of questionable Broadway musicals and return to a time when a Broadway show meant fun, laughs and music! Making his debut as a "Broadway" composer/lyricist Mel Brooks has captured the feel of some of Broadway's greatest songsmiths of the past and his music sparkles with touches of Styne, Loesser, and even Gershwin. His lyrics, however, are pure Brooks all the way. If you remember "Springtime For Hitler" and "Prisoners Of Love" from the original movie, you'll know what to expect from the 15 new fun numbers in the score.

The recording sounds great with just enough show dialogue to give it a live stage presence that a great Broadway Cast recording must have. But you have to expect this from a show with stars like Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. They are outstanding, and boy, is it going to be rough come Tonytime! Brooks has generously supplied each of them with showstoppers...solos and duets! And I can't wait to see Lane perform "The King Of Broadway" and "Betrayed" the second act number in which he reprises the entire show up to that point. Dear Mr. Letterman, if you would be so kind?

Producer, Hugh Forin, and Sony Classic should be congratulated for finally giving us a "real" Broadway Original Cast recording. Now, I can't wait to get the New York to see it in person!

By the way, isn't that Mr. Brooks doing a one line cameo in Springtime For Hitler? Listen close and let me know!


Saw the musical, counted the days until the CD came out!   April 24, 2001
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

I saw the pre-Broadway run of "The Producers" in Chicago and have never laughed so much and I had plenty of company. The whole theater was in the same state for the whole show. Now, Mel Brooks is no Richard Rodgers, Frederick Lowe, or George Gershwin. However, the tunes are pleasing and catchy. He does give Oscar Hammerstein, Alan Lerner, and Ira Gershwin a run for their money with the lyrics. There are so many jokes in the songs that I keep finding new ones every time I listen to the CD. Nathan Lane is different from Zero Mostel but has the stage prescence to pull off the role, both acting and singing. I had a harder time with Matthew Broderick in the Gene Wilder role. I kept seeing and hearing him as a smart alecky teenager a la "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." However, he does a good job playing the neurotic, socially inept, and (this is not in the movie)sexually repressed Leo Bloom. He also has a decent voice. Standouts on the CD include Max's King of Broadway and Betrayed, Leo's I Wanna Be a Producer, Franz Leibkind's Guten Tag Hop Clop, Ulla's If You Got It, Flaunt It, and Roger De Bris's Keep It Gay. Max's seduction of Leo into his scheme is beautifully detailed in We Can Do It. I love all the other songs on the CD as well. Be forewarned, this is not a G or PG rated CD. A few of the lyrics are raunchy so if you have young children or are offended by 4 letter words, think twice before you buy this.


A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE TONYS   June 4, 2001
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

While waiting for tickets to THE PRODUCERS - and if you haven't already secured them you could be in for a long wait - you can savor the great moments from the score courtesy of Sony's original cast disc. This is one of the best cast albums to come from Sony since the days of Goddard Lieberson.

Produced by Hugh Fordin the CD captures the fun and spirit of the award-laden musical comedy. The booklet includes a detailed synopsis and a libretto, though neither is really necessary. Play the disc and you can easily follow the story. There are welcome bits of dialogue to bridge the songs and Mel Brooks seems quite happy to give away some of the shows best jokes. For more see the color photos in the booklet: A finale shot shows the marquees of some other Bialystock & Bloom musicals: MAIM, SOUTH PASSAIC and HIGH BUTTON JEWS among others.

If you are already a fan of Mel Brooks or know the 1967 film which inspired the musical, you have an inkling the tasteless lunacy that runs merrily through the CD's 73 minutes. But there is more. Nathan Lane was impressive with his 1996 revival of A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, but here he sinks his teeth into the character of Max Bialystock the self-proclaimed "king of old Broadway." Lane does not posses a huge voice but his manic, over the top delivery enlivens the proceedings from the start. Listen to his late second act madcap recap of the plot to hear comic timing at its absolute best!

As his partner in crime, Matthew Broderick again displays a sweet-voiced innocence that masks his cut-throat ways. Broderick played a similar viper in the 1995 revival of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. Here he is given fewer opportunities to shine but he makes the most of "I Wanna Be a Producer" and the tender "'Til Him."

The rest of the cast are given their moments to shine but its Gary Beach who leads the showstopping "Springtime for Hitler" production number. Cady Huffman who impressed critics as Ziegfeld's favorite in THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES is once again cast as a blonde bombshell, this time with a German accent. "When You Got, Flaunt it" she sings ...and indeed she does.

Mel Brooks is named as composer of the score, and indeed he created the melodies by humming them into a tape recorder. The transcribing was done by Glen Kelly who remains an unsung hero for this musical. Kelly's transcriptions were orchestrated in traditional brassy Broadway style by Doug Besterman and played with great panache by a somewhat enlarged orchestra crisply conducted by Patrick S. Brady.

If Brooks had some assistance with the tunes, the lyrics are all his and there are jokes to spare: Brad Oscar as the title character in SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER declares himself "the German Ethel Merman" employing a Merman-esque twang as he sings the line; A chorus line of little old ladies do a tap dance using their walkers; A wildly inventive choreographer spins visions of "German Soldiers dancing through France played by chorus boys in very tight pants."

It is refreshing in an era of political correctness, when classic musical have to have their scores "adjusted" for modern consumption, that Mel Brooks seems so willing to risk offending every segment of the audience. We laugh at every tasteless joke and he laughs all the way to the bank!