producers

The saga of...

THE PRODUCERS

Sunday, March 10, 2002

This is the tale of my experience of seeing "The Producers," and what an experience it was!

Special thanks to Lilian G., who allowed me to drag her around New York for three days, and who kept me company while sitting on the curb in front of the St. James for seven hours. Also, thanks to Jen, Nick, Nancy and Jean, fellow line-sitters, for sharing their chairs and their happy conversation with us!

Saturday, March 9, 6:20 PM

Lilian and I went to the St. James to see about the cancellation line for the following day's show, and to see if we could spot some of the cast members. Okay, so I wanted to check out the line and spot some cast members, and she just humored me. This was her first trip to New York, and her first Broadway show. Little did she know what she was in for the next day!

In talking to the man in charge of the cancellation line, he told me if we wanted to get in on Sunday, we would have to be there between 3 and 5 AM. Hearing this, I went to the box office, where another person told me it wasn't necessary to be there that early, but the earlier I arrived, the better. Hearing two conflicting things (not unlike the three different things Telecharge had told me over the previous few days), I decided to hit the curb at 6 the next morning.

We didn't see any of the principal cast members that evening, except for Brad Oscar, who was outside the stage door talking on his cell phone, and unfortunately it seemed I was the only one who recognized him.

Sunday, March 10--The Long Haul

6:30 AM

Arrived at the St. James only to discover there were about 12 people in line in front of us. They had been there since 3 AM and were camped out in sleeping bags (it was about 38-42 degrees and windy). A woman in front of us informed me that all the standing room tickets were already gone, which worried me since I had traveled from Florida for the express purpose of seeing this show, and had dragged my poor friend with me! Needless to say, I was cold, hungry, and not very happy. However, we spread our hotel towel out on the curb, pulled out our breakfast cereal bars and my CD player, and settled in for the long haul.

8:30 AM

At about 7:00, some more ticket hopefuls joined us. Jen and Nick had driven in from New Jersey, and Nancy and Jean had taken the train from Connecticut. In the early morning cold, we struck up a conversation, with Jean and I going to the McDonald's on Eighth Avenue to fetch some coffee. They were all very nice people, and I was glad to have some other people to talk to who were just as eager to see the show as I was.

A man in the line behind Nancy and Jean, we learned, was a professional line-sitter, getting paid quite a good bit of money for the simple purpose of waiting in line to get tickets for others. He informed us that even though we were so far back in line, we were likely to get in to see the show, because there were always a good deal of cancellations.

10:30 AM

While our friends held our places in line, we all took turns going to the Marriott Marquis to warm up. Thank goodness we weren't sitting in front of the Shubert, because the wind in Shubert Alley was horrendous--it was bad enough at the St. James, where we were perpetually covered in street grit and blowing trash.

Employees arrived at the theater, and set out the cancellation-line barricades, along with trash bags (finally!) Jen and Nancy were kind enough to share their chairs with Lilian and I, and we all sat around talking about the show. I had my CD player on, with the cast album playing, and we all sat around and listened. Nancy had seen the show once before, when Brad Oscar was playing Max Bialystock in Nathan's absence. She and Jean were both there to see Nathan, but they both raved about how wonderful the show was. At this point, I just hoped we could all get in.

At 11:00, the man in charge of the line came out to give away the standing room tickets. Just as we thought, they were all gone, and Lilian and I were #13 and #14 for cancellations. Our professional line-sitting companion informed us that this was a good thing, and that we would probably get in.

12:30 PM

They released a block of cancellations, which left Lilian and I next in line for single seats. Later, the man in charge of the line (who was very nice, by the way) came over to me and said they had one more standing room left over, and of course, I took it! Jen and Nancy were quite happy for me, and I admit, I was pretty happy for myself, too.

2:00 PM

Lilian got a partial view ticket, and so we were both in! Jen, Nick, Nancy and Jean hadn't gotten tickets yet, but were still hopeful. We waited around for cast members to start arriving, at about 1:30. At 2:10, a black SUV pulled up to the curb, and a man in sunglasses and an overcoat jumped out and headed for the stage door.

