Review of The Producers at The Cliffs Pavilion!

April 7, 2015 by Ray Morgan

My only knowledge of The Producers, the hit Mel Brooks musical, was from season 4 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, where Larry David gets cast as Max Bialystock and forgets his lines on opening night. I’ll hold my hands up and say that’s as far as my knowhow went – and that I’m usually rather wary of musicals. Why sing, when you can talk? I always think.

So it was rather nice to go to the current touring production of the musical with no big expectations: no favourite previous castings, or particular songs to recognise. From the moment the curtain went up, though, I was in. Cory English, an actor I’d never seen in anything before, burst on stage with the goatee of Louis CK, the voice of a Broadway professional (funny that), and the élan of Nathan Lane. Diminutive though he was, English was an absolute powerhouse, and his grimy, seedy Bialystock oddly had us on side, despite his underhand and immoral ways – we were rooting for him.

The biggest surprise of the night for me was Jason Manford. I hadn’t even realised he could sing, dance and act – having only seen him on comedy shows, his performance was a welcome change. He played the weedy, wimpy Leo Bloom perfectly, with a voice that soared when it needed to. The chemistry between Manford and English as the two protagonists was just right: the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other.

Biggest laughs came from Southend’s very own Phill Jupitus, who was unrecognisable as the frankly psychotic pistol-wielding Franz Liebkind, who made Nick Frost’s Mike Watt in Spaced seem a pacifist, and could make Papa Lazarou look like a children’s storyteller. His natural comic timing came into its own in this performance – in fact some of it seemed so natural I wondered if he was adlibbing - and it was great to hear the audience cheering Jupitus as a local hero during his final bow.

Overall, the performance was flawless. The talent and energy of this cast was utterly joyful, and I felt exhausted for them as it came to end (Louie Spence can put the Duracell bunny to shame!). The story is funny – seeing a gay Hitler high-kicking in sequins to a backdrop of swastika flags in a white fur shrug is hilarious, there’s no denying it – and it certainly had the audience roaring. It was very tongue in cheek with its stereotypes: women were skimpy-outfitted lust objects (skilled at cleaning and taking their kit off), gays were either sparkly queens or dungaree-wearing lesbians, and Swedish girls love to prance in their underwear while cutely mispronouncing everything. I mean, don’t they?!

At this point I have to make a special mention for David Bedella who shone as camp director Roger de Bris, and latterly said queeny Hitler. His comedy, physicality, and totally boss voice boomed through the theatre like a (pink, glittery) cannon. The cast complemented each other brilliantly, and this slick, funny production had me ACTUALLY ENJOYING A MUSICAL. Top marks to all involved. A jolly good night out.

The Producers is at The Cliffs Pavilion until Saturday - Get the last remaining tickets here!