Enjoy a hysterical romp through the third Reich
The Producers
The swastika is raised in the Cultural Quarter, but only in the name of comedy as a cult classic comes to the local stage, writes Alan Cookman
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Pictured from left are cast members Josh Wright-Stanford, John Hall, Matthew Newton.
NAZI stormtroopers will tap dance across the stage of The Regent Theatre next week in the show that brought Nuremberg to Broadway.
It's all in the worst possible taste, but that's the whole point of the fictional musical Springtime For Hitler.
In The Producers, the outrageously funny cult comedy by Mel Brooks, the Broadway show Springtime For Hitler is deliberately created to repel and disgust theatre audiences.
The men behind it have gambled on the grotesque charade being the biggest flop in the history of the New York stage.
Unfortunately for them, it's a smash hit. Broadway theatregoers and critics hail the show as a satirical masterpiece.
In the lavish production by the North Staffordshire Operatic Society, Jon Bott and Tom Pear star as crooked producer Max Bailystock and hapless accountant Leo Bloom (as played by Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder in the original movie).
They hatch the plot to put on the all-singing, all-dancing, swastika-draped homage to Hitler and his Reich, fully expecting to make a killing when it bombs.
Catherine O'Reilly plays the blonde bombshell Ula, and Tony O'Rourke is Roger DeBris, the mad transvestite who is entrusted with directing Springtime For Hitler.
Edward Stokes is Carmen, Roger's hissing assistant, and Thomas Davies is Franz Liebkind, author of the musical described as "A gay romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden".
Professional director Scott St Martyn took charge of the local production after staging The Producers in Portsmouth.
"I must have seen 40 performances and I still laugh every time," he says.
"It sounds offensive, but it's the funniest show I've ever done, and I've directed more than 140 musicals."
It's the London-based director's third show with the North Staffs, having achieved great success with Annie and Guys And Dolls.
"There's a lot of exciting new talent in this production, and I truly believe that anyone who sees it once will want to come a second time," said Scott.
"It's a big production with a huge budget and a massive bill for sets and costumes, but it really is a fantastic spectacle.
And how often do you get to see tap-dancing Nazis?"
The Producers is at The Regent Theatre, Hanley, from November 3 to 7 at 7.30pm nightly, with Saturday matinee at 2.30pm. Tel 0844 871 7649.
10 Comments
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by Dan Wright, Staffs
Wednesday, November 04 2009, 9:07PM
“Oh god, are you still here Jonathan?! Zzzzz”
by Jonathan Beresford, Stoke-on-Trent
Wednesday, November 04 2009, 5:38PM
“One thing I didnt realise is that NSOS were advertising the production on the website with the 2007 UK Tour promo video, without a disclaimer! Now, someone tell me that this ISN'T slightly devious.. not to mention downright incorrect.”
by Jonathan Lee-Beresford, Stoke
Tuesday, November 03 2009, 1:07PM
“Little to no interest! NSOS may have spent a lot, they may have I comparable stars, but if they are proud ofwhat they do and their history - tell people!! Cryptic tiny logos on some of the promotional materials isn't enough. People could be confused into thinking it's the same productionthat toured with Peter Kay, or not realise that it was produced by the group that did a wonderful production of My Fair Lady I saw at the Gaumont all those years ago. Be proud, and I crease the size of that damn tiny logo!!!!”
by Brian Rawlins, Newcastle
Tuesday, November 03 2009, 12:40PM
“This is the letter that I sent to The Editor in response to Alan Cookman's articleon the same subject. It has not yet been used:Dear Sir,
Once again, Alan Cookman has brought to public notice a major problem for local amateur operatic societies, who try to hide the fact that they are amateur in their publicity material, so that they can justify the rising cost of tickets for their shows (Sentinel, Monday).
In fact, all the companies that hold the copyright of stage musicals insist that the word amateur appears on all publicity material. The Regent Theatre management also insists that the word amateur appears in both publicity material and programmes for events and any society that omits it from their publicity is actually contravening both sets of rules.
However, there is some justification for this, as there are very few major operatic society production that are fully amateur and the more correct designation should properly be "pro-am". The North Staffs Operatic Society, for example, has not been fully amateur for many years. We are a limited liability company that employs a professional director and a professional musical director for all our shows. We also hire in professional sets, use professional sound and lighting engineers and employ a full orchestra of professional musicians.
