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June 6, 2008
Play about a hit "flop" is a hit
Jay Brazeau and Josh Epstein provide a laugh-a-minute in classic.
BAILA LAZARUS
Not a seat empty, not a complementary ticket wasted – opening night of The Producers at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage was definitely a hot ticket.
It's a testament to the writing, music and lyrics of the play that a production that has been around this long, in one form or another, still draws a packed house. I mean, surely everyone has seen either the original Mel Brooks 1968 film (staring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder) or the Broadway musical that ran for more than 2,500 performances or the recent film version starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, who had also starred in the theatrical production. Everyone, that is, except yours truly.
Standing in the lobby at the Stanley Theatre, I had a bit of an ET flashback. Somehow, back in 1982, I missed the film that was getting everyone to eat Reese's Pieces and phone home (in a raspy voice). I was on the outside of the cultural references and, when I finally rented the film years later, of course it had far less of an impact on me. It was OK, but nothing stellar.
So, standing in the theatre lobby, I had this fear that, after so many years of hearing people rave about The Producers and, of course, not having Lane or Broderick to look forward to in this performance, it might be a let-down.
Though I was familiar with the quality work of the two leads – Jay Brazeau and Josh Epstein – I didn't trust that the local thespians could carry the day. And what if I didn't like it? How was I to write that down on a piece of paper (OK, laptop) after 40 years of accolades?
I didn't have to worry. The play was brilliant.
Brazeau is perfect as the failing director Max Bialystock, who seduces elderly women in order to get money out of them to back his productions. Epstein is hilarious as the boring accountant-turned-schemer Leopold Bloom, who gives Max the idea that if they get dozens of investors for a play that is so bad it closes after one night, they'll get fabulously rich. Leo is so insecure that he falls into a manic fit (done deliciously by Epstein) when Max takes away his favorite little blue blanket and he induces convulsive laughter when he stutters the words "baby" and sings, "There's more to me than there is to me."
For the few people who have not seen the play, the plot goes like this: the two schemers get all the little old ladies to invest. If the play's a flop, the producers'll keep the money; if it's successful, they'll go to jail. So they find the worst play ever written – Springtime for Hitler – that's "certain to offend all races, creeds and religions."
By all measures, the play should have been a disaster. The production is a cheery look at the life of Hitler, actually celebrating the Nazis' victory over Europe. The director is a talentless, egotistical fop and the lead character breaks his leg and is replaced by the deranged former Nazi who wrote the play in the first place.
Unfortunately for the producers, no matter how hard they try to make the play fail, it turns out to be a Max's greatest success, with reviews that call it a "satirical masterpiece."
When the police come to arrest Max for fraud, Leo takes off with the sexy office assistant and Max is tossed in jail. This is about the only part in the whole show that drags – when Max is singing alone in jail, but it's just one song, and maybe there's an audience member or two who liked it.
Leo finally comes back so Max won't have to bear the entire guilt, and the two go to prison together and write another script – Prisoners of Love. That play's a hit as well, and they are pardoned by the governor.
Except for quite a bit of swearing, there's no reason why everyone should not see this play. If you've seen it before, you'll love it again; if you've never seen it, you'll discover what everyone's talking about.
The Producers runs at the Arts Club Stanley stage (2750 Granville) until July 13. The show plays Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. Call the Arts Club box office at 604-687-1644 or visit www.artsclub.com for tickets.
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and illustrator living in Vancouver. Her work can be seen at www.orchiddesigns.net.
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