Lakewood Theatre Company Presents Portland Premiere Of THE PRODUCERS 7/10-8/23

Mel Brooks will once again have audiences roaring with laughter when his hilarious smash-hit comedy, The Producers, opens on Lakewood Theatre's main stage Friday, July 10. The show runs in all its outrageous, madcap glory through August 23. Directed by Alan Shearman (A Flea In Her Ear, Accomplice, Lend Me A Tenor) with musical direction by Jeffrey Kauffman and choreography by Erin Shannon (Wild Party, Pippin) the show promises to make everyone's summer a whole lot brighterŠ and funnier.

Brooks' raucous, in-your-face musical comedy features two wily producers (Jay Pevney and Todd Tschida) who, with the help of their curvy blonde bombshell assistant Ulla (Sara Catherine Wheatley), conspire to cook the books and produce the worst musical - and biggest flop - ever, then run off with the investors' unspent money. Called the "biggest hit in Broadway history," The Producers won more Tony Awards (12) than any other musical, including Best Book, Best Score and Best Musical. Lakewood is proud to present the Portland area premiere of this exciting romp.
Director Alan Shearman calls this project "a monster of a show, with all the key ingredients for a side-splitting evening - brassy tunes, lavish production numbers, laugh-a-minute comedy, a dash of romance and all the over-the-top Mel Brooks humor you can handle." While not for young kids, open-minded audiences will appreciate the crazy satirical humor as Mel Brooks takes jabs at everyone! Old ladies tap dance with their walkers, Nazi soldiers goose-step to Springtime For Hitler and a flaming director with an affinity for dressing in drag orchestrates it all. There's no end to the nonsense!

The Producers opens Friday, July 10 at Lakewood Theatre Company and continues until August 23 with the following performance schedule: Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 PM (note NEW TIME); Sundays at 7:00 PM on July 12, 19, 26 & Aug 2 and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM on July 19, August 9, 16 & 23. The theatre is located at Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S. State Street in Lake Oswego. Ticket prices are $30 for adults and $28 for students and seniors and are available beginning June 29 through the Lakewood Theatre Box Office at (503) 635-3901 or order online at www.lakewood-center.org. The title sponsor for The Producers is Sonia Johnson in honor of Cynthia Glazer.

The story: Max Bialystock (Jay Pevney) and Leopold Bloom (Todd Tschida) discover a surefire way to make a fortune on Broadway: raise millions from little old lady investors, produce the worst play in a long history of flops, then run off with the unspent money when the play closes on opening night. They think they've found their perfect play in Springtime for Hitler - but anything can happen when the lights go up on Broadway!

Adding to the crazy mix of characters is Ulla (Sara Catherine Wheatley), the producers' beautiful assistant, unstable playwright Franz Liebkind (Burl Ross), hack director Roger De Bris (Tim Smith) and his flamboyant assistant Carmen Ghia (Joseph J. Klei).

Making up the large ensemble are veteran Portland area musical performers Kelly Stewart, Megan H. Carver, Erin Shannon, Rick Warren, Joan Freed, Marissa Neitling, Jennifer Post, Benjamin Farmer, Anthony Chan, Lisa Zandy, Eva Elizabeth Wolff, Clay Neal, Tracy Turner, Tiarra Roberts, Samuel Benedict and Eric Asakawa.

Stage design is by Rod Langdahl, lighting design is by Kurt Herman, wig design is by Jane Holmes, properties are by Jim Crino, sound design is by Dan Hallberg. The stage manager is Felix Kelsey and additional choreography is by Terry Brock. The show is produced by Kay Vega.

Please note: The Producers contains occasional strong language and suggestive dialogue.

Founded as a not-for-profit organization in 1952, Lakewood Theatre Company is a semi-professional theatre dedicated to the study and presentation of drama in all its forms; the training and development of actors; and the creation, maintenance and operation of a theatre in which to present plays and other forms of entertainment. Lakewood Theatre Company is the oldest continually operated, not-for-profit theatre company in the Portland Metropolitan area. It annually provides more than 700 theatre artists the opportunity to learn and display their craft and attracts more than 40,000 people to its shows.

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