‘The Producers’ Produces Prankish Fun

Through Sept. 21, City Springs Theatre Company plows on with another smash hit, “The Producers,” that does not play “second fiddle” to a Broadway production. Even though legends like Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick starred in older productions, New Yorker Adam Shapiro (originally from Indianapolis) headed South to show us how his Max Bialystock is larger than life and alive and well.

Written by zany Mel Brooks, the show’s humor trumps and tromps on the sensitivities of Hitler, sexy “tartish” women, and flamboyant gays.
Shuler Hensley, artistic director of City Springs Theatre Company recalled,

“Working with Mel Brooks and being able to call him a friend is an unqualified privilege. He’s a one-of-a-kind voice, a true craftsman of comedy, finding humor in impossible situations and maddening injustices. As an actor, an audience roaring with laughter is a gift like no other – even more so than applause or a standing ovation. Nothing unifies an audience like the kind of outrageous, gut-busting laughter that has been Mel’s hallmark for decades. It’s his superpower and it’s why he is still thriving at 99!”

The local performance was replete with top notch choreography, wardrobe, and theatrics. The Nazi helmets and uniforms, alongside beautiful women cascading down the stairs clad in elaborate headgear, a la Carmen Miranda, with German imagery like beer steins, pretzels, and bratwurst, rolling out like an intricately folded hand fan, was second only to the chorus line of crotchety women on walkers, and another scene of chorus girls emerging from behind file doors, kept the audience enthralled.

This was a show within a show where one of the best Broadway musicals was about how to produce a failed musical. Could “Springtime For Hitler” be a real smash hit?

The show depends on Max’s overall determination to sell a dream to spinsters. Shapiro was very convincing going from nebbish to confident. In typical Mel Brooks’ fashion, this production was waaaay over the top as the audience felt in on the scheme to bilk the investors. Everyone left the theatre with smiles. When Leo earned his producer’s hat, some eyes had tears.

Earlier, in conversation with the AJT, Shapiro shared that this was first time in Atlanta. Regarding his “Max,” he explained, “Having watched Brad Oscar, Nathan Lane, and Zero Mostel all take on the role, I cherry picked some of the things I loved about each one and then used them to discover my own take … I certainly can relate to Max at the beginning of the show when he’s expressing how much he wants to be respected and appreciated; and can absolutely see how that could drive him to such drastic measures, although I have never concocted a scheme to bilk people out of money like he does … at least not that I’ll admit to!”

To prepare for the show, Shapiro was able to get the libretto and score to examine the scenes and his character’s motivation. He said, “The goals are different when I’m talking to Leo whom I’m legitimately asking for help vs. when I’m trying to get something from Franz, Roger, or the little old ladies. Of course, we all know what Max wants from Ulla. Wowee wow wow wow!”

In terms of current “sensitivities,” Shapiro, who previously performed in “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish, tackled the “Jewish question.”

“I know that, in this day and age, people can get shocked by some of the show’s humor. But this is how the Jews took down Hitler and the Nazi party. We turned them into a joke. That’s the basis for Jewish humor. We take all the atrocities and hardships and find a way to laugh at them, thereby draining them of their power over us. That’s why I find it so important to do shows like this, particularly with antisemitism on such a rise, to remind people that we have the ability to take back the power by making a joke out of our enemies.”

Make plans to get tickets now before the Sept. 21 closing and before Brooks turns 100. For tickets, please visit: https://CitySpringsTheatre.com/theproducers