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The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks’s 1967 film of the same name, with lyrics
written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story
concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich by overselling interests in a Broadway flop. Complications arise when
the show unexpectedly turns out to be successful. The humor of the show draws on ridiculous accents, caricatures of homosexuals
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 London
production running for just over two years, national tours in the US and UK, many productions worldwide and a 2005 film version.
We are delighted this evening to bring you this production, with a hard working cast, including our two leads, who rarely get a
moment off stage. Special thanks to the Belvoir Studio Theatre for hosting this production and offering their support throughout
the process - as well as to the dedicated cast, crew and committee who have worked tirelessly to produce the work which you see
tonight. BMDS are also delighted to be returning to the Grand Opera House next year, this time with a reprise of our production
of ‘Footloose’ - tickets now on sale. Now we are pleased to invite you to sit back, relax, and watch the story of ‘The Producers’
unfold. Enjoy!
THE STORY
ACT I
In New York in 1959, theatre producer Max Bialystock opens "Funny Boy", a musical version of Hamlet ("Opening Night"). It is
terrible, and the show closes after one performance. 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 little old lady "investors" arrives, Max tells Leo to wait in the
bathroom until she leaves. She plays a sex game with Max, who eventually persuades her to give him a cheque to be invested in
his next play, to be called "Cash". Leo reveals his lifelong dream: he's always wanted to be a Broadway producer. After a panic
attack when Max touches 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 "under the right circumstances, a producer could actually make more money with a flop
than he can with a hit. Max proposes a scheme in 5 Steps.
However, Leo refuses to help Max with his scheme ("We Can Do It"). When he arrives at work six minutes late, Leo's horrid
boss, Mr. Marks, reminds him that he is a nobody. While he and his miserable co-workers slave 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 look for the worst play ever written. Max finds a sure-fire flop that would offend people of all
races, creeds and religions: Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden, written by Franz Liebkind,
which Max describes as "a love letter to Hitler". They go to the playwright's home in Greenwich Village to get the rights to the
play. Ex-Nazi Franz is on the roof of his tenement with his pigeons reminiscing about the grand old days ("In Old Bavaria"). The
producers get him to sign their contract by joining him in singing Adolf Hitler's favourite tune ("Der Guten Tag Hop Clop") and
reciting the Siegfried Oath, under penalty of death, promising never to dishonor "the spirit and the memory of Adolf Elizabeth
Hitler".
Next, they go to the townhouse of flamboyant homosexual Roger De Bris, the worst director in New York. At first, Roger and his
"common law-assistant" Carmen Ghia decline the offer to direct because of the serious subject matter ("Keep It Gay"). After
much persuading and invoking the possibility of a Tony award, Roger agrees and tells them the second act must be rewritten so
the Germans win World War II. Max and Leo return to the office to meet a Swedish bombshell who wants to audition for their next
play: Ulla Inga Hansen Benson Yansen Tallen Hallen Svaden Swanson. She auditions for them ("When You've Got It, Flaunt It").
The producers are impressed, mostly by her beauty, and hire her to be their "secretary-slash-receptionist". Max leaves to raise two
million dollars for "Springtime for Hitler" by calling on all the little old ladies in New York ("Along Came Bialy"), which he does
("Act I Finale").
ACT II
Leo and Ulla are left alone in Max's office (redecorated by Ulla), and they start to fall in love ("That Face"). Max walks in and sees
the perfect form of Ulla's covered behind ("That Face" (reprise)).
At the auditions for the title role, Hitler, one terrible actor after another is rejected by Roger in summary fashion. Finally, Franz
performs his own jazzy rendition of "Haben Sie Gehört Das Deutsche Band?", at the end of which Max stands up and shouts,
"That's our Hitler!" Opening night arrives ("It's Bad Luck to Say 'Good Luck' on Opening Night"), and Franz falls down the stairs
and breaks his leg. Roger is the only one 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 theatrical disaster unfold ("Springtime for Hitler"). Unfortunately, Roger's performance is
so camp and outrageous, the audience mistakes it for satire, and the show becomes the talk of the town. Back at the office, Max
and Leo are near-suicidal ("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 his beloved Führer. Max suggests
that he shoot the actors (not the producers) as a way to close the show. The police hear the commotion and arrest Franz, who
breaks his other leg while trying to escape. They also arrest Max and take the books. Leo hides; Ulla finds him and persuades him
to take the two million dollars and run off to Rio with her.
