REVIEW: Workshop Theatre Delivers the Goods with The Producers Revival by Jerry Crouch
This revival all-star production of The Producers at Workshop Theatre confidently confirmed the starring duet's promise last Saturday night with We Can Do It! after one showstopping number after another, peppered with Mel Brooks' signature, smart ass repartee as an added bonus! This reviewer, along with a cheering, fan base audience, barely had time to catch our breaths between sassy songs, delicious sight gags, dynamic dances, and adult only one liners. Seeing Workshop Theatre's The Producers is akin to eagerly awaiting reuniting with your raucous, raunchy high school classmates, anticipating you are going to laugh with longtime friends, recall hijinks, and remember wonderful, shared memories.
The Producers is a musical comedy adapted from Brooks' iconic 1967 film starring the legendary, comedic duo of Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. When Hello Dolly composer, Jerry Herman turned down Mel Brooks offer to compose music and lyrics for a proposed Broadway version of The Producers – Jerry's advice to Mel was simply “to do it yourself.” This advice led to a historic theatrical red-carpet trip for a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards and over 2,500 performances in 2001, ably aided by book writer, Thomas Meehan of Annie fame. But enough about Producers' hysterical history, let's get to the raves and reviews evident for Workshop's current production – lovingly revived from an earlier Workshop 2009 production!
On Broadway, Mostel and Wilder were replaced by the masterful comic genius of Nathan Lane and the underwhelming star power of Matthew Broderick. Last night I witnessed the dawning of a supporting player rising to meet his leading man destiny as Max Bialystock in the charming, charismatic personage of Bill Bentley! The dapper, determined Bentley plays against the traditional frumpy character type and brings home the bacon in such energetic numbers as The King of Broadway, Along Came Bialy and the incredible tongue-twisting lyrics of Betrayed. And if ever an actor was meant to step into a divinely matched role – it is the pitch perfect Jack Bingham as the delightfully panic-stricken, blanket-addicted Leo Bloom! His lyric moments in I Wanna Be a Producer, Leo and Max and That Face are pure joy. Leo's romantic target is the long-legged, sultry Swede, Ulla played by veteran chanteuse, Katherine Margo Brown, making good on her proclamation promise that If You've Got It, Flaunt It! And she certainly did!
The Workshop supporting players in The Producers are all legendary community theatre icons in their own right --- Julian Deleon, Jerimy Woodall and Von Huber are a hoot and a holler with their very own spotlight steals - Jerimy as an ex-Nazi soldier making every moment count in his wicked songs In Old Bavaria and Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop (clog dancing with Max and Leo). Offer up Julian as the diva drag performer, Roger de Bris (worthy of RuPaul's Drag Race top crown) coupled with Von as his outrageous boy toy, the effusive Carmen Ghia. This fiery battling duo (with gay chorus of course) akin to the Village People's YMCA gay eighties anthem in Keep It Gay is rainbow bright. Add to this talent – a wealth of hungry, eager local celebrity ensemble members – among them Chris Kruzner [playing at least 46 cameo roles in a cast of only 23], Jennifer Kraus, Ed Davis, Sara Slaughter, Kelsey McGarrigan, Wayne Wright, Evan Cook and a talented parading chorus of sex-starved, investor grannies, auditioning pushy backstage stars and so, so very desperate Prisoners of Love. Special mention goes to Absalom Oliver whose committed high kick dancing was notable and lethal.
None of this polished brass irreverent hilarity is possible without a laser-focused Creative Team intent on sending the audience into a stratosphere of fevered, measured applause. That team is led by veteran director Hans Boeschen who keeps the fast and furious energy leveled at a hair's breadth balance greatly aided by Kathy Seppamaki and Josh Diveley serving as the superb Musical Director and excellent Assistant Director to Boeschen! The dynamic choreography for this production is by Workshop's Choreo Queen, Roxanne Livingston Rich and 'rich, inventive and outstanding' are only a few of the superlatives you can heap on her dances' strategic staging. Set Design and Costume Design are ably furnished by Patrick Faulds and lovingly satirized by Andie Nicks. Running it all from backstage is Amy Husmann, Stage Manager. And of course, none of this tribe would be present and accounted for without Workshop Theatre's resident den mother, Jeni McCaughan, their long time Executive Director with her Sound Board/Photographer husband, Dean McCaughan.
The Producers continues next Thursday, Friday and Saturday
September 25-26-27 with 8:00 pm performances at Cottingham Theatre, 1301 Columbia College Drive, 29203. workshoptheatreofsc.com