The Producers Play Review

The play I observed was written by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan namedThe Producers. It was being present at the Cabrillo Music Theatre.The Producersis about two out-of-luck producers who think up of the bright idea to make themselves financially stable by producing the world’s worst musical, which was guaranteed to fail. And by having their musical failing they could reap all the extra money used on it. Along the way to their greatest failure ever they meet a flamboyant director, a communist author, and a seductive foreign secretary. The dominant tone throughout the musical was comedic; the lesser tone was some drama. Jokes both very lewd and mildly age appropriate were made all throughout the play. They kept the mood light and happy, as most musicals are. Of course the play was to have some dramatic points, but those were also kept light and comical as well. In my opinion it was well directed, because the actors were placed in the perfect spot to give the audience the maximum experience available. Even the background characters were perfectly placed and moved in such a way that complimented the main characters.

There was one character that particularly stood out; it was Ulla, who played the seductive foreign secretary. She was played by Sarah Cornell. It was a very good decision to choose Cornell as Ulla because I am certain that not very many people are able to pull off her accent and being seductress at the same time. Not only did her physical appearance fit the image in our minds, but she was also able to capture the essence of Ulla herself! One doesn’t need to read the script to understand what kind of character Ulla is, Cornell did a perfect job in giving the character life.

We cannot forget about the main lead characters either, such as Leo Bloom, who was the shy producer that helps concoct the brilliant idea of making a flop. He was played by Larry Raben. I enjoyed Raben’s acting. I haven’t seen many actors that can really pull of the psychotic shy stunts that Raben does. Raben was really able to bring his character to life. If I ever met Raben in person I would think, “Leo Bloom” rather than Larry.

They did a perfect job in choosing costumes, especially with the old ladies. They were the typical old ladies, and it wasn’t a costume that was overdone. They appeared more to be like the little old lady from Looney Tunes rather than the elderly vixens that they were, but the costumes worked both ways. The lighting and sound also did a great job, but there was a minor error. When the musical flop was being showcased, in the line “Come and join the Nazi party!” the word Nazi was cut off due to a technical error. Overall, I thought that it was an amazing play, beside the fact that it took too long to end. I was sleepy and tired, but the play was able to keep my attention either way and that is an incredible feat.