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 - The Producers Original Cast RecordingBefore seeing the show on Broadway in NY, NY, I bought this CD. It is one of the BEST CD's that I have ever listened to. I still listen to it all the time, and I bought it nine months ago. I have burned it for friends and they all love it. The lyrics are so funny and so is the dialogue. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, I give it an 11. Rating: - Excellent Isn't Good Enough To Describe This One!I can sum up my review of the Original Broadway Cast Recording of The Producers with one word.... WOW!!!! If only the video came with it, I'd give it 15 stars! The vocals are fabulous, the writing spectacular, the jokes timely, engaging and so side-splittingly funny that you'll need to keep an asthmatic inhaler nearby while listening. And this CD even comes with a great insert about the play, explaining actions along the way and has the words to each song. Again, WOW!! This is a MUST HAVE! Rating:  - "PRODUCERS" PRODUCES NOTHING NEWThis has to be the most over-rated, over-hyped musical score in the last hundred years. It isn't just a matter of not measuring up to the reviews that's at issue, it's the fact that the music and lyrics just aren't very good to begin with. Aside from "Springtime for Hitler," the score is, in fact, so awful that one wonders how the cast can bear to do this material night after night. When the dust from the ecstatic, over-arching reviews settles, many are going to be embarrrassed by their effusions over this uninspired work. Musical comedy? No, musical schtick. Rating: - Sparkling entertainmentWho would have believed it? Decades after his best work, Mel Brooks had been written off by many in the entertainment business as a has-been. Then, with his amazing talent for chutzpah, this irrepressible 75-year-old turns to his 1968 cult movie classic, and reinvents it as a Broadway musical. And not just ANY musical. If Brooks never writes another gag or note, he can rest easy in the knowledge that The Producers is one of the most effervescent musicals ever to grace the stage. What talent the man has. Sure, his tunes are derivative (and intentionally so), but they are masterful in the way they pay homage to great musicals of the past. The effect is both witty and touching, proving that his wickedly clever "Inquisition" scene from the 1981 History of the World, Part One was no mere fluke. Of course, he is helped in no small measure by Doug Besterman's marvellous orchestrations, but the lyrics are another matter altogether. Alternately zany and outrageous, no one but Mel Brooks could have penned such comic gems as Keep It Gay and The King of Broadway. Only the most po-faced of listeners will be able to resist these bawdy classics. Brooks is helped by the perfect cast. Towering over the proceedings is the immensely gifted Nathan Lane, in a performance of enormous zest and presence. This is one of the great virtuoso performances, and in the role of Max Bialystock, Lane's larger-than-life personality has found the perfect outlet for its fullest expression. Matthew Broderick is excellent as his nerdy sidekick, revealing a pleasant Broadway-style voice that will surprise critics of this much over-looked performer. Given the disappointment of his recent film career, who knows? The Producers is certainly proof that Broderick has what it takes to be a Broadway star. Among the supporting cast, Gary Beach stands out as "visionary" director Roger De Bris. His vocal mannerisms are in a class of their own, and he makes the absurdities of Keep It Gay a comic delight. And who could forget Brad Oscar's diehard Nazi? I never thought anyone could equal Kenneth Mars' interpretation from the 1968 movie, but Oscar's performance comes perilously close to perfection here. The Producers is that rarest of things: a genuinely tuneful new musical that is both old-fashioned and risque, in the best sense of both words. At its heart is sheer life-affirming joyousness. The CD is beautifully recorded, and guaranteed to cure all but the most terminal of depressions. Happy listening. Rating: - If you can't see the show buy thisI highly recommend this CD. If you are a Mel Brooks fan you will not be dissapointed. I was lucky enough to see the show in Chicago and it is the funniest thing I have seen. Mel Brooks writes the music and lyrics and, well, that should say it all.
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