 Amarillo
Little Theatre and Joseph H. and Arlene Pool
take great pride in producing Mel Brooks’
The Producers. It
should be noted that ALT is one of the first
community theatres in the nation to do so. Bialystock
and Bloom are names that should strike terror
and hysteria in the minds of anyone familiar
with Mel Brooks’ classic cult comedy film.
As a big Broadway musical which opened in 2001,
The Producers once
again sets the standard for modern, outrageous,
in-your-face humor. It is a truly “boffo”
hit, winning a record twelve
Tony Awards and wowing capacity crowds night
after night.
A down-on-his-luck Broadway producer
and his mild-mannered accountant come up with
a scheme to produce the most notorious flop
in history thereby bilking their backers, who
are “little old ladies” out of millions
of dollars. Only one thing goes awry: the show
is a smash
hit! The antics of Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom
is a lesson in broad comic construction. You
will see them maneuver their way fecklessly
through finding a show (the gloriously offensive
“Springtime For Hitler”), hiring
a director, raising the money and finally going
to prison for their misdeeds. At the core of
the insanely funny adventure is a poignant emotional
journey of two very different men who become
friends.
With a truly hysterical book
co-written by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan (Annie)
and music and lyrics by Mr. Brooks, The
Producers skewers Broadway traditions
and takes no prisoners as it proudly proclaims
itself an “equal opportunity offender!”
ALT has enlisted a wonderfully talented cast for this production featuring many audience favorites and newcomers alike.
Leading actors include Richie Garza as Bialystock, Jeff Jarnagin as Bloom, Annika Johansson as Ulla, Brent Biles as Franz
Liebkind, Shawn Walsh as Roger
DeBris and Jason Crespin as
Carmen Ghia. The very busy and talented ensemble
includes Chuck Alexander, Josh
Bates, Brandon Bellar,
Tony Brazell, Lori
Boston, Amber Burton,
Caitlin Campbell, Megg
Dunlap, Jason Garren,
Lissa Garren, Ryce
Garren, Joshua Gibson,
Bobby Gregg, Robert
Hansen, Sarah Johnson,
Cara Kee, Justin Loe,
Shannon Mashburn, Jonathan
Mobley, Caroline Robinson,
Kim Shreffler, Tara
Teetor, Elizabeth Tracy
and Dustin Ward.
Artistic Director for the production
is Allen Shankles with Jim
Gardner as Music Director and Anne
Lankford as Choreographer. Raymond
Girard applies his skills as Costume
Designer with Gregg Dunlap
as Technical Director and Tana Roberson
as Scenic Designer. |
