Venue: Hayes Theatre Co (Potts Point NSW), Mar 29 – Apr 27, 2025 | Riverside Theatres (Parramatta NSW) May 15 – 18, 2025
Music & Lyrics: Mel Brooks
Book: Mel Brooks, Thomas Meehan
Director: Julia Robertson
Cast: Anton Berezin, Des Flanagan, Alexandra Cashmere, Blake Erickson, Jordan Shea, Mikey Sakinofsky, Wendy-Lee Purdy, Spencer Cliff, Clancy Enchelmaier, Genevieve Goldman, Joshua Gordon, Ashton Lash, Joe Meldrum, Paloma Renouf
Images by Grant Leslie
Theatre review
Broadway producers Bialystock and Bloom try to stage a flop, when they discover an accounting loophole that would deliver an easy profit. They choose a show that celebrates Hitler, certain that it would be shut down right away, but like at the recent American elections, the unthinkable happens when Nazism wins the day. It may not have been Mel Brooks’ conscious intention, but a revival of The Producer reveals the truth about the USA, and its long-held secret desire to introduce a fascist state.
It is however not an obviously politicised staging, that director Julia Robertson delivers for 2025, who thankfully retains the original essence and remarkable wit of The Producer. Her show is relentlessly exuberant, always clever with how it reinvents each memorable scene of this legendary work. Choreographer Shannon Burns impresses with her rigour and ambition, ensuring that the experience is delightful at every turn.
Set design by Nick Fry is wonderfully imaginative, and endlessly versatile with the imagery it is able to render. Costumes by Benedict Janeczo-Taylor are intricately assembled, effective with all the colour it adds to the production. Lights by Ryan McDonald are quite the resplendent feature, offering unexpected spatial dimensions, and a marvellous sense of theatrical elevation with its dynamic flamboyance.
Music direction by Osibi Akerejola is rich and spirited, even if the band is occasionally short on polish. Performer Anton Berezin is perfect as Bialystock, very likeable as the cheeky rogue, and admirable for the precision he brings to the part. Less charismatic, but equally detailed is Des Flanagan who plays the role of Bloom, the earnest protégé.
Alexandra Cashmere is vivaciously comical as Ulla, demonstrating great creativity along with impressive skill, transforming the classic bimbo into someone truly fascinating. The hilarious Blake Erickson is unforgettable as Broadway director Roger De Bris, thoroughly amusing with his camp antics and exquisite timing. Neo-Nazi writer Franz Liebkind is played by Jordan Shea with wild abandon, joyfully absurd in his portrayal of a man who has completely lost his marbles.
In 1967, at the time of the original film of The Producers, it had felt as though the decision had been made concrete, that Nazis had well and truly lost the war, and that the world would invest its all in the grand experiment of democracy. Decades later, we find the USA at an inconceivable juncture today, of fascism rearing its ugly head, in the most resolute ways. The judicial system in The Producers proves effective in quashing nefarious activity; however it remains to be seen, if centuries of well-meaning legislation can withstand sinister attacks, from this new face of despotism.
Suzy Goes See 