The Producers news stories on Newser

Was Newt Gingrich Trying to Fail, Producers -Style?

Kevin Spak — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:50:21 CST

“We may be witnessing the political world’s answer to The Producers ,” writes Steve Kornacki of Salon : “It’s called the Newt Gingrich presidential campaign.” For the uninitiated, Mel Brooks’ comedy is about a greedy showman who tries to make a musical that will flop—and winds up with a hit. That...

Top Cultural Game-Changers

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:11:51 CST

The ‘00s were full of important contributions to culture, but which ones will we still be talking about in another decade? Here are some of New York ’s picks: TV : The Sopranos for inventing quality cable, American Idol for changing the music industry, and of course all things Oprah Winfrey....

Hitler Sells Again in Germany

Mary Papenfuss — Sun, 31 May 2009 07:07:59 CDT

The Broadway hit musical comedy The Producers finally opened in Berlin to boffo box office receipts—but not before in intense sales push to break through German reluctance to see an ersatz Hitler hamming it up on stage, reports the Los Angeles Times . "If you put it on most places,...

'Funny Fuhrer' Finally Hits Berlin

Rob Quinn — Tue, 19 May 2009 07:26:36 CDT

The Producers has goose-stepped its way onto a German stage 76 years after the springtime when Hitler took power, the New York Times reports. There were plenty of laughs—if sometimes uneasy ones—on opening night Sunday, but the Nazi-mocking musical and its swastika-laden ads prompted a fresh round of...

Billy Elliot Grabs 15 Tony Nods

Kevin Spak — Tue, 05 May 2009 10:32:43 CDT

Musical Billy Elliot snagged 15 Tony nominations today, tying fellow movie adaptation The Producers for most ever. Main rival Next to Normal has a shot at 11 awards. Among plays, Mary Stuart and The Norman Conquests got seven nominations each, but neither got a Best Play nod, while God of...

Nazi-Mocking Producers Coming to Berlin

Kevin Spak — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:10:15 CDT

This could be awkward. Mel Brooks’ The Producers has been a smash around the world, but will the Hitler-mocking musical play in Germany? The Admiralspalast theater in Berlin—which the real Führer once frequented—is betting Germans are ready to laugh at the blood-soaked past, the Daily Mail reports. “If...

Young Frank 's a Broadway Flub

Jonas Oransky — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:46:02 CST

Mel Brooks wowed 42nd Street with his musical debut The Producers , but follow-up Young Frankenstein fell flat at last night's opening, says Time's Richard Zoglin. Without Brooks' freshman hit, Young Frank might be “reasonably entertaining”; instead it demands comparison and ends up mere “shtick." Its brilliant film source is “a...