The Producers (2001 Original Broadway Cast)
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Free Music Notes for The Producers (2001 Original Broadway Cast)
Free Music Review: The Fuhrer of Soundtracks...
Hit: 5 Stars
I adored this show, and I really wish I had seen it with the original cast. However, the writing is so brilliant, and the songs so catchy, Brad Oscar and Steven Weber seemed fabulous. Almost immediately after seeing the show, I listened to the soundtrack. Filled with fabulous music, witty lyrics, and great voices, my only problem with it is the slight social disadvantage of singing 'Springtime for Hitler' in the middle of my school corridors.My favourite songs are plentiful and only include 'I Wanna Be a Producer', (which really resonated with me and has me constantly humming) 'Keep it Gay', 'King of Broadway', 'Haben Sie Gehort Das Deutsche Band?', 'Springtime for Hitler', and 'When You Got It, Flaunt It'. I can't say enough about the fabulous orchestrations, which really make the soundtrack.
For the people who say that the show is tasteless, morally wrong, or racist, I think that Mel Brooks has done a great job keeping the show funny, while also keeping it at a level that is playful enough not to be insulting.
I love the way Nathan Lane can make a great Max Bialystock, and Matthew Broderick a great Leo Bloom, even with only sound. And yes, both voices, even Matthew Broderick who is sometimes so wrongly slammed, were incredible.
I gave a soundtrack to my parents, and they were so successful in shouting the soundtrack's praises, that now my grandparents and numerous friends of the family now own soundtracks, and I'm starting to feel like 'The Producers's personal publicity agent.
So, to sum up. Buy this soundtrack! The lyrics will have you singing, the characters will have you smiling, and the overall feeling will have you searching long and hard for a better soundtrack. I disagree with some who say that no one should listen to the CD before they see the show, although before playing it or giving it to someone who hasn't seen it, explain the pretence a bit; I've gotten some pretty confused expressions at some of the songs. And how do you think I reacted when I learned 'The Producers' was coming to Toronto? Let's just say I was humming 'Haben Sie Gehort Das Deutsche Band' a lot more in computer classes...
Free Music Review: One of the Most Entertaining OBC Albums in Recent Years
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm probably one of the few who think the Broadway musical lost something when Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim came along. As a child, I remember the Broadway stage as a place where orchestras were brassy, the chorus line took your breath away, the laughs came on fast and strong and emotion filled the house. The great musicals spoke to the collective unconscious in a way the work of newcomers seldom did. Innovation means "new" but "new," as we know, is not necessarily better.
Then along comes this fabulous recording of THE PRODUCERS, and suddenly I feel like Broadway's has come alive again. Mel Brooks and company buck the trends, pull out the stops and produce some of the funniest and most delightful songs ever heard on an original cast album. While those who are easily offended by colorful language and ethnic humor should probably stay away, everyone else should join in the fun.
'TILL HIM is perhaps, the most beautiful song to emerge from a musical in many, many years, while Nathan Lane's amazing soliloquy, WHERE DID I GO RIGHT, recalls Clive Revill's performance of REVIEWING THE SITUATION from Lionel Bart's OLIVER. It is funny, it is heartbreaking, and it rivets the listener's attention. SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER is everything you remember from the movie version -- and more.
The recording is miked closely, so that (with the exception of Matthew Broderick) higher voices sound more strident than they should (turn down the treble), but the orchestra sounds great and the chorus is bold as brass. The sound stage is wide enough to imagine the musical stage. Nathan Lane is terrific. But so are all the rest.
Not since the 1960's have I delighted in an orginal Broadway recording -- like this. You will laugh, you may shed a tear, but in any event, you'll be happy you purchased this right away.
Mel Brooks not only writes and directs wonderful movies -- he also appears to be the dark horse of the Broadway stage, and I have a funny feeling he'll be back again soon. Hopefully, for our sake, he will.
Free Music Review: M.J.C.
