Kathleen and I went to see “The Producers” last night. Never had the opportunity to see it with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick; on the other hand, I’ve seen both of them on stage, so I have some idea of what it would have been like.
Quite simply, a lot of fun. The most “old fashioned” Broadway musical that wasn’t a revival to come along in many a day. I found some of the changes a bit surprising (the character of L.S.D. is MIA) but ultimately beneficial to the piece as a whole. Brad Oscar was swell as Bialystock, and Cady Hoffman as Ulla is like a pair of gorgeous legs with a woman attached. Steven Weber as Bloom is more problematic. He seems very comfortable during any song and dance sequence, but his Bloom is little more than a collection of odd twitches and tics that come across like a combination of Martin Short’s “Ed Grimly” and Jerry Lewis. There’s a fine line between bizarre characters and caricatures, and Weber crosses that line. It’s odd, because he’s a good actor; he just doesn’t quite seem to know what to do to breathe life into Bloom.
Very tuneful songs; you’ll come out humming “I want to be a Producer.” And there’s a little end song that could be stuck on the end of just about any future musicals Brooks cares to produce.
PAD
• 
LSD is MIA because, as I understand it, Ðìçk Shawn was DOA some years ago — in one of those stories which may be truth because no one would dare make it up:
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/8135/shawn.html
Whilst rambling, interesting side note: according to Mark Evanier’s intro to a Li’L Abner collection, Ðìçk Shawn was an early candidate for the lead in the Abner musical.
Regarding PAD’s other posts on the dubiousness of fame, am I the only one here who remembers when Broderick and Lane hosted the Tony’s? Broderick went on a calm rant about how he would enjoy his power by having people killed, because it would amuse him. Lane, trying to bring his partner back to reality, finally said “I understand there’s a double feature on cable tonight. ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Isn’t She Great?'” Broderick should have gotten a special award just for what his face did in close-up.
Yeah, I remember that whole exchange during the Tony Awards… one of the few things I still bother looking for a video clip of online. If anyone knows where to find it, PLEASE let me know!