The Producers
Presented by: FAMDA (Foster Amateur Music and Drama Association)
Venue: Foster War Memorial Hall, Foster
Reviewer: Brice Sedgwick
Date Reviewed: 9th November, 2007

The Producers is an insulting show, and can be hugely offensive to many races, and social sub-groups (women, homosexuals, Jews, Germans, Swedes, nanas, pigeons, lycra-clad fatties), yet ironically is one of Broadways most popular musicals.

For those who are unfamiliar with the story, a dishonest Broadway producer and his pathetic, self-esteem deficient accountant attempt to stage Broadways biggest flop in order to land themselves 2 million dollars. …Yeah.

Coming from a Gippsland Theatre background, it was a delight to see such a massive Broadway show in Foster. Staged in the Foster War Memorial Hall, director Neil Goodwin ensured a generally good use of space. Some of the dance sequences and scenes took place on the auditorium floor in front of the seating to take the focus off the set changes.

This had its pros and cons. The set was visually imposing and was impractical for the space of the theatre, causing set changes to be distracting. Less is sometimes more. Regardless of this, the set was actually very impressive, I just wish it was in a more of an appropriate space. Geoff Davey and his crew should be very proud.
 
If you close your eyes to Matt Hillman’s obviously boyish appearance, you could almost be sure that it was Nathan Lane taking the stage. Matt’s portrayal of Max Bialystock was spot on, yet suffered from a lack of chemistry within his relationship with his accountant, Leo Bloom, played by Murray Maclean.

Some of the casting was perhaps not age appropriate. However, taking into consideration limited choices on account of late casting, this unusual age imbalance was understandable. Murray did seem an odd choice for the role of Leo Bloom, as his age was maybe a contributing factor towards the lack of energy between Matt and himself. Their ages would have been better suited to each others role. Murray, appearing as though he was bored on stage, possibly a result of nerves, translated perfectly into Bloom’s bumbling character. Interestingly, Murray ultimately won the audience over with his innocence and inexperience, whether this was intentional is debatable.

It is without a doubt that John Black, who reprises his role as Franz Liebkind from Windmill’s The Producers, stole the show. His clueless Nazi-friendly portrayal was disarming and engaging and won the audience over. His guild nomination is well deserved.

In areas where experienced dancers are scarce, there should be an appropriate level of difficulty to enhance the show, and Lisa Pellin took into consideration everyone’s abilities, creating some simple yet effective dance numbers whilst using the stronger dancers to highlight most numbers. Instead of enhancing the number I Want To Be A Producer, the lighting diminished the effect of Leo’s grand Broadway fantasy. Instead of being in this fantasy, we were in a cocktail bar at 2am.

As the orchestra was positioned behind the stage, the sound was amplified through speakers which gave it a somewhat distorted, authentic 1920’s sound. What may have possibly been a technical limitation became what I found to be an endearing and effective use of sound, adding considerably to the dimension of the production. As a credit to the sound operators, I had never before fully heard or understood Mel Brook’s lyrics, and I found myself laughing, and meaning it.

Considering some of the limitations that are always present in every country theatre group have to work with and overcome, I felt that FAMDA has offered a charming presentation of The Producers. Often ‘country’ theatre groups are denigrated by their ‘city’ cousins, but FAMDA’s The Producers like many other ‘country’ productions that I have experienced has provided worthwhile and fantastic entertainment.

Brice has been involved with non-professional theatre since 2000 and some of his credits include Hello, Dolly! 42^nd Street, West Side Story, Moulin Rouge (Cabaret), Anything Goes, Beauty & The Beast, A Chorus Line and Cabaret. He was recently seen as Dominique in the Australian Premiere of The Bakers Wife, and vocally directed Hearts On Fire for DTC. Brice is also a qualified piano and cello teacher, and just completed his degree in Music & History.

Back To Reviews