In jail awaiting trial, Max receives a postcard from Leo and, feeling betrayed, recounts the whole show ("Betrayed"). At his trial,
Max is found "incredibly guilty"; but the now-married Leo and Ulla arrive to tell the judge that Max is a good man who has never
hurt anyone despite his swindling ("'Till Him"). The judge is touched by this and decides not to separate the partners, sending
both (plus Franz) to Sing Sing prison for five years. In prison, they write a new musical entitled Prisoners of Love, which goes to
Broadway ("Prisoners of Love") (starring Roger and Ulla), and they are pardoned by the Governor. Leo and Max become the kings
of Broadway and walk off into the sunset ("Leo & Max"). Everyone comes back for one last song, telling the audience that they
have to leave ("Goodbye").
PRODUCTION TEAM
DIRECTOR
JORDAN WALSH
Jordan Walsh is no stranger to the stage, having been fortunate enough to play some of theatre’s
favourite male roles, such as; Mark (Rent), Danny Zuko (Grease), Dean Hyde (All Shook Up) and
Roger (RENT). After making his directorial debut with ‘Guys and Dolls’ then following that up with
‘The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ and ‘Rock of Ages’, which he thoroughly enjoyed,
Jordanwas delighted to bring BMDS to the Grand Opera House with West Side Story. Having
moved to St Malachy’s College, his passion for performing arts grew under his mentor and head of
drama, Pauline Hughes.
Launched in June 2015, Jordan founded the Belfast Music and Drama Society at the age of 19.
Directing has been no easy task but during rehearsals Jordan has strived to not only create a
polished final production, but also to build up a sense of camaraderie between both the cast and
production team throughout the process. After having an incredible experience directing his
production of ‘Guys and Dolls’. ‘Footloose’ and ‘The 25th Annual County Spelling Bee’ and ‘Rock
of Ages’ he decided to take on the challange of directing another musical comedy, this time in
‘The Producers’.
Jordan currently balances his time between being the chairman of Belfast Music and Drama
Society and having a full time job, and recently fulfilled a lifelong dream of directing his first show
in the Grand Opera House. He has spent meticulous hours making this production as impressive
as he visioned it at the start of rehearsals, and now hopes you thoroughly enjoys the show!
MUSICAL DIRECTOR
WILSON SHIELDS
Wilson is delighted to return as musical director with this fabulous
cast.
Alex is 21 years old and works as a dance teacher/ choreographer for Starburst Theatre School
and the Music Studio, Bangor. Previous choreography credits include; Guys and Dolls, Spelling
Bee, Footloose, Hairspray Jr and Rock of Ages, West Side story and Addams Family musical with
Belfast Music and Drama Society, Little shop of Horrors with Antrim Grammar School, NISMAT's
summer production of Aladdin Jr, Little shop of Horrors and Calamity Jane with St Patrick’s Choral
Society, Sister Act with Fortwilliam Musical Society and Sullivan Upper Schools Production of
Hairspray. At the age of 4 Alex joined McMaster Stage School where she developed her love of
dance. She has achieved her ALCM Diploma in musical theatre through the teaching of Karen
Elliot. Alex has performed as a dancer for companies such as St Agnes Choral Society, Upstage
Downstage Theatre Company, New Lyric Operatic Company, BSPA, Ravara Productions, Ulster
Operatic and MMK productions.
Alex would like to thank the cast for a brilliant experience working on this hilarious show.
