Hype can backfire, inflating expectations far beyond the realm of potential satisfaction. But when it comes to this dreamy musical comedy, lovingly crafted in a deliciously old-fashioned style by Mel Brooks (co-librettist and songwriter), Thomas Meehan (co-librettist), and Susan Stroman (director/ choreographer), one can throw caution to the wind. Upon my first viewing of this explosively hilarious and glitteringly packaged Broadway juggernaut, I'm anxious to add a new superlative to the show's endless list of accolades: It's the finest bus-and-truck production I've ever seen.
For once and for all, this West Coast premiere run of the national tour shatters the myth that this show depends on marquee names or particular stars. The stars of this property are the scintillating wit of the material, ingeniously expanded from Brooks' classic 1968 non-musical film, and Stroman's seamlessly integrated staging, which maximizes the humor as well as the musical and visual pleasures. Perching precariously among camp, genuine heart, and politically incorrect satire, the wonder of this show is that it scores on all counts yet plays out as a marvelously cohesive whole.
Then there are those performances. In the lead role of snake-in-the-grass Broadway producer Max Bialystock, who hustles rich octogenarian widows, Lewis J. Stadlen is divinely demented in a Jackie Gleason sort of way yet is somehow endearing. He imbues this role with the Borscht Belt shtick that's called for, pulling off one bravura comic bit after another, culminating in his smashing five-minute "Rose's Turn" type nervous-breakdown number, "Betrayed." Don Stephenson interprets the part of Max's basket-case sidekick, Leo Bloom, an accountant/wannabe producer, with uncommon wit and style. At times his performance recalls Gene Wilder's portrayal in the film, though in his spry efforts as a song-and-dance comic he's perhaps more reminiscent of Donald O'Connor. Individually and collectively, Stadlen and Stephenson's work owes apologies to no one.
And the scene-stealing turns don't stop there. Lee Roy Reams creates comic bliss in his double-whammy role of the flamboyantly gay, egocentric director Roger De Bris, who—in Ruby Keeler fashion—ends up stepping in as a fruity Fuhrer in Max's unexpectedly successful new musical, Springtime for Hitler. As Roger's flighty live-in assistant, the hilarious Michael Paternostro swishes his way across the stage with unbridled glee. Angie Schworer's statuesque Swedish bombshell Ulla is a nonstop delight, singing and dancing up a storm and displaying dead-on comic timing. Fred Applegate's warbling, loose-cannon Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind might be scary if he wasn't so side-splittingly funny.
You won't find a more dazzling production design: Robin Wagner's Technicolor-inspired sets, Peter Kaczorowski's splendiferous lighting tricks, and William Ivey Long's uproarious costumes. Doug Besterman's orchestrations and Don York's musical direction (supervised by Glen Kelly) provide a big, brassy Broadway sound that enriches Brooks' tuneful and riotously funny score.
Forward-thinking musicals of the Sondheim ilk are great, but it's heartening that some creative artists can still deliver the enduring blend of lighthearted comedy, romance, and toe-tapping music that launched the musical comedy tradition. As heir apparents to the great artists of vaudeville and Broadway, the creators of The Producers remind us why we fell in love with this glorious art form in the first place.
"The Producers," presented by Rocco Landesman, Clear Channel Entertainment, The Frankel/Baruch/Viertel/Routh Group, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Rick Steiner, Robert F.X. Silverman, and Mel Brooks, in association with James D. Stern/Douglas Meyer, at the San Diego Civic Theatre, 3rd and B Street, San Diego. Weds. 7 p.m., Thurs. 2 & 7:30 p.m., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2 & 8 p.m., Sun. 1 & 6 p.m. Through Jan. 12. $29.50-78. (619) 570-1100.