Well I finally saw The Producers in New York! Last night I went to the St. James Theatre to see Richard Kind as Max Bialystock and Roger Bart as Leo Bloom produce Springtime For Hitler.

Great seat -- S2 -- the last row of the orchestra on the center aisle. The theater is so intimate that I felt incredibly close and the sightline was great. I really think that is part of the reason for the early demise of The Producers in Toronto. I saw it there on opening night and I was up in the nose bleed balcony of the Canon Theatre and you miss so much of the business and energy on stage. My new policy is, if you can't see the actors spit come out of their mouths, you're sitting too far back! Ideally, you can feel it too!

I loved the show! Richard and Roger were AWESOME. Richard Kind played Max Bialystock. He really harkened back to Zero Mostel's Max in the 1968 movie. He had a nice combination of decrepitness and lovability. He was loud, brash and very commanding on stage. And great facial responses and business throughout the whole show -- he could really milk a moment.

Everyone knows I love Roger Bart. But really, he was great as Leo. His physical and vocal humor is great and his singing chops are perfect for the role. The two had a really nice energy between them as well. The blue blankie stuff was hilarious, not cloying and forced as it had been in Toronto.

There was one moment when Roger Bart almost lost it in the scene where he is quitting his clerking job and tries to hand over his visor. It was stuck, and he kept tugging at it. You could see the smile forming on his face. I love stuff like that. Also the scene in Roger Debris apartment when he is interacting with Carmen Ghia (played very campily by Brooks Ashmanskas) there was a neat positive energy between the two of them, since Roger Bart had been nominated for a Tony for the Carmen Ghia role!

The whole cast was great -- Frans Liebkind (John Treacy Egan), Roger Debris (Jonathan Freeman) Ulla (Angie Schworer) and the ensemble too.

And the little old ladies were fab!

The whole thing clocked in at almost three hours, but didn't feel long to me. Interestingly, they've cut the little dialogue bit that Roger Debris has during "Springtime for Hitler" when he is sitting on the stage a la Judy Garland. But they did do the tap challenge.

I just love this show. I know not everyone does but the music and lyrics are great and I've always had a soft spot for Mel Brooks' humor since my dad was a big fan. People say the reason it didn't run in Toronto, was that it is a "New York" show. I guess, but the audience (which was packed) appeared to be mostly tourists.

Did I mention I had a good time?

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