She would also like to thank Sarah McFarlane for her hard work as dance captain on this
production
BROOKS AND THE PRODUCERS
Without “The Producers,” there might never have been “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” and “Spaceballs.” And yet
Mel Brooks’ movie debut (which earned him the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay) was the most original work of his career,
combining subversive humor with a tender bromance between Zero Mostel’s Max Bialystock and Gene Wilder’s Leo Bloom. This
was no genre bender, but it was a cultural assault on fascism and conformity, and it was ahead of its time in elevating the LGBT
artistic community. For the 91-year-old Brooks, the cult favorite-turned comedy classic was a miracle that launched his celebrated
film career as writer-director.
“It was very simple: You can make more money with a flop than with a hit,” Brooks said about his wild premise for making fun of
Adolph Hitler. Down-and-out producer Bialystock and accountant Bloom use creative accounting to mount “Springtime for Hitler”
(the film’s original title until Embassy Pictures head Joseph E. Levine nixed it), which becomes the toast of Broadway, despite its
bad taste, and lands them in prison.
FINDING WILDER
“I found Gene Wilder, who was in a Bertolt Brecht play, ‘Mother Courage and Her Children,’ with Anne Brancroft [in 1963], who
I was dating,” said Brooks. (They married a year later.) “He was a funny-looking guy and the three of us met for a cup of coffee
after one of the shows. He was frustrated because they were laughing and he didn’t know why. I told him to look at himself in the
mirror. He was touching and funny and I found my eloquent, beautiful, [timid] accountant, Leo Bloom.” And Brooks always had
Mostel (the Broadway star of “Fiddler on the Roof”) in mind to play the overbearing Bialystock. The first time he saw him perform
at New York’s Village Vanguard, the comedian got on the floor and impersonated a coffee percolator. For Brooks, his co-stars
represented the two sides of his own legendary personality.
“As writers, we can only use ourselves,” he said, before explaining how he came to direct such a memorable ensemble cast that
included Kenneth Mars (as playwright Franz Liebkind), Dick Shawn (as hippie L.S.D., who plays Hitler), and Christopher Hewett (as
cross-dressing director Roger De Bris). “When Joe Levine said we needed a director, I said I can be the director,” added Brooks.
“I’m the writer, I see it, I see every scene, I see a half-moon coming out of the office window, I see little old ladies and what they
look like on the couch being thrilled, being loved by Bialystock. I see ‘Springtime for Hitler,’ I see the burlesque show, the beer,
and the pretzels. You can’t go wrong with me.”
TRIAL BY FIRE
Although Brooks got the directing gig, it was a far cry from stage managing Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows” on TV. It was a
scary trial by fire. In fact, Brooks was so nervous that on the first day of shooting, he yelled cut instead of action. “Funny thing,”
Brooks recalled. “Joe Levine, after seeing one week of dailies, said, ‘I’ll give you another $50,000 to find an actor who’s better
looking [than Gene Wilder].’ He didn’t get it. He said, ‘There’s only one problem with the picture: Nobody’s good looking.’ That
was part of the politically incorrect tact.”
But the worst day of shooting somehow turned out to be the best: “It was five ‘o clock and I said to Gene, ‘We’re gonna do the
blue blanket [hysterical] scene.’ And he said, ‘But I’m not ready now. I need time. I’m tired. It’s the end of the day. I’ve got to have
energy and I don’t have it.’ ‘Well, what gives you energy?’ ‘Chocolate.’ So I ran out and I bought Hershey bars and made him
eat two. “And Zero said his leg hurts, he can’t do this. He was hit by a bus before we started shooting. So I was having a nervous
breakdown. And then we started rolling and I started crying because it was a miracle. It was so beautiful. Zero looked right into
the camera and said, ‘This guy should be in a straightjacket.’ He broke the fourth wall and it was like God was on my side.’”
Another weird turn of events occurred when Dustin Hoffman had to turn down the role of the fanatical Hitler supporter, Liebkind,
when he left to audition for “The Graduate,” co-starring Bancroft. “I thought this was all too bizarre,” Brooks said. “Go, you’re a
mutt. The minute they see you on film, they’ll say we got the wrong guy. He called me back two days later and said they want me.
