Producers’ Edinburgh amateur premier
It’s Bad Taste in Morningside from MGA
By Thom Dibdin
Bad taste comes barnstorming into the Church Hill Theatre next week with the Edinburgh amateur premier of Mel Brooks’ musical version of his own exercise in risqué gags: The Producers.
Staged by the Edinburgh MGA Academy’s full time students, the production tells the story of two producers running a scam to fleece broadway angels by getting them to over-invest in a sure-fire flop.
Director Andrew Gowland with the cast of the MGA production of The Producers, Church Hill Theatre Edinburgh, July 2012
Director Andrew Gowland is somewhat excited about staging the show: “It’s not every day that you get handed a script and score like that of Mel Brooks’ musical the Producers. To then be given the opportunity to direct Edinburgh’s premier amateur production of the show using the incredible wealth of talent at The MGA Academy is a true gift.”
In the show, no depth is too shallow for down-on-his-luck producer Max Bialystock and his producing partner, the timid accountant Leo Bloom, in their search for the worst production on broadway, ever. They find it in Springtime for Hitler with tap-dancing storm-troopers and fantastically attired Rhine Maidens, eulogising the Third Reich
To add to the certainty of the failure they employ Broadway’s worst – and most camp – director. Who ends up having to take on the role of Hitler, re-inventing him as a high-camp caricature, much to the writer’s distaste. Although the musical is not as dark as the 1968 movie on which it is based, it certainly crosses several boundaries.
As Gowland says: “It is a satire of everything that is ridiculous about the world of producing in a Broadway musical theatre. You may never look at the entertainment industry in the same light again – it is sure to have you literally rolling in the isles with laughter and a fair amount of sheer disbelief! Add in a spattering of downright ‘surely they didn’t just say that!?’ moments and you have an evening you won’t soon forget.”
The Producers
Church Hill Theatre, Morningside Road, Edinburgh
Wed 4 – Sat 7 July, 7.30pm (Saturday Matinee at 2.30pm).
Tickets: £10.50-£15 from 0131 466 9392
Edinburgh MGA Academy website: themgacompany.com
ENDS
I went with some trepidation on a wet Saturday afternoon – and I’m glad I went. Great show, great singing, great choreography, and the orchestra were outstanding. The chorus were wonderful and the leads handled their roles with aplomb – no mean feat given the two well-known films.
Well done everyone involved.
Thank you for the comment Derek. Glad it went so well!
Sadly I was not able to attend, so if anyone would like to write a review, please do add a comment or contact me through the Contact Page: https://www.alledinburghtheatre.com/about-2/contact/
Thom