Entr'Acte Theatrix to Presents THE PRODUCERS - A MEL BROOKS MUSICAL Beginning This Month

Mel Brooks' musical comedy The Producers won a record-setting 12 Tonys in 2001, including Best Musical - the most in the awards' history. It also set the standard for outrageous, in-your-face, politically incorrect humor. Entr'Acte Theatrix will present what Variety's Charles Isherwood called "a rip-roaring, gut-busting, rib-tickling, knee-slapping, aisle-rolling ... good time" musical at the Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park. The show will open on May 19th and run through June 4th.

The plot is simple: Failed producer Max Bialystock and his reluctant accountant, Leo Bloom, cook up a scheme to convince a group of elderly women to invest two million dollars in a horrendously offensive Third Reich-themed musical, which they know will be a sure-fire flop. This, they conclude, will leave them with the money, which they plan to use to retire to Rio. But against all odds the show is a hit, and Bialystock and Bloom have to deal with their success.

"During these difficult times when once again we are seeing the rise of antisemitism, we debated very carefully about doing this show," Entr'Acte Theatrix Executive Producer Vicki Halmos explains. "But in the end we decided that as Mel Brooks - who himself was a constant recipient of prejudice during his time in the US army - so rightly said, "More than anything the Holocaust by the Nazis is probably the great outrage of the 20th century. There is nothing to compare with it. And ... so what can I do about it? If I get on the soapbox and wax eloquently, it'll be blown away in the wind, but if I do "Springtime for Hitler" it'll never be forgotten. I think you can bring down totalitarian governments faster by using ridicule than you can with invective."

"We at Entr'Acte hope that by taking this absurd and politically incorrect look at a horrendous time in history (not to mention the way Brooks lampoons the 'art of the deal' in the business of theatre) we can entertain and educate at the same time," Halmos says.

Entr'Acte Theatrix will donate a portion of their ticket sales to the Holocaust Museum in Miami.

The Producers Director Jamie Mattocks has cast Carlo-Rufino Sabusap as Max Bialystock, Chris Embroz as Leo Bloom, Zoe Darragh Garnett as Ulla Inga Hansen Bensen, Greg Halmos as Franz Liebkind, Jonathan Costanzo as Roger Debris, and Michael 'Mercury' Moser as Garmen Ghia. Other cast members include Nik Rosa, Nicolas Aquino, David McKibben, Matthew Schenk, Charles Ponthokkan, Chris Calhoun, Norita Bandel, Heidi Salonia, Martyna Reczka, Roxanne Lamendola Grant, JB Peters, and Elizabeth Robinson.

Along with her directing duties, Jamie Mattocks will serve as The Producers' Choreographer. Roger Blankenship is the show's Musical Director. Nicole Stav-Roach is Assistant Director, and Brittany Blouin will serve as the Production Stage Manager.

The Producers will run from May 19th - June 4th at the Willow Theatre at Sugar Sand Park. The theatre is located at 300 S. Military Trail in Boca Raton (33486).

Tickets for The Producers are $35. Group rates are available. Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 561-347-3948 or online at willowtheatre.org.

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