When Richard Dreyfuss was medically excused from his long-anticipated debut as Max in The Producers, Nathan Lane stepped in to save the show. Only in this real twist on another familiar Broadway musical, Lane - not an understudy but a Tony winning star - went out there in top form and became an even bigger London West-End star. Fresh, funny, fabulous! As for what Brits term "The new Mel Brooks musical" - Andrew Lloyd Webber, eat your heart out! I havent heard such applause, yelling, stomping, clamoring for more curtain calls even for the Masked Man of the Opera. From the youngest people too, considering the musical's really old fashioned.
The singable songs linger in the mind. The satire is outrageous (e.g., of the neoNazi-wannabe Franz and swishy choreograher Carmen) and the jokes make everyone laugh. The sex (especially as projected by Jayne Mansfield look-alike Leigh Zimmerman as Ulla, receptionist/show girl) is good fun, even when sizzling. Lee Evans, popular comedy star in Britain, offers a nicely controlled interpretation of Leo, the accountant who aspires to be a producer and giving Max the idea of putting on a show - a show with the worst of everyone and everything that will fold immediately and allow them to abscond to Rio with the investor's money.
All the Broadway production values have been preserved, mainly by wisely employing the original talents for the lavish sets, varied lighting, and spectacular - especially for the follies gals - costumes. Music is so well integrated and played that even set pieces seem to occur naturally. Then there's the famous dance of the graying old ladies/backers with their walkers, right out of God's green/waiting room. Perhaps Sheridan has been showering his blessings down on his old theater because The Producers seems touched by an angel.
