Menier Chocolate Factory – until 1 March 2025
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
5*****
The Producers are back in London with a bang… and a few coos. Mel Brooks’s hit play/musical/film is a laugh riot in the hands of director Patrick Marber and this incredible company.
The story of the unlikely partnership of failed Broadway producer Max Bialystock (Andy Nyman) whose every show is a flop, and accountant Leo Bloom (Marc Antolin) is still an absolute blast. When Leo realises that the surefire way to make a profit is to produce a show that will close on opening night, they plot to produce the worst show Broadway has ever seen. Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden by Franz Liebkind fits the bill, and in the hands of the worst director they know, Roger De Bris (Trevor Ashley) everything goes right – too right – as the audience love the all-singing, all-dancing Führer.
Brooks and fellow writer Thomas Meehan’s humour never offends in this production, as jokes, whether aimed at Jews, Nazis, gays, or sexist tropes are all delivered with a gleeful shrug and wink as the biggest joke is on the theatrical nonsense.
The cast are incredible. On press night Andy Nyman was unwell, but performed brilliantly, so I can only imagine what he will be like firing on all cylinders. Nyman makes the sleezy Max pathetic and loveable, and very very funny. His chemistry with Marc Antolin’s sweet but determined Bloom is wonderful, and each moment the pair share on stage is a delight. And their voices! Throwing a spanner into this relationship is the fabulous Joanna Woodward as Ulla. Trevor Ashley is superb as the preening De Bris, wringing laughs from every gesture and glance to the audience, and Harry Morrison’s unhinged Fritz is a delight.
There are plenty of visual gags in the background – Fritz’s pigeons almost steal the show, and this production’s version of Springtime for Hitler is gloriously daft, with Trevor Ashley’s entrance drawing howls of laughter.
Scott Pask’s set enables swift changes between Maz’s office, Roger’s glamorous apartment and Fritz’s rooftop. Paul Farnsworth’s costumes are simply glorious and Lorin Latarro’s superb choreography is wonderfully old-school and silly – the little old ladies dance is inspired.
Menier musical revivals often transfer to the West End – and although this intimate production is every producer’s dream with the run sold out, here’s hoping that we get to see it on a bigger stage soon. The irreverent, irrepressible humour, performed with panache and boundless energy by the talented company, makes this THE show to see this Christmas season.