“He would’ve been brilliant, but I think I got lucky with Kenny Mars. He was a little nuts and he became Franz Liebkind. It was
some transformation. He was so angry when Dick Shawn said, ‘Hey, baby.’” And nobody cut Churchill down to size better than
Mars Liebkind: “Hitler was better looking than Churchill. He was a better dresser than Churchill. He had more hair! He told funnier
jokes! And he could dance the pants off of Churchill!”
FROM CULT CLASSIC TO BROADWAY HIT
After bowing disastrously in Pittsburgh in November, 1967, Embassy considered shelving “The Producers.” But Peter Sellers came
to the rescue after attending a private screening and taking out an ad in Variety.
This undoubtedly helped Brooks win the Oscar in 1968 (beating “The Battle of Algiers, “Faces,” and “2001: A Space Odyssey”).
“I didn’t think I’d win the Academy Award,” he said. “When Frank Sinatra called my name, I yelled from the audience, ‘Take
another look at the paper!’ He looked at me like I was crazy and I didn’t prepare a speech.”
But Brooks came bizarrely full circle when “The Producers” became a Broadway hit and then a movie musical with Nathan Lane
and Matthew Broderick. “When we did the show on Broadway, during one of the last previews at the St. James there was a big
guy who said this was an outrage,” Brooks said, recalling that the man told him, “How dare you. I was in World War II.” Brooks
replied, “So was I. I didn’t see you there.”
It still holds true: If you can make people laugh at Hitler or tyrants in general, “then you’ve won the day,” he added
THE CAST
Leo Timothy Bell
Max Paddy McGennity
Ulla Kathryn O’Neill
Franz Simon Pyper
Roger Karl Dawson
Carmen Matthew Watson
Brian Desmond Havlin
Scott Sean O’Neill
Shirley Lucy McIlwaine
Stormtrooper Sean Harkin
Hold me Touch Me Rosemary Kelly
ENSEMBLE
Demi Weir, Calla Hughes, Jordan Rosborough, Lauren Jervis, Julie Beavis, Leah Henderson,
Emma Cairnduff, Jordan Hineson, Rachael Walker, Niamh Doherty, Jim McBride,
Andrew Devonshire, Ken Hamilton, James McLoughlin, Ciaron McKenna, Aaron Watson,
Adam Vaughan, Louis Fitzpatrick, Tommy Bell, Desmond Havlin, Shane Johnson
THE TEAM
Director Jordan Walsh Violin Una Donnelly
Musical Director Wilson Shields Reed Davy Mayes, Kevin Lawless
Choreographer Alex McFarlane Trumpet Phil Ferguson, Alisdair Wallace
Stage Manager Andy McKnight Trombone Jim Kitchen
Technical Manager Gary Redpath Bass Michael Currie
Programme Design Gary Redpath Drums Brian Rice
Lighting Robbie Irwin & Gary Redpath
Sound Diarmuid Rankin
Set Vincent Vyce
Programme Photographer Melissa Gordon
Dance Captain Sarah McFarlane
MAX BIALYSTOCK
PADDY MCGENNITY
After a busy start to the year playing Doc in BMDS'
West Side story, Joey in Newcastle Glees Sister Act
and Augustin Magaldi in Banbridge M.S Evita, Paddy
is delighted to be playing one of his dream roles, Max
Bialystock.
2017 -
March - Footloose - Best Ensemble for ‘Lets Hear It For The Boy’ (Nomination)
July - Hairspray (Jr.)
September - Rock of Ages - Best Supporting Actor - Sean Harkin (Nomination)
2018
West Side Story - Best Female Singer - Amber Dixon (Winner) Upcoming Shows
Les Miserables Spelling Bee (November)
A Musical Storytale Annie (December)
The Addams Family Footloose (Feb/March)
Discover your inner elf !
presents...