The Producers

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENJOYED THIS SHOW! CRITICS AND AUDIENCES AGREE – THE PRODUCERS WAS A SMASH HIT!!

A New Mel Brooks Musical. Adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks’ 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics by Brooks and music by Brooks and Glen Kelly. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich by overselling interests in a Broadway flop. Complications arise when the show unexpectedly turns out to be successful.

The original production opened on Broadway on April 19, 2001, starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, and ran for 2,502 performances, winning a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards. It spawned a successful London production running for three years, national tours, many productions internationally and a 2005 film version.

The Producers – A New Mel Brooks Musical Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks By special arrangmentwith StudioCanal

The Producers is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI, 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019. Phone: (212) 541-4684, Fax (212) 397-4685, http://www.mtishows.com/

Cast:

R. Bruce Connelly * (Max Bialystock) R. Bruce Connelly last appeared at Ivoryton Playhouse as the title role in Barnum. Other roles here include Felix Unger in The Odd Couple, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Finian in Finian’s Rainbow, Dr. Einstein in Arsenic and Old Lace, Willie Clark in The Sunshine Boys and Max Prince in Laughter on the 23rd Floor. Other roles elsewhere include J.M. Barrie in The Lost Boy at the Helen Hayes Theatre, Murray Burns in A Thousand Clowns and title roles in The Man Who Came to Dinner, Scapino!, Uncle Vanya, The Music Man and half the town in Greater Tuna. Since 1993, Bruce has played Barkley, Jim Henson’s Muppet dog on Sesame Street for which he has been honored fourteen times by the National Academy of Television and Radio at the Daytime Emmy Awards.

Michael McDermott * (Leo Bloom) Michael McDermott is honored and excited to be returning to the Ivoryton playhouse for a second time this season during its 100th Birthday Celebration. He was last seen this March of 2011 in the production of, The Irish and How They Got That Way, directed by Jacqueline Hubbard. His prior productions at the Playhouse include, Moon Over Buffalo, as well as the 2006 production of, The Irish and How They Got That Way- directed by Ms. Julia Kiley. Michael has also performed at Seven Angels Theater, Goodspeed Opera House, The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook, Spirit of Broadway Theatre and Yale New England Theater in New Haven CT. Michael currently studies voice with Internationally known singer and actress Ms. Marni Nixon in NYC, he also studies Piano with Ms. Mei Chen and Cello with Celeste Cumming. He is honored and very excited to be under the direction of Ms. Kiley once again.

Mark Woodard * (Franz Liebkind) Mark Woodard is especially pleased to be making his Ivoryton Playhouse debut during its centennial season! NY credits include: The Vineyard Theatre, The Lucille Lortel, Musicals Tonight!, Theatreworks/USA, and the historic Town Hall. Regional: Pittsburgh CLO (The Producers, Bells Are Ringing, South Pacific), Alabama Shakespeare Festival (A Christmas Carol), West V Virgina Public (1776) Long Beach Playhouse (Forum) and TheatreVirginia (The Pirates of Penzance). TV/Film: Law & Order: Criminal Intent, As The World Turns, Baby Mama, The Rebound.

William Broderick * (Roger DeBris) William Broderick is very happy to be returning to the Ivoryton Playhouse where he was last seen as the Wolf and Cindrella’s Prince opposite director Julia Kiley’s Baker’s Wife. He was most recently seen as Howard Wells and Uncle Johnny in Family Dinner, a new play by Michele Willens directed by Jamibeth Margolis. Other appearances include Emile de Becque, South Pacific, Captain Von Trapp, The Sound of Music, Kroll, Rosmersholm and the title roles in Phantom and Henry IV, Part1. He created the roles of Mr. Boddy in Clue, the Musical, William Boldwood in Far from the Madding Crowd, and Sam Crenshaw in Plane Crazy.

