WHAT’S HAPPENING BROADWAY FANS? We are exactly 16 DAYS from starting the holiday season with a bang!! In its 100th anniversary, New York becomes a MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We got many more legendary iconic performances heading your way from Broadway that took part in this legendary tradition on our TOP 30 BROADWAY AT MACY’S COUNTDOWN.
At # 16 on our countdown, we travel back in time to New York City in 1959. This show is an ultimate madcap musical comedy centering on a legendary producer and a newbie producer (after many years of accounting) who purposely attempt to put on the Greatest Musical Theater Flop ever in a plot to make more money out of it. This is life of….. THE PRODUCERS. The show features a score by Mel Brooks, along with a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan. It’s based on Brooks’ 1968 film of the same name.
From the 2002 telecast, TV star Steven Webber who stepped in as a replacement for the role of the mousy accountant “Leo Bloom” fantasizes a life in the Theater with some flashy golden chorus girls, as he sings the classic wishing praise…… I WANNA BE A PRODUCER.
THE PRODUCERS was first conceived as a stage musical in 1999. Years following the success of the original 1968 film, Mel Brooks was recommended by David Geffen that he should write a full musical version of his own films. His original collaborator was originally going to be Tony winner Jerry Herman. However, he denied and encouraged Brooks’ to do the score himself since he was an amazing songwriter (plus he wrote the film’s signature tune SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER). Along with Brooks doing the score, he hired Thomas Meehan to help expand the story. In addition, husband and wife directing/choreographing duo Mike Ockrent and Susan Stroman came on board as well. However, Ockrent unexpectedly died in 1999 when Stroman continued to take on full leadership and director and choreographer by herself. The musical took 2 years of early development labs.
THE PRODUCERS had its world premiere out-of-town tryout in 2001 in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. It received positive praise and was widely hailed as an instant classic and one of the best pre-Broadway tryouts in theater history. Chicago audiences gave the show standing ovations and roared with laughter. The production’s success in Chicago brought the show a super boost up attention in NYC.
A few months later, THE PRODUCERS opened at Broadway’s St. James Theatre.
The show was well received and became a commercial box office hit!!
It played for an incredible 7 YEARS playing 33 PREVIEWS and 2,502 REGULAR PERFORMANCES.
Under the direction of Susan Stroman, the cast starred…
Tony winner Nathan Lane (later Henry Goodman, Brad Oscar, Lewis J. Stalden, Tony Danza, John Treacy Egan, & Richard Kind) as “Max Bialystok,
Tony winner Matthew Broderick (later Don Stephenson, Roger Bart, Steven Weber, Hunter Foster, and Alan Ruck) as “Leo Bloom”,
Tony winner Cady Huffman (later Sarah Cornell and Angie Schwoer) as “Ulla”,
the late Tony winner Gary Beach (later John Treacy Egan, Lee Roy Reams, and Jonathan Freeman) as “Roger De Bris”,
Roger Bart (later Brooks Ashmanskas, Sam Harris, Brad Musgrove, and Jai Rodriguez) as “Carmen Ghia”,
Brad Oscar (later Jim Borstellmann, John Treacy Egan, Peter Samuel, and Bill Nolte) as “Franz Liepkind”,
and more.
The show grossed more than $3.5 million following its opening week. Lines would go all the way around the block for tickets. You could NOT get a ticket to see it. However, when both Lane and Broderick departed, the ticket sales started to go downhill. However, both actors returned to the show in 2004 for a limited 5 month engagement.
THE PRODUCERS was nominated for 15 Tony Awards that very same year and won a record breaking 12 consisting of….
The top honor for BEST MUSICAL,
BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL (for Nathan Lane),
BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL (for Gary Beach),
BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL (for Cady Huffman),
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL (for Susan Stroman),
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY (for Susan Stroman),
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (for Mel Brooks),
BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL (for Thomas Meehan and Mel Brooks),
BEST ORCHESTRATIONS (for Doug Besterman),
BEST SCENIC DESIGNER (for Robin Wagner),
BEST COSTUME DESIGN (for William Ivey Long),
&
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN (for Peter Kaczorowski).
The show also won glory at the Drama Desk Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award, and its cast album also won the Grammy for BEST MUSICAL THEATER ALBUM.
Following its Broadway run, the show went on to be a worldwide hit in London’s West End winning the Olivier Award (with Lane reprising his performance as “Max Bialystock”), touring across America, and around the world.
A current revival of the show is in London now, initially starting Off West End at the Meiner Chocolate Factory. It later moved to the Garrick Theatre where it continues to play to packed houses.
Following the success of the stage musical, a 2005 film remake (featuring the songs from the Broadway show) was made reuniting the whole original creative team majority of the original cast (including Lane and Broderick) However, the only 2 major cast changes were in the film only. With Stroman recreating her direction and staging on film, the cast starred…
Nathan Lane reprising his Broadway performance as “Max Bialystotck”,
Matthew Broderick reprising his Broadway performance as “Leo Bloom”,
Uma Thurman as “Ulla”,
Gary Beach reprising his Broadway performance as “Roger De Bris”,
Roger Bart reprising his Broadway performance as “Carmen Ghia”,
Will Ferrell as “Franz Liepkind”,
and more.
THE PRODUCERS is also being performed in schools, community, and regional theatres around the world today.
Isn’t this show an ultimate love letter to Broadway?!!
#BroadwayAtMacys #Top30Countdown #MacysParade #Thanksgiving #CountdowntoThanksgiving #Top30BroadwayAtMacysCountdown
WATCH THE PRODUCERS MACY’S PERFORMANCE HERE
https://youtu.be/wi9ibDevE98?is=NDZXnUbkYInEJeWt
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