I went to see The Producers tonight at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane. I heard a few weeks ago that Richard Dreyfuss was pulling out of the show and that Nathan Lane, who created the role of Max Biyalistock on Broadway, was filling in for a few months. I rushed down to Leicester Square to buy a ticket-I didn't care if anyone came with me, I HAD to get tickets to see him before it was too late.
Tonight was the previews, Opening Night isn't until November 9th. I entered the theatre around 7:15 through the door marked "Balcony," which is down the street from the glamorous and glittering front entrance-it's an architectural signal to those of us in the nosebleed seats that maybe we don't deserve such a grand entrance. After climbing what seemed like endless cement stairs (no carpet for us cheapies), I emerged on the balcony (this is above the stalls and three other balconies called 'Circles') and had to hold onto the handrail for dear life as vertigo set in. I swear, I'd never been so high up in a theatre before, and there was very little railing to save me if I happened to topple over on my way up the steep staircase. I actually thought for a split second that I wasn't going to be able to make the climb to my seat, but I quickly found my nerve, grabbed that handrail and inched my way up. Once I was seated, I was okay. There was a nice couple from Sussex sitting beside me who showed me how to "hire" the opera classes stashed in the seat in front of me (50 pence) and we chatted. I'd tell you what the theatre was like inside, but honestly I was still recovering from the overwhelming fear of falling right off the cliff face/balcony that I really wasn't looking.
The show itself was fabulous-maybe one of the best shows I've ever seen. It has lots of flash, high-end dance numbers and spectacles that you would expect from the Golden Age of Broadway, but with a sarcastic Mel Brooks twist...dancing girls fly out of accountants' filing cabinets, there is a large dance number featuring little old ladies with silver walkers, there is a song sung by a number of characters who are "in the theatre", of questionable sexuality and who resemble the Village People called "Keep it Gay" (keep it HAPPY, people. Where are your brains? In the gutter?) The whole show had me belly laughing.
For those of you who haven't seen the original movie on which this musical is based, it's about a down-on-his-luck theatre producer, Max Biyalistock (Nathan Lane), whose last show, "Funny Boy," a musical about Hamlet, had closed in one day. His mild-mannered accountant, Leo Bloom (played on Broadway by Matthew Broderick, played here by Lee Evans, a famous British comedian who North Americans will remember as the guy who pretended to be crippled to date Cameron Diaz in 'There's Something About Mary'), comes to do the books and remarks that Max could probably make more money with a show that was a flop and some fancy number-crunching. Max thinks this is a great idea, convinces Leo to take a chance on his dream of being a Broadway producer, and join him in this latest venture-Max is the loverboy of many the rich old lady who would be more than happy to put up money for their flop (hence the musical number called "Little Old Lady Land").
So, Max and Leo set out to find the worst show ever, directed by the worse director ever, with the worst cast...they want a show that will flop in a day, so that they can keep all the investments. The show they eventually produce is called "Springtime for Hitler." The director, however, wants to do something musical and upbeat, so they fudge history a little and Hitler wins the war, after a tap dance-off with Stalin, Churchill and a wheelchair bound FDR. We are actually treated to a performance-within-a-performance of "Springtime for Hitler" which was definitely the best part of the show: a very gay dancing Hitler, dancing Nazis, Eva Braun in a showgirl's outfit, and parachuters in the finale. The show is SO unpolitically correct, but if you stop to think about it, you miss the point. It's good natured humor. The whole cast was very very funny...and apparently alot of them are famous British personalities because people applauded wildly at the entrances of some characters and I had to whisper to the English couple next to me to find out who they were. Lee Evans as Leo was possibly the most BENDY person I'd ever seen-it's really hard to describe his physical comedy but it always looks like one leg might be shorter than the other, or that he's about to trip, or that he might lose control of his arms and let them flail wildly. He was hilarious if a little tentative as a singer, and of course, Nathan Lane stole the show anyway.
Aaaaaah, Nathan. He was magnifique. It was so surreal to be watching him through my little opera glasses and realize, "He's right there! Nathan Lane is right there!" I resisted the urge to wave at him, and firmly told myself that NO, he probably wouldn't invite me backstage to meet the cast and/or possibly audition of I could just make eye contact. The show is definitely his and although he's probably performed it thousands of times, it still felt fresh and ad-libbed. His comedic timing is incredible. He and Matthew Broderick are going to the "The Producers" as a movie next-I will definitely go to see it to watch him again!
I was in a happy theatre-bubble all the way home on the bus, and I skipped down the street to my flat humming "Springtime for Hitler". My flatmate Jim's mom had mailed us a huge box of brownies and chocolate chip cookies so I splurged on a brownie as my flatmates let me rattle on and on about how great the show was.
I really think I might be addicted to London theatre now. I can't wait for my next show! I'm already thinking about RSC's Hamlet and when I'm going to go see it. Don't worry, I won't turn this into a Dani's-Theatre-Review-Blog, I'll try and do other exciting things (I DID visit the Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum this week, and the world's largest teapot), but I am just so in awe of what's literally right outside my door in terms of theatre and the arts...it's worth coming to London just to see shows, and especially this one...