The only amateurs in our productions are the members of the cast and we are proud of their amateur status and the fact that their performances are often better than those of the professional touring companies that come to Stoke, which often use second rate professional actors "off the telly".
However, once again, Alan has put his finger on a major problem for local amateur companies. That is the cost of hiring the Regent Theatre, which is slowly killing amateur theatre in this area. It costs around £25,000 to hire the Regent Theatre for a week, a ridiculous sum for local societies. This covers a basic hire cost and wages for back-stage and front-of-house staff and, on top of that, we have to pay commission on all tickets sold, even when we sell them ourselves!
Add to this around £6,00 for the hire of sound and lighting, because the Regent has not sufficient for a full scale production, and the cost comes to £30,000 before we have spent a penny on the production itself, which costs another £50,000. And remember, we have to try to recover all those costs in one week, unlike professional touring companies who can off-set losses at one theatre with profit at another during their tour. So, the £18 and £16 Alan mentioned as the price of tickets for our next show, The Producers, is actually quite cheap, considering that we are offering a pro-am show costing nearly £80,000 for a week's run.
When the city council first spent a fortune on launching the Regent Theatre, it was advertised as being for the community. What happened to that idea? Few local companies in our community can afford to use it now, even though the City Council uses public money to support it to the tune of over £500,000 a year! The ancient and splendid Stoke-on-Trent Operatic Society actually ceased to exist because of the exorbitant cost of hiring the Regent and their inability to cover the costs of two consecutive shows.
Thank you, Alan, for once again bringing an important issue to public attention. I await with bated breath the response of the City Council, with their solution to the problem.
Yours faithfully,
Brian Rawlins,
Chairman,
North Staffs Operatic Society.”
by Brian, Newcastle
Tuesday, November 03 2009, 12:39PM
“This is the letter that I sent to the Editor in response to Alan Cookman's original article on the same subjext. It has not yet been used:
Dear Sir,
Once again, Alan Cookman has brought to public notice a major problem for local amateur operatic societies, who try to hide the fact that they are amateur in their publicity material, so that they can justify the rising cost of tickets for their shows (Sentinel, Monday).
In fact, all the companies that hold the copyright of stage musicals insist that the word amateur appears on all publicity material. The Regent Theatre management also insists that the word amateur appears in both publicity material and programmes for events and any society that omits it from their publicity is actually contravening both sets of rules.
However, there is some justification for this, as there are very few major operatic society production that are fully amateur and the more correct designation should properly be "pro-am". The North Staffs Operatic Society, for example, has not been fully amateur for many years. We are a limited liability company that employs a professional director and a professional musical director for all our shows. We also hire in professional sets, use professional sound and lighting engineers and employ a full orchestra of professional musicians.
The only amateurs in our productions are the members of the cast and we are proud of their amateur status and the fact that their performances are often better than those of the professional touring companies that come to Stoke, which often use second rate professional actors "off the telly".
However, once again, Alan has put his finger on a major problem for local amateur companies. That is the cost of hiring the Regent Theatre, which is slowly killing amateur theatre in this area. It costs around £25,000 to hire the Regent Theatre for a week, a ridiculous sum for local societies. This covers a basic hire cost and wages for back-stage and front-of-house staff and, on top of that, we have to pay commission on all tickets sold, even when we sell them ourselves!
Add to this around £6,00 for the hire of sound and lighting, because the Regent has not sufficient for a full scale production, and the cost comes to £30,000 before we have spent a penny on the production itself, which costs another £50,000. And remember, we have to try to recover all those costs in one week, unlike professional touring companies who can off-set losses at one theatre with profit at another during their tour. So, the £18 and £16 Alan mentioned as the price of tickets for our next show, The Producers, is actually quite cheap, considering that we are offering a pro-am show costing nearly £80,000 for a week's run.
When the city council first spent a fortune on launching the Regent Theatre, it was advertised as being for the community. What happened to that idea? Few local companies in our community can afford to use it now, even though the City Council uses public money to support it to the tune of over £500,000 a year! The ancient and splendid Stoke-on-Trent Operatic Society actually ceased to exist because of the exorbitant cost of hiring the Regent and their inability to cover the costs of two consecutive shows.
Thank you, Alan, for once again bringing an important issue to public attention. I await with bated breath the response of the City Council, with their solution to the problem.
Yours faithfully,
Brian Rawlins,
Chairman,
North Staffs Operatic Society.”