Despite what you've heard, it's not as great as the film, nor is it the shining beacon of American musicals. The Producers is, however, an utter delight, from the unexpectedly winning songs to Nathan Lane's endlessly wonderful antics, from a new sequence that puts Leo (Matthew Broderick) quitting Whitehall & Marx in context to a hilarious song- and-dance number ("Keep It Gay") at the Debries residence.
Act one whizzes by and could hardly be improved upon; act two has its minor bumps, including a puzzling move by Leo and Ulla (the delectable Cady Huffman). If the audience goes overboard in its whooping adulation (it's not that funny), at least Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan's show almost deserves every guffaw. Considering how sacred the movie is, they really have pulled off a miracle.
