PLAY REVIEW



VALDOSTA — One song in Peach State Summer Theatre’s “The Producers” is called “When You’ve Got It, Flaunt It.”

Well, everybody in this show’s got bucket loads of it — talent, chemistry, charisma and stamina — and they aren’t afraid to flaunt it.

“The Producers” is a non-stop whirlwind of gags, pratfalls, songs, dances, and scene changes. Would anyone expect any less from what has been one of Broadway’s biggest shows of this decade and the manic mind of Mel Brooks, who also created classic film comedies, such as “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” and the original, non-musical movie of “The Producers.”

Director Randy Wheeler has a firm grasp on Brooks’ brand of musical madness. Then Wheeler allows the cast to enjoy a fine romp across the Peach State stage of Sawyer Theatre. Since his retirement from Valdosta State University Theatre, Wheeler has restricted himself to directing one show per year with PSST!

With “The Producers,” as he does each year with Peach State, Wheeler proves he’s still got it. He can manage a massive production with multiple scene changes, production numbers, costume changes, and still keep the entire show moving with the deft touch of a well-timed pratfall.

The entire show is helped by a versatile ensemble cast playing a broad number and range of characters from lusty old ladies and musty accountants to gay blades and goose-stepping Nazis.

This ensemble cast is studded with excellent supporting characters. Marc Cornes’ insane Nazi playwright Franz Leibkind is a knee-slapping scream. Nick Mason deserves three snaps and a sharp salute for his performances as Roger De Bris and then as De Bris playing a swishy Adolf Hitler in “Springtime for Hitler,” the show within a show. Julia VanderVeen exudes a Madeline Kahn-type cross of the silly and the sensual as the Swiss bombshell Ulla.

At the top of the marquis are the producers themselves: the characters of Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, impressively portrayed by John Allen Biles and Johnny Machesko.

Biles is PSST!’s Actors Equity Association actor.

This season he also plays the King in PSST!’s “Big River” and the father in “Once On This Island.” Last year, he played the genie in PSST!’s “Aladdin” and the immigrant father in “Ragtime.” He tops them all with his Bialystock.

Machesko is key to the success of this Peach State season. He’s having a busy summer playing Huck Finn in “Big River” and Papa Ge in “Once On This Island.”

Together, Biles and Machesko breathe non-stop comic life into Bialystack and Bloom. They have great comic timing and chemistry. They riff off one another as if they have worked together for years rather than a few weeks, all with a manic spontaneity. They dance. They sing. They tell jokes.

They perform physical comedy. They prove they can do it, and do it all. Biles and Machesko are a non-stop joy to watch.

As is this entire show. In a pre-show interview, Randy Wheeler mentioned that “The Producers” is as much a dance show as it is a comedy. He wasn’t joking. From quick bits of soft shoe to full-scale production numbers, including a show-stopping bit in “Along Came Bialy” with old-lady characters dancing with walkers, “The Producers” dances across the stage thanks to the brilliant choreography of Jacque Wheeler.

“The Producers” is a Mel Brooks show, so expect some language and adult themes, and, if Brooks is your cup of comedy tea, expect a night full of laughs.

This review is based on Tuesday’s performance.



“The Producers” continues 7:30 p.m., July 2; 3 p.m., July 5; 7:30 p.m., July 7, 9, 10; 3 p.m., July 12; 7:30 p.m., July 14, 16, 18, Sawyer Theatre, Valdosta State University Fine Arts Building, corner of Oak and Brookwood.

Tickets: $25, adult; $20, seniors, students; $18, groups of 10 or more.

Reservations, more information: Tickets are now available online; visit the Web site at www.valdosta.edu/psst; or call 259-7770.

The Valdosta Daily Times is proud corporate sponsor of Peach State Summer Theatre!