The Producers is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Mel Brooks and a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan. It is adapted from Brooks's 1967 film of the same name. The story concerns a theatrical producer and his mild-mannered accountant who scheme to get rich by fraudulently overselling interests in a Broadway musical designed to fail. Complications arise when the show is a surprise hit. The humor of The Producers draws on exaggerated accents, caricatures of Jews, gay people and Nazis, and many show business in-jokes.
After 33 previews, the original Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on April 19, 2001, starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, and ran for 2,502 performances, winning a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards. It spawned a successful West End production running for just over two years, national tours in the US and UK, many productions worldwide and a 2005 film version.
Background David Geffen persuaded Mel Brooks to turn his film into a stage musical. When Brooks met with Jerry HermanInformation from the CNN archives cnn.com to discuss their working together, Herman declined, telling Brooks that he should do the job himself, as he was a good songwriter. Brooks then asked Thomas Meehan to join him in writing the book for the stage. Brooks persuaded Mike Ockrent and his wife Susan Stroman to join the creative team as director and choreographer. After Ockrent's death in 1999, Stroman agreed to continue as both director and choreographer.Information from the PBS website , pbs.org
Plot
Act I In New York in 1959, theatre producer Max Bialystock opens Funny Boy, a musical version of Hamlet. Reviews are overwhelmingly negative, and the show closes after one performance ("Opening Night"). Max, who was once called the King of Broadway, tells a crowd of down-and-outs of his past achievements and vows to return to form ("King of Broadway").
The next day, Leo Bloom, a mousy accountant, comes to Max's office to audit his books. When one of Max's elderly female "investors" arrives, Max tells Leo to wait in the bathroom until she leaves. She plays a sex game with Max, who persuades her to give him a check to be invested in his next play, to be called "Cash". Leo reveals his lifelong dream to be a Broadway producer. After recovering from a panic attack caused by Max touching his blue blanket, Leo tells Max that he has found an accounting error in his books: Max raised $100,000 for Funny Boy, but the play only cost $98,000. Max begs Leo to cook the books to hide the discrepancy; Leo reluctantly agrees. After some calculations, he realizes that, by bilking investors, a producer could profit more from a flop than from a hit. Inspired, Max proposes a scheme to find the worst musical ever written, hire the worst director and actors in New York, raise $2 million of investment from elderly women, produce the work on Broadway, close it after one night, and escape to Rio de Janeiro with the money. However, Leo refuses to help Max with his scheme ("We Can Do It").
Leo's antagonistic boss, Mr. Marks, reprimands him for arriving at work six minutes late and calls him a nobody. While he and his miserable co-workers toil over accounts, Leo daydreams of becoming a Broadway producer ("I Wanna Be a Producer"). He realizes that his job is terrible, quits, and returns to Max ("We Can Do It" (reprise)). The next day, they search for the most offensive play they can find and discover Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden, an admiring tribute to Adolf Hitler written by ex-Nazi soldier Franz Liebkind. They go to the playwright's home in Greenwich Village to get the rights to the play, where Franz is on the roof of his tenement with his pigeons reminiscing about life back in Germany ("In Old Bavaria"). The producers get him to sign their contract by joining him in singing Hitler's favorite tune ("Der Guten Tag Hop Clop") and reciting the Siegfried Oath, under penalty of death, promising never to dishonor Hitler's spirit or memory. In doing so, Franz gives Hitler's middle name as "Elizabeth", explaining that his ancestors include "a long line of English queens".
At the townhouse of the flamboyant transvestite and failing director Roger De Bris, Roger and his domestic partner Carmen Ghia initially decline the offer to direct because of the serious subject matter. After much persuading and invoking the possibility of a Tony Award, Roger relents and tells the producers that the second act must be rewritten so the Germans win World War II while also insisting that the play be more "gay" ("Keep It Gay"). Max and Leo return to the office to meet Ulla, a beautiful Swedish woman who wants to audition for their next play ("When You've Got It, Flaunt It"). The producers are impressed, mostly by her sex-appeal, and hire her as a clerical worker. Max leaves to raise $2 million to produce Springtime for Hitler by calling on elderly women from all over New York ("Along Came Bialy"), and succeeds at raising the money ("Act I Finale").
Act II Leo and Ulla are left alone in Max's office, which she has "redecorated", and they start to fall in love ("That Face"). Max walks in and sees the tempting form of Ulla's covered behind ("That Face" (reprise)).
At the auditions for the role of Hitler, Roger rejects one actor after another in summary fashion. Finally, a frustrated Franz performs his own jazzy rendition of "Haben Sie Gehört Das Deutsche Band?", at the end of which Max approves Franz's audition. Opening night arrives ("Opening Night" (reprise)), and after Leo curses the production by wishing everyone "good luck" rather than the traditional "break a leg" ("You Never Say 'Good Luck' on Opening Night"), Franz literally breaks his leg falling down the stairs. Roger is the only one other than Franz who knows the part of Hitler, and he rushes to the dressing room to get ready. The curtain rises, and Max and Leo watch the opening number ("Springtime for Hitler"), which shocks the audience, before sneaking away. Unfortunately, Roger plays Hitler so flamboyantly that the audience mistakes the show for satire, and it becomes a surprise smash.
Back at the office, Max and Leo are horrified that the IRS will learn of their actions as they read positive critical reviews for Springtime ("Where Did We Go Right?"). Roger and Carmen come to congratulate them, only to find them fighting over the accounting books. Franz bursts in, waving a pistol, outraged by Roger's portrayal of Hitler. Fearful for his life, Max suggests that Franz shoot the actors instead of the producers as a way to close the show. The police are summoned by the commotion and arrest Franz, who breaks his other leg while trying to escape. They also arrest Max and take the books. As Leo hides, Ulla finds him and persuades him to take the $2 million and run off to Rio with her.