2:30 PM

We made ourselves somewhat more presentable around the corner at the Marquis. Heading for the theater, we see our friends from the line, still waiting for cancellations. The line to enter the theater snakes around the block!

3:00 PM--Showtime!

*SPOILER ALERT-- If you haven't seen the show yet, you might want to scroll down, since I will discuss specifics of the performance.

Standing room wasn't all that bad. The show is wonderful--truly a great piece of work, and so funny. As soon as Nathan comes out onstage, he is a commanding presence. It is hard to take your eyes off him--he so completely steals the show, but not in an upstaging way. It is merely because he is such an incredible performer. Even though I was standing in the back, I could still see every expression, every subtlety he made. He was truly phenomenal. His voice was also good, despite his troubles, though there were times when one could tell he was not in top shape. He more than made up for any singing faults with his dialogue, which was full of what I consider "trademark Laneisms." Just in the first couple of scenes, he roared, whined, went hysterical, and talked to Matthew like one would talk to a dog. In one scene, Leo has come to do Max's books. Leo goes hysterical because Max has touched his blue blanket he carries around like a child. Leo goes hysterical, while Max tries to snap him out of it by throwing water in his face and slapping him--"I'm in pain! And I'm wet! And I'm still hysterical!"--after which Max begins to go hysterical. In order to calm Leo down, Max goes to sit behind his desk. In the book of "The Producers," Max simply says, "Is that better?" In this performance--and I cannot tell you if this is a nightly occurrence, since I only saw the show once--Nathan/Max proceeds to go, "Who's my good little accountant? You're my good little accountant, aren't you, Leo? Yes you are!" From what I gather, this was an ad-lib, because not only was the man behind the sound board behind me laughing like crazy, but Matthew just couldn't hold it in, and he started to laugh, too! Nathan is also a good dancer! He makes Max into a wonderful character, giving him sweetness and humanity. One cannot help but be endeared to him.

In the second act, I switched seats with my friend, and was able to sit up in the box to see Nathan do "Betrayed!" I was about 15 feet above the stage, almost in line with the orchestra pit, and still had a pretty good view even though the house considered it a partial view. It was incredible to see him perform up close. It seemed like he was really enjoying himself onstage, and the audience applauded for what seemed forever after "Betrayed!", myself included. I think I must have cheered louder than half the theater, and the people in the box were, I think, looking at me strangely. At the curtain call, Nathan got the most applause of anyone, and he deserved every cheer. Again, I was one of the biggest cheerers out there!

Of course, I can't ignore how talented the other performers were, either. Brad Oscar, Gary Beach, Roger Bart, and Cady Huffman are all Tony award winners/nominees for good reason. It's a shame they all couldn't have won, because they certainly all deserve the recognition. Matthew Broderick is wonderful, a nice dancer, and incredibly funny! He has come a long way since Ferris Bueller. He and Nathan were a wonderful team, and played nicely off each other. I think the show, as good as it is on its own, is losing a great deal without Nathan and Matthew. They really take a funny show and make it hilarious, but also add a lot of dimension to parts that could become farcical in the wrong hands.

After the Show-- 5:45 PM

I made my way to the stage door, parking myself directly to the right of the exit, despite people pushing in to get closer. Nathan came out about 6:10, and headed into the restaurant next door, not stopping to sign autographs (no wonder; he must have been tired after a week of performances.) Someone did come out with a stack of Playbills that Nathan had signed backstage, and distributed them to the crowd.

Cady Huffman came out next, and was so kind and sweet. She stayed to sign everyone's Playbills for quite a while. She asked the woman standing next to me if we were all waiting for Nathan, and admitted "he's a tough one to get."

At 6:45 or so, Matthew Broderick came out, and he was also very nice! He came over to sign my Playbill first, and was kind enough to pose for a picture with Lilian (and yes, I was jealous!) He also stayed quite a little while to sign Playbills, and then got into a black SUV.

So ends my adventure! After traveling 1000 miles and spending a small fortune, I can truly say it was all very well worth it. I think that in 20 years, people will still be talking about "The Producers," and I will be among those to say, "I saw it way back when?I saw Nathan Lane play Max Bialystock."

--Merri M.

Webmaster, The Nathan Lane Library

Click here to view pictures

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws