The Producers

There can’t be a show with more laughs-per-minute to be had than in The Producers; it’s an entirely irresistible and irrepressible confection of slapstick and sharp, satirical wit.

The Producers is a musical about an attempt to stage a truly terrible musical, and in the hands of Oxford Operatic Society, Musical Director Chris Payne and Director Edward Blagrove it is everything it should be - unsubtle, immature, crass and, most importantly, very, very funny. And not just funny in a camp, ironic manner, but intentionally, uproariously funny. Goose-stepping showgirls and randy old ladies abound. No punch line is too obvious, no stereotype too over the top; you can see many of the jokes coming but they still hit home when they arrive.

After a string of flops, Broadway producer Max Bialystock (a wonderfully frantic James Studds) hatches a plan, with his anxiety prone accountant Leo Bloom (a suitably neurotic and twitchy Andrew Stott), to gather investment for the most tasteless, appalling stage show they can think of, and pocket the cash when the show inevitably closes on opening night. To this end they enlist the 'talents' of Franz Liebkind (Tim Younger), an unbalanced Nazi playwright, and Roger de Bris (Guy Brigg, head to toe in sequins) a director who shares a very pink apartment with his "common law assistant" Carmen Ghia (a ludicrously camp Dave Crewe) and who sees no problem with pepping up the script by letting the Germans win the Second World War. As Bialystock and Bloom's voluptuous Swedish assistant Ulla, Hannah Veale is fabulous, creating a delightfully warm and likeable character from a part that usually only requires a comedy accent and an impressive body.

The choreography from Kirsty Beer and Joanne Cook is very strong throughout and the cast have risen to the challenge; the scene in which the stage fills with little old ladies tap dancing with their Zimmer frames is alone worth the ticket price and the jaw-dropping festival of bad taste that is Springtime for Hitler is an absolute delight.

Thank you, Oxford Operatic Society, for a wonderful evening and to anyone else reading this I highly recommend that you don’t miss this production!

Sarah White (Unverified), 20/05/10

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On the page The Producers is a great show but it is tricky to stage. Multiple scene changes and over-orchestrated musical numbers are just two of the difficulties and sadly, both these caught out Oxford Operatic Society last night. I look forward to the time when an orchestra accompanies a show, not drowns it. Having said that, a great deal of professionalism was on display on the stage. All the principals shone and the chorus (when they could be heard) had loads of energy and bounce.

Some amateur staging was occasionally on display but the audience left having had a good laugh and a good night out.

Roger (Unverified), 19/05/10

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Last night was the opening night of the Oxford Operatic Society’s production of Mel Brooks' spoof The Producers, directed by Edward Blagrove who, in his own words, has ‘never done anything like this before’. The opening scene is main character Max Bialystock’s latest Broadway show being slated. Here we get our first taste of lead James Studds’ incredible stage presence. Unfortunately this was accompanied by some teething problems. The chorus accompanying Studds was drowned out by the orchestra, a feature which was to come and go throughout the performance.

Scenery was changed to Bialystock’s office. This, again, caused some kerfuffle. The curtain came down to allow the set to be changed around but was accompanied by a general shuffle/dance by some cast members across in front of the curtain. This was temporarily effective but both the dancers and music finished too early and we were left staring at a blank curtain. This soon lifted to reveal the office scene and credit must go to the set designers here: all of the sets were immaculate and very believable.

It is here we first encounter Leopold Bloom, Max’s neurotic and bashful accountant. In this role Stott is simply superb. Being rather taller than Studds, he still manages to look like someone not quite comfortable in his own body while having a fantastic voice. This was demonstrated particularly well in ‘I wanna be a producer’. This scene again must have some credit given to the set designers as show-girls appeared rather nicely from inside a set of filing cabinets.

From this point on it was really all glory. The chemistry between Studds and Stott was a joy to watch, Studds being masterfully overbearing and wonderfully witty while Stott came across as timid but desperately trying to escape his shell. These following scenes introduced Hannah Veale playing Ulla and Tim Younger playing Franz Liebkind. Veale pulled off an amusing comedy Swedish accent and had an incredible voice for such a petite person. Younger’s entrance was sadly marred by microphone interference problems which peppered the performance throughout but was otherwise an extremely humorous Nazi.

While the problems with sound balance and the odd scene change issue (the set got in the way of some curtains) were most definitely present they did not detract from an utterly mesmerizing performance with plenty credit going to Studds and Stott. Other mentions for a beguiling performances should most certainly go to Guy Brigg as a fabulously camp Roger de Bris and to Dave Crew as Carmen Ghia. A great production of Mel Brooks' show and definitely worth going to see.

Yvonne Couch (Unverified), 19/05/10

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This show is brilliant! Funny, fast and outrageous. Amazing cast, costumes and scenery. NOT TO BE MISSED!

Linda (Unverified), 19/05/10

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An utterly fantastic show - awesome dancing, fantastic costumes and completely hilarious. Roger de Bris has universal appeal! It is impossible to believe this is not a professional cast. Anyone not going to see this is missing a treat.

Gilf (Unverified), 19/05/10

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What a fantastic show, we laughed until we cried. Not a single weak link and all the principals were just so well cast. Ox Ops are certainly at the top of the tree in amateur theatre.

Wallingford group (Unverified), 19/05/10

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Amazing! From the biggest role to the smallest chorus part, everything was just perfect. Oxford Operatic Society are the most professional group around with an awesome range of talent. Comic timing was fantastic and the old ladies scene was side splitting!

Amanda from Abingdon (Unverified), 19/05/10

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I have never written a comment before and you may think I am biased because I am related to a cast member but I simply have to say "WOW" what a fantastic show, really professional including brilliant acting, singing and even the costumes and scenery are amazing - the whole package. Refreshing to watch a musical with so much laughter- well worth every penny. So much so I for one will be going to watch it again. And if you still think I am biased go see for yourself! You won't be disappointed.

Roxy S. (Unverified), 19/05/10

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