In jail awaiting trial, Max receives a postcard from Leo, now living in Rio and having eloped with Ulla. Feeling betrayed, he recounts the events of the story ("Betrayed"). At his trial, Max is found "incredibly guilty", but Leo and Ulla arrive in the nick of time. Leo turns in the stolen money and tells the judge that Max is a good man who has never hurt anyone despite his swindling, and the only man he has ever called a friend ("'Til Him"). Touched by their friendship, the judge decides not to separate the partners, sending them and Franz to Sing Sing prison together for five years. In prison, they write a new musical entitled "Prisoners of Love", and they are pardoned by the governor of New York for bringing joy into the lives of their inmates by having them act in the play. Soon after taking Prisoners of Love to Broadway, with Roger and Ulla in the main roles, Leo and Max become successful producers and walk off into the sunset ("Leo & Max"). Everyone comes back for one last song, telling the audience to leave ("Goodbye!").
Musical numbers
Act I"Inside the Playbill: The Producers – Opening Night at the St. James Theatre" playbill.com Overture – Orchestra "Opening Night" – Usherettes and Company "The King of Broadway" – Max and Company "We Can Do It" – Max and Leo "I Wanna Be a Producer" – Leo, Showgirls and Accountants "We Can Do It" (reprise) – Leo and Max "In Old Bavaria" – Franz "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop" – Franz, Leo and Max "Keep It Gay" – Roger, Carmen, Max, Leo, Brian, Kevin, Scott, Shirley "When You Got It, Flaunt It" – Ulla "Along Came Bialy" – Max and Company "Act I Finale" – Max, Leo, Ulla, Franz, Roger, Carmen, Brian, Kevin, Scott, Shirley, and Company
Act II Entr'acte "That Face" – Leo, Ulla and Max "Haben Sie Gehört Das Deutsche Band?" – Franz and Max "Opening Night" (reprise) – Usherettes "You Never Say 'Good Luck' on Opening Night" – Roger, Carmen, Franz, Leo and Max "Springtime for Hitler" – Lead Tenor Stormtrooper, Ulla, Roger and Company "Where Did We Go Right?" – Leo and Max "Betrayed" – Max "'Til Him" – Leo, Max and Little Old Ladies "Prisoners of Love" – Convicts "Prisoners of Love" (reprise) – Roger, Ulla and Company "Leo and Max" – Max and Leo "Goodbye!" – Company
Notable casts
CharacterBroadwayU.S. tourU.S. tourWest EndUK tourUK tourWest End revival2001200220032004200720152025Max BialystockNathan LaneLewis J. StadlenBrad OscarNathan LaneCory EnglishAndy NymanLeopold "Leo" BloomMatthew BroderickDon StephensonAndy TaylorLee EvansJohn Gordon SinclairJason ManfordMarc AntolinUlla BloomCady HuffmanAngie SchworerIda Leigh CurtisLeigh ZimmermanEmma-Jayne AppleyardTiffany GravesJoanna WoodwardRoger De BrisGary BeachLee Roy ReamsConleth HillPeter KayDavid BedellaTrevor AshleyCarmen GhiaRoger BartJeff HyslopRich AffannatoJames DreyfusRobert SebastianLouie SpenceRaj GhatakFranz LiebkindBrad OscarFred ApplegateBill NolteNicolas ColicosAlex GianniniPhill JupitusHarry Morrison
Notable replacements Broadway (2001–2007) Source:"The Producers", IBDb Leo: Steven Weber, Roger Bart, Don Stephenson, Hunter Foster, Alan Ruck Max: Henry Goodman, Brad Oscar, Lewis J. Stadlen, Fred Applegate, John Treacy Egan, Richard Kind, Tony Danza Ulla: Sarah Cornell, Angie Schworer Roger: John Treacy Egan, Jonathan Freeman, Lee Roy Reams Carmen: Sam Harris, Brooks Ashmanskas, Jai Rodriguez Franz: John Treacy Egan, Bill Nolte
West End (2004–2007) Leo: John Gordon Sinclair, Reece Shearsmith
Max: Brad Oscar, Fred Applegate, Cory English
West End (2025–2026) Max: Richard Kind
Productions
Chicago tryout and Broadway (2001–2007)
The Producers had a pre-Broadway tryout at Chicago's Cadillac Palace from February 1 to 25, 2001, starring Matthew Broderick as Leo Bloom and Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock.Matthewbroderick.net "Winter-Spring Broadway Season Schedule" , Playbill.com, February 11, 2001.
The production opened on Broadway with the same cast at the St. James Theatre on April 19, 2001. It ran for 2,502 performances, closing on April 22, 2007. The director and choreographer was Susan Stroman. Glen Kelly was the musical arranger and supervisor. The production won 12 Tony Awards, breaking the record held for 37 years by Hello, Dolly! which had won 10.Jones, Kenneth. Broadway Record-Breaker The Producers Closes April 22" , Playbill.com, April 22, 2007
After the opening, The Producers broke the record for the largest single day box-office ticket sales in theatre history, taking in more than $3 million.Pogrebin, Robin. "Ticket Sales for 'Producers' Set a Broadway Record", The New York Times, April 21, 2001 The departure of the original stars later in the run had a detrimental effect on the success of the production, prompting the return of Broderick and Lane for a limited run from December 2003 to April 2004. The show's sales then broke its own record with over $3.5 million in single day ticket sales.McKinley, Jesse. "For 'The Producers,' Another Box Office Bonanza", The New York Times, November 17, 2003, Section B, p. 1
US tours (2002–2005)