www.theatreguide.com.au Supporting live theatre in Adelaide

PO Box 10278 [email protected] ADELAIDE BC SA 5000 ABN : 93 297 960 525

THE PRODUCERS Matt Byrne Media Arts Theatre Until 4 August 2007 (Shedley Theatre 9-11 August)

Review by John Wells

I could smell hubris in the air. An Adelaide company doing “The Producers” – the Mel Brooks show that took Broadway by the scruff of its neck and was showered with Tonys? Could an Adelaide amateur company do this show? Attempting a production of this impeccable and brilliantly-credentialed show is remarkably ambitious. With two films and the wildly successful stage musical already seared into the public consciousness, it is impossible to create an original rendering. Add to this the limited budget of amateur theatre and the risks of presenting a spectacular dud are high.

But this is no dud.

“The Producers” is by no means perfect, but it is an enjoyable, tight and funny show. With disciplined performances, and comical and precise characterisations, Director Glenn Vallen must take the credit for the success of this production.

“The Producers” is the story of the failed, bombastic Broadway producer Max Bialystock and his mousy accountant Leo Bloom. They plan to raise millions of dollars to produce a sure-fire flop, and then run off with the investors’ cash when the show closes. When they find “Springtime for Hitler”, a musical honouring the Fuhrer by a local Nazi, they think they’ve found their perfect turkey.

“The Producers” depends primarily on Bialystock and Bloom. If they are ineffective, the show cannot succeed. Here Bialystock and Bloom work very well together and this is the framework for this production’s success. Michael Williams sings well and is a beautifully nerdy, unsure Leo Bloom. He plays the straight man perfectly. There is a stability and constancy to his performance that anchors the rest of the cast. Matt Byrne (Max Bialystock) has a ball and his enjoyment shows – he is lecherous, conniving and Fagin-like. His comic timing is a little askew early on, but as the show progresses, Byrne hits his mark. For an amateur, he is a seasoned old pro and he knows how to deliver vaudevillian one-liners.

There are some immaculate supporting performances: Dirk Strachan as Carmen Ghia pushes gay into hilarious new realms of mincing queerness, Kim Clark as Roger DeBris also camps it up delightfully, Angus Smith as the Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind is angrily and Teutonically manic, and Michelle Brow’s silent khaki’d lesbian is scene-stealingly inane. There are some exceptional moments: the cooing pigeons, the Mardi Gras team of techies, the crescendo of “Springtime for Hitler”, and the Zimmer frame can-can stand out.

There are some low moments: the orchestra is too loud for the singers, the sound is annoyingly variable, the dancing is rudimentary and often out-of-step, there are long gaps during some scene changes, the pace fluctuates, and the sets are dismally drab. These problems undermine the production.

We can’t expect an amateur company to recreate the dazzle of a Broadway show, but this is a daring and rewarding attempt.