Schuyler Beeman * (Carmen Ghia) Schuyler Beeman is so excited to be back at the Ivoryton Playhouse this summer! His past productions at the Playhouse include Cabaret, Bobby/Boy Soprano and Finian’s Rainbow, Woody Understudy/Ensemble/Choreographer. Other theatre credits include Chip in …Spelling Bee (Westchester Sandbox Theatre), Burrs/Choreographer in Lippa’s The Wild Party (Middlebury College), and Jason in Bare: A Pop Opera (Middlebury College). He also recently starred as Nick in the staged reading of a brand new musical entitled Smokin’ by Jay Alan Zimmerman at The Duplex in New York City. Follow Schuyler on Facebook and his blog: http://myway-sky.blogspot.com/

Liz Clark Golson † (Ulla) Liz Clark Golson is excited to make her Ivoryton debut! This is her third time doing The Producers and second time performing as Ulla. Favorite regional credits include: Sally Bowles, Cabaret, Kathy Selden, Singin’ in the Rain, Jeanie, Hair, Gloria Hawkins, Boeing Boeing, Ado Annie, Oklahoma!, Rusty, Footloose, and Marty, Grease. Liz received her BFA from The Hartt School in 2007. She has been nominated twice for the New Hampshire Theatre Awards as Best Actress in a Musical, Cabaret and Hair. Upcoming shows include: Sweeney Todd, A Chorus Line, Barefoot in the Park, and The Marvelous Wonderettes. This winter Liz is excited to join Actors’ Equity Association! www.lizclarkgolson.com

Charles Everett Crocco † (Male Ensemble) is thrilled to be returning to Ivoryton for its 100th Anniversary! He has appeared around the river valley at the Goodspeed, (Camelot, Genesius, High Button Shoes) and at Ivoryton most recently with Buddy Holly, Barnum, and X-Mas Pageant. Others: Les Miserables (Marius, HK Players) Big: The Musical (Artful Living).

Aaron R. Duclos † (Male Ensemble) is ecstatic to be debuting at the Ivoryton Playhouse with its rich history, laden with the essence of so many great artists who have played here before. A special thanks to the dedicated and detail oriented production team and to the talented, hard working cast with which he has the honor to be a part of.

Molly Garbe † (Female Ensemble) Ivoryton Playhouse debut! Regional: Parade The Secret Theatre, Joseph…Dreamcoat The Downtown Cabaret Theatre. National Tour: Little Women the Musical. Film: Local Warming Brooklawn Productions.

Heather Gault † (Female Ensemble/ Dance Captain/Hold Me Touch Me) is thrilled to be making her debut at the Ivoryton Playhouse! A Connecticut native, Heather is an actress and writer currently based out of New York City. She holds a degree in Theatre from the University of Southern California, and has performed regionally at the Surflight Theatre, Thunder Bay Theatre, Palace Theatre of New Hampshire, and The Bushnell. TV and Film credits include the Emmy award winning PBS series BizKid$, and the independent musical film In The Night. Heather’s play, Stroller Wars, was featured at the Strawberry One-Act Festival in New York City and work shopped at the Surflight Theatre. As a dancer, she studied at the School of the Hartford Ballet and the CT Conservatory for the Performing Arts with Kirk Peterson, Maria Caligari, Franco DeVita, Raymond Lukens, Robert Maiorano, and Christine Busch.

Zachary Gregus † (Male Ensemble) is thrilled to be making his Ivoryton Playhouse debut in this brilliant production of The Producers. Zachary, originally from central Connecticut, has spent the past year touring the country and performing with various companies. Prior to that, he was a parade and show performer with Walt Disney Entertainment in Orlando, FL, where he had the incredible opportunity to share the stage with some of today’s biggest entertainment personalities. SELECTED REGIONAL: 42nd Street (Singer/Dancer, The Stoneham Theatre), Hairspray (Link Larkin, Courthouse Center for the Arts), Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera (Jeff Gillooly, American Repertory Theater), Once Upon a Time in Atlantic City (Thompson/Neil, U.S. premiere, Spirit of Broadway Theater), A Christmas Carol (Ghost of Christmas Future, The Hanover Theatre), Fiddler on the Roof (Perchik, Show Palace Dinner Theater). Zachary holds a Bachelors Degree in Theater and Communications from Roger Williams University. www.zacharydgregus.com.

Jayson Kerr † (Male Ensemble) is excited to return to the Ivoryton Playhouse, he was seen last year in Finian’s Rainbow. National Tours: Evita, and Jesus Christ Superstar w/ Ted Neeley. Other Credits: Dreamgirls, Showboat, Scrooge the Musical, Man of La Mancha, Twelfth Night, Personals, Titanic, and Once On This Island.

