The Producers
N.C. Theatre
At Memorial Auditorium
Through Feb. 20
N.C. Theatre doesn’t disappoint with its revival of Mel Brooks’ mega-hit The Producers. Under Bill Burns’ brisk direction, Michael McCormick’s endless onstage machinations suggested Boris Badenovwith a Bronx accentas debauched theatrical producer and has-been Max Bialystock, while Stacey Todd Holt ably reprised his Broadway turns as high-strung second banana Leo Blum.
Show stealers Stuart Marland (as Roger DeBris, the worst director in New York) and Christopher Sloan (as his “common-law assistant,” Carmen Ghia) camped outso to speakwhile aiding and abetting the twin leads in guiding their show-within-a-show, Springtime for Hitler, onto the jagged rocks of Broadway.
Though Ann Bruskiewitz’s costumes seem a bit toned down from the Broadway version, Susan Stroman’s choreography includes the memorable sequence in Little Old Lady Land where walkers replace tap shoes, and a stage-length descent into poor taste that reminded us to be grateful that ’70s TV choreographer June Taylor never hooked up with Leni Riefenstahl. Recommended.
