Dearborn residents Dan Hartley and Brian Townsend will play Leo Bloom and Max Bialystock respectively in the Players Guild of Dearborn production of the Mel Brooks and Thomas Mehan musical comedy, “The Producers.”
HARTLEY AND TOWNSEND TEAM UP
When Leo, a mild-mannered accountant shows Max, a down-on-his-luck producer that a quickly closing flop could potentially make more money that a hit, the two set out to find the worst script, director and cast to ensure a profitable flop.
Musical director Ken Pletzer of Northville said the cast includes some serious talent and that audiences will be laughing non-stop throughout the show.
“If auditions are any sign of what the show is going to be like, it’s going to be an awesome show,” Pletzer said. “We have some very talented folks… if you’re a fan of Brian Townsend you might want to come see the show.”
He added that Dan Hartley, who plays Leo to Townsend’s Max was hilarious at auditions.
HAAS SEES HUMOR
Director Valerie Haas of Inkster said that the show is continuously funny.
“It is non-stop joke after joke after joke,” Haas said. “It is a look at the biggest loser of all producers, named Max Bialystock, who keeps trying to do great theatre, a great show, and it always turns out to be a disaster. And he’s just produced another one: “Funny Boy, the musical Hamlet.”
SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER?!
She said Max and Leo find the worst possible script, “Springtime for Hitler,” the worst director in town – an over-the-top gay guy and his equally untalented live-in entourage of set designers and costumers, and the worst singers, dancers and actors they can find.
LEADING MAN "BREAKS A LEG"
However, when the leading man literally breaks a leg, the director must step into the role, and it changes the entire perspective.
“It turns Hitler into this over-the-top gay man, the reviews come out that it’s this wonderful satiric masterpiece, and it’s a hit,” Haas said.
She said the casting committee saw some really good auditions, and she ended up getting almost the exact number of people that she needed.
“We needed some very specific types,” Haas said. “We needed somebody that could pull off a lot of comedy with a lot of singing and some dancing and everything so we were very fortunate to get the people that we got.”
She added that choreographer Valerie Mould used her contacts to pull in some very good dancers who have worked with her before.
BOOTH AS DEBRIS
She said one of the funniest scenes is the number “Keep it Gay,” set in the townhouse of Roger DeBris (played by Phillip Booth of Dearborn) the director.
GOJKOV AS GHIA
“He and his common-law assistant Carmen Ghia (played by Alex Gojkov of Redford) also live with the entire production team. It’s this huge over-the-top number where Max and Leo are trying to talk Roger into directing their show, ‘Springtime for Hitler,’ and how he (Roger) is trying to say ‘no’ and then he has these brilliant ideas and things like that.”
A PLAY-WITHIN-A-PLAY
Haas said the other funniest scene is “Springtime for Hitler’ itself, the play-within-the-play.
TAP DANCING STORM TROOPERS
“It’s this god-awful yet brilliant depiction of Franz Leibkin’s play… a wonderful homage to his Fuhrer,” Haas said. “It’s got tap-dancing storm troopers and canons and people with cardboard U-boats and tanks and all this going on. It’s supposed to be hideous… the fact that the critics like it is beyond understanding.”
She said the actors in the ensemble are very busy, playing anywhere from five to nine roles each.
“They are kept on stage constantly coming and going as different characters,” Haas said.
HOT MAMAS WITH MONEY
She said Max’s financial backers – little old ladies whom he has affairs with to fund his plays – some played by the male ensemble – come out and do an hysterical tap dance number using walkers instead of tap shoes.
AUDITION AUDACITY
“There is so much going on,” Haas said. “The audition scene where they’re auditioning actors is a scream because they have some of the worst people ever coming out… and every one of them is awful… which is what Max and Leo want.”
Brian Townsend, who plays Max, agreed that it is one of the funniest shows around.
MEL BROOKS' RHYTHM AND WORDS
“It’s written by a true master of comedy and comedic writing, Mel Brooks who just has an ear for the rhythm of comedy,” Townsend said. “Single words alone are funny when they’re in his hands.”
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY INSULTS
He added that the show has something for everyone, and everyone gets equally skewered at the same time.
VAUDEVILLIAN
“There’s a physical humor to everything, there’s wit to stuff – it’s very vaudevillian in its nature,” Townsend said. “So you have to be paying attention and listening all the time.”
SID CAESAR LEGACY
Phil Booth, who plays Roger, added that it helps if you remember that Mel Brooks was a writer for Sid Caesar.
GOJKOV GETS IT
“Part of Roger’s magic is that he has Carmen Ghia to play off of, which is played by Alex Gojhov and you couldn’t ask for anything better than that,” Booth said. “The back and forth between Alex and I would be fun to do, even if there were no audience – it would be worth six week of rehearsal to do it because it is so fun.”
Booth added that the comedic style is tried and true.
COMIC CHEMISTRY
“The timing is there, the funny words are there, all the embellishments are there, and if you click into that chemistry, it works,” Booth said.
FAST AS FORUM
Booth added that the show has the same fast pace as “A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum.”
CHALLENGES
Townsend said that it is a show that is full of challenges for the Guild.
“It is great that we’re attempting it,” Townsend said. “We will give it our all and it will be just an evening full of laughter for whoever come see it… and we’ve got the right people in place to help pull it off.”
The show launches its four-weekend run April 27 at the Players Guild of Dearborn, 21730 Madison in Dearborn.
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