Tonight was the previews, Opening Night isn't until November 9th. I entered the theatre around 7:15 through the door marked "Balcony," which is down the street from the glamorous and glittering front entrance-it's an architectural signal to those of us in the nosebleed seats that maybe we don't deserve such a grand entrance. After climbing what seemed like endless cement stairs (no carpet for us cheapies), I emerged on the balcony (this is above the stalls and three other balconies called 'Circles') and had to hold onto the handrail for dear life as vertigo set in. I swear, I'd never been so high up in a theatre before, and there was very little railing to save me if I happened to topple over on my way up the steep staircase. I actually thought for a split second that I wasn't going to be able to make the climb to my seat, but I quickly found my nerve, grabbed that handrail and inched my way up. Once I was seated, I was okay. There was a nice couple from Sussex sitting beside me who showed me how to "hire" the opera classes stashed in the seat in front of me (50 pence) and we chatted. I'd tell you what the theatre was like inside, but honestly I was still recovering from the overwhelming fear of falling right off the cliff face/balcony that I really wasn't looking.
The show itself was fabulous-maybe one of the best shows I've ever seen. It has lots of flash, high-end dance numbers and spectacles that you would expect from the Golden Age of Broadway, but with a sarcastic Mel Brooks twist...dancing girls fly out of accountants' filing cabinets, there is a large dance number featuring little old ladies with silver walkers, there is a song sung by a number of characters who are "in the theatre", of questionable sexuality and who resemble the Village People called "Keep it Gay" (keep it HAPPY, people. Where are your brains? In the gutter?) The whole show had me belly laughing.
For those of you who haven't seen the original movie on which this musical is based, it's about a down-on-his-luck theatre producer, Max Biyalistock (Nathan Lane), whose last show, "Funny Boy," a musical about Hamlet, had closed in one day. His mild-mannered accountant, Leo Bloom (played on Broadway by Matthew Broderick, played here by Lee Evans, a famous British comedian who North Americans will remember as the guy who pretended to be crippled to date Cameron Diaz in 'There's Something About Mary'), comes to do the books and remarks that Max could probably make more money with a show that was a flop and some fancy number-crunching. Max thinks this is a great idea, convinces Leo to take a chance on his dream of being a Broadway producer, and join him in this latest venture-Max is the loverboy of many the rich old lady who would be more than happy to put up money for their flop (hence the musical number called "Little Old Lady Land").
So, Max and Leo set out to find the worst show ever, directed by the worse director ever, with the worst cast...they want a show that will flop in a day, so that they can keep all the investments. The show they eventually produce is called "Springtime for Hitler." The director, however, wants to do something musical and upbeat, so they fudge history a little and Hitler wins the war, after a tap dance-off with Stalin, Churchill and a wheelchair bound FDR. We are actually treated to a performance-within-a-performance of "Springtime for Hitler" which was definitely the best part of the show: a very gay dancing Hitler, dancing Nazis, Eva Braun in a showgirl's outfit, and parachuters in the finale. The show is SO unpolitically correct, but if you stop to think about it, you miss the point. It's good natured humor. The whole cast was very very funny...and apparently alot of them are famous British personalities because people applauded wildly at the entrances of some characters and I had to whisper to the English couple next to me to find out who they were. Lee Evans as Leo was possibly the most BENDY person I'd ever seen-it's really hard to describe his physical comedy but it always looks like one leg might be shorter than the other, or that he's about to trip, or that he might lose control of his arms and let them flail wildly. He was hilarious if a little tentative as a singer, and of course, Nathan Lane stole the show anyway.
Aaaaaah, Nathan. He was magnifique. It was so surreal to be watching him through my little opera glasses and realize, "He's right there! Nathan Lane is right there!" I resisted the urge to wave at him, and firmly told myself that NO, he probably wouldn't invite me backstage to meet the cast and/or possibly audition of I could just make eye contact. The show is definitely his and although he's probably performed it thousands of times, it still felt fresh and ad-libbed. His comedic timing is incredible. He and Matthew Broderick are going to the "The Producers" as a movie next-I will definitely go to see it to watch him again!
I was in a happy theatre-bubble all the way home on the bus, and I skipped down the street to my flat humming "Springtime for Hitler". My flatmate Jim's mom had mailed us a huge box of brownies and chocolate chip cookies so I splurged on a brownie as my flatmates let me rattle on and on about how great the show was.
I really think I might be addicted to London theatre now. I can't wait for my next show! I'm already thinking about RSC's Hamlet and when I'm going to go see it. Don't worry, I won't turn this into a Dani's-Theatre-Review-Blog, I'll try and do other exciting things (I DID visit the Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum this week, and the world's largest teapot), but I am just so in awe of what's literally right outside my door in terms of theatre and the arts...it's worth coming to London just to see shows, and especially this one...