The Producers

by DICK KEREKES
The Orange Park Community Theatre is closing its season with the North Florida premier of the twelve Tony Awards winning play, Mel Brooks’ The Producers. The show runs through Saturday June 27th, at 2900 Moody Blvd in Orange Park. Call 276-2599 for information and reservations or visit their website at www.opct.org.
It is that time of the year when community theaters finish up their 2008-09 seasons, and I take time to review what I have seen throughout the year. Coming across the finish line as not only the funniest musical of the year but funniest any kind of play is the current production of The Producers. If you go see this show and do not laugh, you obviously have passed away and don’t know it.
The Producers has an interesting history. Mel Brooks wrote and directed the l968 movie version, but it was almost not released by the studio, who considered it tasteless and insensitive, but the late actor Peter Sellers pushed its distribution and it opened to a limited audience and less than rave reviews. It eventually became almost a “cult” film and is on the list of many critics as one of the best all time comedies. Brooks then penned the music and turned it into a Broadway sensation 30 years later. It played for six years and 2,502 performances and generated more than $1 billion in ticket sales.
It is the story that a Broadway producer and accountant decide that by staging the worst possible play with the worst director and actors, they can be guaranteed a flop and run off with the money from inventors. The duo finds a truly lousy -loser of a script in Springtime For Hitler, A Gay Romp With Adolf And Eva At Berchtesgaden written by a crazy old Nazi Franz Liebekind (played brilliantly and great hilarity by Steve Conrad.)
They then hire the worst director in town, the flamboyant, Roger DeBris (played delightfully swishy by Dave Alan Thomas), and his flamingly gay artistic team headed by his live-in assistant, Carmen Ghia (Jeremy Sylvain) Mr. Thomas also winds up playing Hitler in the show, after the chosen actor breaks a leg. He not only looked the part of Hitler but could probably play Charlie Chaplin using the same makeup!!
The show becomes a hit, instead of a flop with the expected consequences, like jail time, but I will leave those second act details for you to discover.
Jessica Palumbo is terrific as the Swedish sexpot, Ulla Inga Hanson Benson Yonsen Tallen Hallen Svaden Svanson (and that is only her FIRST name!!). She is the secretary that our producers, Max and Leo hire. Ms. Palumbo is a wonderfully versatile actress, and recently played the tragic dying Desdemona in Othello at Players by the Sea. Wow, what a change to be a singing/dancing blonde bombshell!
Joseph Walz is perfect as Leo, the nebbish and nerdy accountant that everybody loves. An excellent singer and dancer, Walz can do it all from comedy to drama. His “Leo” is as good as anyone I have seen in this role, on stage or in the movie.
The teaming of Walz and Warber in the leading roles of Max and Leo was truly inspired casting. As a comedy team, they worked to perfection, reminding me of a lot of the old time teams, like Martin & Lewis, Abbott and Costello. While David Warber is not going to win any singing contests soon, he can sell a song with his charismatic personality and award winning smile. The audience loved him even after knowing he is a womanizer, a liar, a cheat that preys old women for their money. Now that is what I call real rapport!!!
The remainder of this large cast is listed in the program only as ensemble. That is because they play so many roles; constantly changing costumes to be chorus girls, chorus boys, policeman, the list goes on and on. I noticed a number of Orange Park stalwarts in the cast as well as many new young talented actors and actresses. The enteric/excellent cast includes Steve Cohn, J’royce Denard-Walton, Daniel Dipiero, Matthew Alan Eunice, Sara Green, Shelley Hayes, Nicholas Kellum, Nat Kirk, Edward Kramer, Savannah Markham, Samantha Ann Mathers (who created the very physical and interesting choreography), Danielle Palombo, Jessica Palombo, Ann Sharrer Paris, Albert Stanton Rager Jr., Shaun Anthony Saulsberry, Emily Scanlon, Toni Stephens, William A. Stewart and Walter Ware II.
The success of a show is a combination of several things Of course, the script, and the actors, but production values are equally important, and in this production they are excellent.
In small productions, it is always a major issue to balance the musicians and the singers but Orange Park manages to do this with ease by having the band play back stage and not interfering with the line of hearing between the actors and the audience. The orchestra under the direction Jay Deen, who is also on the keyboard, was excellent. On drums/percussion was Jeff Tippins with Blake Obi on bass guitar.
The costume designer for The Producers, Allyson Steadman is Assistant Professor of Costume Design at Jacksonville University. I have been admiring her creations in several JU shows, including Ragtime, The Grapes of Wrath, Heartbreak House and Company. You are going to absolutely love the costumes, the many many costumes which I understand Ms.Steadman built from scratch. They are a knockout.
Speaking of costumes, I know they would not have been possible without the financial assistance of The Tom Nehl Fund of The Community Foundation, and I thank OPTC President Randall Adkison for acknowledging them in his pre-show curtain speech.
Randall Delone Adkison designed the set and directed this exciting show, yes the funniest in North Florida in the 2008-09 season. I wondered if he could take this big time musical with its many scene changes and do it on the small Orange Park stage, but he and his large volunteer staff did it and did it well. Congratulations.
Just a word of warning, The Producers may not be for everyone when it comes to subject matter. It makes no pretense to political correctness. It has been described as rude and crude, as it makes ethnic jokes, picks on gay men and the sexual fantasies of little old ladies your grandmother’s age. Since it has been around since l968 in one form or another and since the 200l production was so successful, most people what to expect. You can expect to laugh to tears, so bring tissues. As I exited the theater I listened to some of the comments of a few real old time Orange Park supporters and the comments were all positive, with some expressing that it was the best show ever done on this stage. Enough said, don’t miss it.