What do you get when you combine singing and dancing Nazis, a nymphomaniac shiksa, barrels of adolescent humor and gay men so effeminate they would make Andy Dick seem butch in comparison? Why, it could only be Mel Brooks’ “The Producers,” of course.
After a run of some 2,500 performances on Broadway, garnering a dozen Tony Awards and spawning a film adaptation starring original Broadway cast members Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, the rights to “The Producers” have finally been released into the wider world. And Kurt Terrio’s Carousel Dinner Theatre has taken the ball and gleefully run with it.
The show centers on hapless Broadway producer Max Bialystock, whose track record of failed shows is rivaled only by the string of little old ladies he beds to secure funding. When timid accountant Leo Bloom shows up to do Max’s books, he stumbles upon an interesting notion: Given the right circumstances, a producer could conceivably make more money on a flop than on a hit.
That is music to Bialystock’s ears, because if anyone has the, er, talent to succeed at failure, it is he. Bialystock and Bloom recruit the slightly mad drag queen director Roger DeBris (who for some reason doesn’t wear a wig even when he is decked out in an evening gown).
And they dig up a script titled “Springtime for Hitler,” written by the most definitely mad Franz Liebkind. Throw in a Swedish blond bombshell named Ulla who likes to exercise in the mornings, then “. . . have shex at 11,” and let the games begin.
Terrio directed this show himself, and he has put together a great cast capable of pulling off the demands of dancing, singing and acting in a complicated production, and doing all three exceedingly well. Bialystock has to carry much of the load, and Scott Rathbun acquits himself admirably in the role. He has the big, yet refined voice of a veteran musical-theater performer, but he also has excellent comic timing and acting chops.
But this show is all about dancing, dancing, dancing. And costumes. Lots and lots of costumes. There must be close to 100 costumes appearing on a cast of a dozen or so performers, and each new group outdoes the previous one. Sadly, “The Producers” is the last show here for Rebecca Spafford, Carousel’s resident costume designer.
From the start, the stage is rarely free from a manic collection of whirling, frenetic dancers decked out in anything from skimpy usherette outfits, to jackets made of dollar bills, to swastikas, pretzels, wienerschnitzel, a tank and even a hat resembling a Nazi eagle. Choreographer Christopher D. Kirby has put together a seamless series of dance numbers, including a hilarious tap-dance and aluminum walker routine featuring a pack of Bialystock’s blue-haired paramours. Kirby also serves hilariously as Carmen Ghia, DeBris’ fragile drama queen of an assistant, and somehow he does all that while serving drinks at Carousel’s bar.
Rathbun’s partner in crime is Colin Harrington as the nebbish Leo, and the chemistry between the two is perfect. Harrington’s voice is a crystal- clear tenor and stands up well to Rathbun’s deeper voice. Another favorite is Sky Cash as the delightfully dim-witted and, not incidentally, smoking-hot Ulla. She doesn’t come on until the end of Act I, but she steals the show with her audition number for the two entranced producers. Nick Madsen as the demented Nazi playwright is also hysterical — a giant, angry, Aryan man- child.
It’s a silly show, true. But Brooks’ brand of humor, while it may have been risque back in 1968 when the first film version of “The Producers” came out, has, over time, gone from bawdy to merely naughty — perfect for musical theater.
And even though the jokes tend to appeal to the 14-year- old boy in all of us, there are also clever theater in-jokes peppered throughout and enough genuine wit to satisfy our adult side, as well.
The Producers ***1/2 (out of four stars)
Musical comedy. Carousel Dinner Theatre, 3509 S. Mason St., Fort Collins. By Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan. Directed by Kurt Terrio. 2 hours, 50 minutes. Through Oct. 25. 7:45 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; 1:45 p.m. Sundays (dinner seating 90 minutes before). Thursday shows begin Sept. 18. $34-$44. 970-225-2555.