Paige Neal † (Female Ensemble) is a 2009 graduate of Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music. Some of her favorite roles include singing as part of the choral ensemble for Kerrigan-Lowdermilk This is Our Tour, Lucinda in Into the Woods, Sister Mary Hubert in Nunsense, Sour Kangaroo in Seussical, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Dolly in Hello, Dolly, and Marta in Company. In addition to music theatre, Paige also enjoys playing the French Horn, singing karaoke, and watching reality television. Paige, originally a native of Pittsburgh, PA, now currently resides in New York City and is thrilled to be making her Ivoryton Playhouse debut!

Carolina Santos Read † (Female Ensemble) born in London to Brazilian parents and raised in Madrid and Connecticut, Carolina graduated from Fordham University with the Alvin Ailey dance school and has performed with the Eastern CT Ballet, Annabella Gonzalez Dance Theater, and Ballet Hispanico’s ensemble in New York. She was in the musicals Evita as tango dancer/dance captain and Giffords Circus Yasmine! A Musical 2010 UK tour as dancer/dance captain. In 2010 she performed in Canto Flamenco choreographed by Melinda Marquez. TV/Film credits include Mr. Poppers Penguins, Tower Heist, Chicago dancer in Friends With Kids, Law & Order SVU, Gossip Girl Season 4, and ABC Pilot Pan Am. She recently performed Off Broadway in La Revolucion and Moctezuma. She has commercial, music video, and modeling experience. Carolina is thrilled to be joining the cast of The Producers this summer! For more please visit http://www.CarolinaSantosRead.com.

Catherine Rogala † (Female Ensemble) is thrilled to be making her Ivoryton Playhouse debut in this wonderful and entertaining show! She has always loved to perform and some favorite roles include Sister Amnesia in Nunsense, Babe in Crimes of the Heart, Eve in The Apple Tree, and Videllia Sparks in The Sugar Bean Sisters.

Jason Slattery † (Male Ensemble) is thrilled to be making his Ivoryton Playhouse debut in one of his favorite shows after just circling the globe as the lead male singer on a cruise ship for the past 10 months. Favorite credits include: Carmen Ghia in The Producers; Sparky in Forever Plaid; Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast and Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors. Recent graduate of Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music.

Buzz Roddy * (Max Bialystock/ Understudy) A few short weeks ago, Buzz was on this stage playing Victor Velasco in Barefoot In The Park. A few years before that he was here with his wife, Laurie Dawn, starring in Moon Over Buffalo. Recently he co-starred with R. Bruce Connelly in The Sunshine Boys and Mid-Life: The Crisis Musical at Seven Angels in Waterbury. Back home in NYC, Buzz is a frequent face Off-Broadway including Seeing Stars, Scandalous People and the long-running Perfect Crime. Most recently he appeared in Der Soykher Fun Venedig, or Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice, (performed entirely in Yiddish). Selected appearances from around the country: Gypsy (Gateway Playhouse); Dracula (Delaware Theatre), The Oxford Roof Climber’s Rebellion (Capital Rep) and Noises Off (New Century Theatre). Film & TV: The Cowboy Way; Quick Change; The Taxman; 30 Rock; As The World Turns; the various Law And Order franchises and The Onion Sports Network on Comedy Central. Buzz has played many of the great theatres of Europe and has made his living variously as a juggler, a magician and has even done performance art with Yoko Ono. http://www.buzzroddy.com/

Spenser Smith † (Male Ensemble) is so excited to be experiencing The Producers, the state of Connecticut and the Ivoryton Playhouse for the first time this summer! Regional credits include: Chi Fu in Mulan with the Cincinnati Children’s Theatre and Ghost of Christmas Present in Scrooge’s Christmas with the Commonwealth Theatre Company. He graduated in May with a BFA in Acting from Northern Kentucky University where he played such roles as J Bruce Ismay in Titanic The Musical, the Herald in Cinderella, Terence in Omnium Gatherum and Inspector Truscott in Loot, for which he won a Cincinnati Acclaim Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play. Please visit spensersmith.webs.com for more information!

Megan Wingo † (Female Ensemble) is overjoyed to be on the Ivoryton Playhouse stage again after appearing in Finian’s Rainbow. In theatres across the country, she has brought characters to life on stage such as Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Percy in The Spitfire Grill, Rose in Bye Bye, Birdie, Reverend Mother in Nunsense, and most recently she originated the role of Julia Winter in the new musical Snow.

