Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C.

The Producers
Olney Theatre Center


Michael Kostroff and Michael Di Liberto
The Producers is as outrageous and delicious as ever in the production now at the Olney Theatre Center, in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. Director Mark Waldrop and choreographer Tara Jeanne Vallee have marshaled a dynamic cast that keeps the comic energy at a fever pitch.

For the few people unaware of the phenomenon of The Producers, creator Mel Brooks (music, lyrics, and book with Thomas Meehan) adapted this musical—which won a record 12 Tony Awards in 2001—from the Oscar-winning screenplay of his original film from 1968. It's a big, splashy musical that requires numerous standout performers, a chorus that needs stamina to keep up with the singing and dancing, and sumptuous costumes, and Olney's production delivers.

To begin with, lead actors Michael Kostroff and Michael Di Liberto take welcome steps out of the long shadows of Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick as the frantic Broadway producer Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, the repressed accountant who becomes Max's partner in a grand fraud based on staging a glittering musical about Adolf Hitler. Kostroff actually looks a bit like Brooks and he manages to keep his poise as he mines the levels of desperation and dyspepsia. De Liberto, relatively tall and balding, is a hoot with his stiff-legged walk, frozen gaze, and constrained singing voice.

Jason Graae oozes undeserved self-confidence as Roger De Bris, the flamboyant director who plays Hitler as if he were Judy Garland, and Stephen F. Schmidt is amusingly rigid as Franz Liebkind, Nazi apologist and pigeon fancier. As Ulla, Jessica Jaros nails both the character's over-the-top physicality and her ingenuousness.

Vallee's choreography borrows from Susan Stroman's Broadway originals at times—chorus girls still burst from the filing cabinets at Leo's accounting firm, Max's little old ladies with checks still dance with their walkers, Roger's production team still flounces and poses—but she brings her own (lunatic) vision to some of the major numbers. The ensemble threatens to turn the show into Fiddler on the Roof during "The King of Broadway," and some of Vallee's innovations for "Springtime for Hitler" will blindside audiences (in a good way). The nine-member orchestra keeps up ably.

James Fouchard's scenic design is more practical than inspired, but Seth M. Gilbert's costumes pick up the slack with their sparkle, detail, and vivid colors. Even the characters' socks are color coordinated.

Olney Theatre Center
The Producers
June 24th - July 26th
Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
Music and lyrics by Mel Brooks
The Usherettes: Gabriella DeLuca, Amanda Kaplan
Max Bialystock: Michael Kostroff
Leo Bloom: Michael Di Liberto
Hold-me Touch-me: Victoria Winter
Mr. Marks: John Jeffords
Franz Liebkind: Stephen F. Schmidt
Carmen Ghia: Robert Mintz
Roger De Bris: Jason Graae
Bryan: Lance E. Hayes
Kevin: Nurney
Scott: Ethan Kasnett
Shirley: Victoria Winter
Ulla: Jessica Jaros
Lick-me Bite-me: Gabriella DeLuca
Kiss-me Feel-me: Jennifer Cameron
Jack Lepidus: Nurney
Donald Dinsmore: Lance E. Hayes
Jason Green: Derek John Tatum
Lead Tenor: John Jeffords
Sergeant: Derek John Tatum
O'Rourke: Brandon Ambrosino
O'Riley: Lance E. Hayes
O'Houlihan: Nurney
Bailiff: Lance E. Hayes
Guard: Ethan Kasnett
Judge: Kurt Boehm
Foreman of the Jury: Derek John Tatum
Trustee: Derek John Tatum
Ensemble: Brandon Ambrosino, Kurt Boehm, Jennifer Cameron, Jennifer Cordiner, Gabriella DeLuca, Lance E. Hayes, John Jeffords, Amanda Kaplan, Ethan Kasnett, Emily Madden, Nurney, Natalie Perez-Duel, Derek John Tatum, Vicky Winter
Directed by Mark Waldrop
Musical director: Darius Smith
Choreographer: Tara Jeanne Vallee
2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road
Olney, MD
Ticket Information: 301-924-3400 or www.olneytheatre.org


Photo: Stan Barouh