Following up on my previous review of The Producers, I’ve had a little more time to think about it, and earlier I posted this to Gay Boy Musicals Fans UK at Yahoo!
Having read the positive reader comments on the BBC’s story about The Producers, I suspect I may be a lone voice in expressing a little (and just a little) disappointment. I hadn’t read many reviews, but I did know about the reception it had received in the US and the praise heaped on Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.
I haven’t seen the film, which, judging by the number of people sitting around me who had, means I was possibly one of only a small number of people in the audience who hadn’t. I wonder if that made a difference?
I saw it a week or so ago, and it was good but not as good as all the raving would imply. While Nathan Lane’s talent, comic timing and performance cannot be faulted, I did find weaknesses in the show. I thought some of the musical numbers in the middle were slow, and the Ulla character was not engaging at all – in fact, she was positively irritating. James Dreyfus was camp (which, I guess, is the intention) but in that 1970s OTT cringe-worthy way. Humour is, of course, personal and subjective, but I found it only amusing and not laugh-out-loud funny, as many of the reviews suggest.
Still, I would take issue with the review of Lee Evans’ performance, which says ‘he just about holds his own’. I would argue that he did far more than that. He too was excellent, believable & humorous, and while I’ve never been a big fan of his stage antics, he worked well in the role. In fact, for me, he worked so well I can’t imagine Broderick in the role.
I will, however, recommend the show because it stands out from much of the rest of the West End right now – it is good. It has some wonderful comedy and delightful musical moments. But those individual moments do not, in my opinion, add up to a great whole. I even bought the soundtrack in the hope that familiarity with the songs will make me warm to more of them.
Maybe it’s just me.