Broadway At The Beck

In Mel Brooks’ The Producers Max Bialystock grumbles about off-Broadway, sneering, “I hate it! Mimes, experimental theatre… it’s a jungle out there!” But in the irony of all ironies, Bialystock and his unlikely business partner, tense and timid Leo Bloom, find that the real jungle is not off but on Broadway in this Tony-award winning show. With its fast pace and wild character acting, The Beck Center’s production is no exception.

Beck Center rookies Mark Heffernan and Brandon Isner give adequate portrayals of the Bialystock and Bloom duo (respectively). Their vocals are strong but their performances are delivered on the same emotional level from beginning to end. A more compelling performance would have included a visible growth of the protagonists (heightened comedy as it is). Instead, it’s the Cleveland theatre regulars, Gilgamesh Taggett and Kevin Joseph Kelly who steal the show in their supporting roles. Celebrity casting in tour de force comedy indicates that director, Scott Spence, knows the equation for a Lakewood crowd pleaser. And yet, without a thought of resting laurels, nor resting on the inherent hilarity in the characters on the page, Tagget and Kelly each sculpts his own eccentric, idiosyncratic and outrageous character that lives and breathes in the equally outrageous world of the play. Taggett’s daft but delightful smile as the pigeon-loving Nazi, Franz Liebkind, could only be countered by Kelly’s expansive presence in his spot-on portrayal of the fabulous, cross-dressing director Roger DeBris.

As is the unfortunate case with many musicals, the same acting praise of the principles cannot be given to the chorus. Musically, their sound is often thin though Larry Goodpaster’s orchestra accompanies them with appropriate balance. With a few notable exceptions, the chorus seems to have been selected mostly for their dancing chops as seen in its execution of Mary Ann Black’s skillful choreography. Jumping from genre to genre, Black’s imaginative movement shows up in the form of romping physical comedy during “Der Guten Tag Hop Clop,” a lampoon of the Fiddler on the Roof bottle dance in “The King of Old Broadway” and of course in the form of the beloved “happy tippy tappy toes.” She choreographs life and whimsy into an otherwise flat musical number in “That Face.” While there is contrived chemistry between Brandon Isner as Bloom and sensual Swedish Ulla (played by Betsy Kahl), Bloom becomes a bit more believable (and loveable) in his endearing awkwardness when given this opportunity to soften. This number does not sit quite as well for Kahl’s Ulla whose most memorable quality, beyond her figure, is her un-humanly feminine (and very, very Swedish) telephone greeting: “Bialyshhhtock and Bloooo-oom!”

The Producers is a story that has the potential for roll-in-the-aisles laughter through incongruity, irony and hyperbole. The Beck Center’s production arrives at this potential during many moments, and merely flirts with it during others. However, the Mel Brooks’ script prevails. The fact is, you just can’t leave the night without a laugh when there’s a slew of lusty old women, a cross-dressing Hitler and singing pigeons on stage.