Hit: 5 Stars
This was a spectacular musical. Absolutely spectacular. I saw this three days ago in New York City. It was simply amazing. It deserved every Tony it was awarded (12 - record setting, as most people know by now). I've read several reviews on here, and was shocked to see a few people have the gall to call the music "dull", "boring", "insulting" and even "racist". Who are you fooling, folks? This was dubbed "the new MEL BROOKS musical". Do you negative reviewers know who Mel Brooks is? He's a comedic genius who goes everywhere and anywhere for a laugh. And he hits a grand slam with his "Producers" musical. Those of you who think the musical is racist or vulgar. . well, to quote Brooks himself: "It rose below vulgarity."Whoever found this to be in bad taste must be an idiot. Is it the soundtrack the minority doesn't like or the musical? You have to understand that if you don't like the musical, or the 1968 film (Brooks' first film, which lead him to an Oscar for Best Original Writing), chances are you won't enjoy the soundtrack. So the people who are taking the time to review this soundtrack are idiots. If you found it offensive, then you must've been a fan of Hitler. I don't know what was racist about it, and I certainly don't know what was boring about it.
For anyone who thought the musical was dull, well good lord, what do you people do for a living? It deservedly won 12 Tonys and you're going to complain that its boring? The minority who disliked the soundtrack, the musical, or the film, have extremely poor taste. Ask the couple thousand people in the theatre who laughed along with me at every joke. Or ask the several thousand people who pay good money to go see "The Producers" on Broadway each and every day.
I recommend watching the film, understanding why its funny (if you haven't already), then go out and buy the sountrack. If you can get to NY to see the wonderful Broadway show, do so as soon as you can. You'll enjoy the soundtrack even more after seeing the show. It's a real treat.
Free Music Review: AT LAST, A "REAL" BROADWAY MUSICAL!
Hit: 5 Stars
Shocking? Outrageous? Insulting? Of course, it wouldn't have been a Mel Brooks' movie classic if there hadn't been something in it to offend almost everyone. When I first saw The Producers thirty-some years ago I said to myself, "Self, wouldn't this be great as a musical? And I would have loved to do it myself (in my dreams), but Mel Brooks has finally beat me to it and now The Producers, The Musical is destined to become a Broadway classic!"This recording allows you to forget the last several years of questionable Broadway musicals and return to a time when a Broadway show meant fun, laughs and music! Making his debut as a "Broadway" composer/lyricist Mel Brooks has captured the feel of some of Broadway's greatest songsmiths of the past and his music sparkles with touches of Styne, Loesser, and even Gershwin. His lyrics, however, are pure Brooks all the way. If you remember "Springtime For Hitler" and "Prisoners Of Love" from the original movie, you'll know what to expect from the 15 new fun numbers in the score.
The recording sounds great with just enough show dialogue to give it a live stage presence that a great Broadway Cast recording must have. But you have to expect this from a show with stars like Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. They are outstanding, and boy, is it going to be rough come Tonytime! Brooks has generously supplied each of them with showstoppers...solos and duets! And I can't wait to see Lane perform "The King Of Broadway" and "Betrayed" the second act number in which he reprises the entire show up to that point. Dear Mr. Letterman, if you would be so kind?
Producer, Hugh Forin, and Sony Classic should be congratulated for finally giving us a "real" Broadway Original Cast recording. Now, I can't wait to get the New York to see it in person!
By the way, isn't that Mr. Brooks doing a one line cameo in Springtime For Hitler? Listen close and let me know!
Free Music Review: Mel Brooks = Brilliant
Hit: 5 Stars
My theatre group went to New York two years ago, adn we did a marathon 4 shows in 3 days. Each show got progressively better, finally culminating in seeing Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick's final performance of "The Producers." I have been a fan of Brooks' since I saw "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" 5 years ago. Naturally, I was beyond excited to see the show he made of his most brilliant film.
I was not disappointed. It was funny, racy, and downright fabulous. I bought the soundtrack at intermission and have been listening to it ever since. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves musicals. Lane and Broderick play off each other perfectly, Cady Huffman has one of the best belting voices I've heard in ages, and the songs are actually FUNNY.
Aside from raving about one of my favorite shows, I would like to address the comments made about the show downplaying Hitler and being racist towards Germans. In no way does this show downplay Hitler's terrible deeds. Bialystock and Bloom make several comments about how disgusted they are about the play- the fact that it is so insulting to our sensibilities is the reason why it was chosen in the first place. I am Jewish and have studied the Holocaust and WWII for years. I was not offended in the least, nor did I feel the Brooks was promoting or trivializing Hitler's war crimes. Brooks himself is Jewish for god's sake.
Second, I see nothing in the show that is racist towards Germans. Yes there is a Nazi in it who is German. How is that racist? The Nazis went all over the world after WWII- it is possible that several ended up in New York City. And no one will argue that some Nazi's were German. You might as well say that the show is discriminatory towards Swedes, or gay directors, or producers, or the countless number of things made fun of in the show.