Directed by: Julia Kiley *

Stage Manager: Johanna Levai *

Musical Director: John DeNicola

Choreography: J R Bruno

Set Design: Tony Andrea

Lighting Design: Tate Burmeister

Sound: Ray Smith

Costume Design: Vivianna Lamb

Wig and Hair Design: Joel Silvestro

* Member of Equity Actor’s Association

† Equity Actor’s Association Candidate

Born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York, to Polish-Jewish parents Maximillian Kaminsky and Kate “Kittie” Brookman. Brooks’ grandfather, Abraham Kaminsky, was a herring dealer who immigrated in 1893. He and his wife Bertha raised their ten children on Henry Street on the Lower East Side of New York City.

His father died of kidney disease at age 34. A year later, in 1930, Kittie Kaminsky and her sons Irving, Leonard, Bernard and Melvin were living at 365 S. 3rd St. in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY.

As a child, Mel was a small and sickly boy. He was bullied and picked on by his peers. By taking on the comically aggressive job of Tummler in various Catskills resorts, he overcame his childhood of bullying and name calling.

He went to school in New York. For elementary, he went to Public School 19 (Williamsburg). For middle school, he went to Francis Scott Key, Jr. High (Williamsburg). Brooks graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School (New York).

In June 1944, Brooks enlisted in the Army. He had basic training at Virginia Military Institute and finished up at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. He was shipped off to war in February of 1945 where he initially served as forward observer for the artillery. Shortly thereafter, Brooks was reassigned to the 1104th Combat Engineers Group. Several months later, Germany had surrendered and Brooks was promoted to corporal. He continued to serve in Germany for another four months in charge of Special Services (entertainment). Brooks completed his service at Fort Dix in New Jersey.

Career He started out in show business as a stand-up comic, telling jokes and doing movie-star impressions. He found more rewarding work behind the scenes, becoming a comedy writer for television. He joined the hit comedy series Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner.

In 1960, an attack of gout (and the aftermath of the surgery done to relieve it) left him allegedly feeling like a 2000-year-old man. This became the persona of The 2000 Year Old Man, the focus of ad-libbed comedy routines and comedy records, with Carl Reiner as his straight man.

Mel Brooks later moved into film, working as an actor, director, writer, and producer. Brooks’ first film was The Critic (1963), an animated satire of arty, esoteric cinema, conceived by Brooks and directed by Ernest Pintoff. Brooks supplied running commentary as the baffled moviegoer trying to make sense of the obscure visuals. The short film won an Academy Award.

With Buck Henry, Brooks created the successful TV series Get Smart, starring Don Adams as a bumbling secret agent. This series added to Brooks’ reputation as a clever satirist.

Brooks’ first feature film, The Producers, was a black comedy about two theatrical partners who deliberately contrive the worst possible Broadway show. The film was so brazen in its satire (its big production number was “Springtime for Hitler”) that the major studios wouldn’t touch it, nor would many exhibitors. Brooks finally found an independent distributor, which released it like an art film, as a specialized attraction. Despite horrible reviews (“thoroughly vile and inept”) and disappointing box office returns, the film received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The film became a smash underground hit, first on the nationwide college circuit, then in revivals and on home video. Brooks later turned it into a musical, which became one of the most popular Broadway shows.

His two most financially successful films were released in 1974: Blazing Saddles (co-written with Richard Pryor, Andrew Bergman, Norman Steinberg and Alan Uger), and Young Frankenstein (co-written with Gene Wilder). He followed these up with an audacious idea: the first feature-length silent comedy in four decades. Silent Movie (1976) featured Brooks in his first leading role, with Dom DeLuise and Marty Feldman as his sidekicks. The following year he released his Hitchcock parody High Anxiety, which was the first movie produced by Brooks himself.

Brooks developed a repertory company of sorts for his film work: performers with three or more Brooks films to their credit include Gene Wilder, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Ron Carey and Andréas Voutsinas. Dom DeLuise has appeared in six of Brooks’ 12 films, the only person with more appearances being Brooks himself.

In 1975, at the height of his movie career, Brooks tried TV again with When Things Were Rotten, a Robin Hood parody that lasted only 13 episodes. Nearly 20 years later, Brooks mounted another Robin Hood parody with Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

In 1980, Brooks became interested in producing the dramatic film The Elephant Man (directed by David Lynch). Knowing that anyone seeing a poster reading “Mel Brooks presents The Elephant Man’ would expect a comedy, he set up the company Brooksfilms. Brooksfilms has since produced a number of non-comedy films, including David Cronenberg’s The Fly, Frances, and 84 Charing Cross Road, starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft, as well as comedies, including Richard Benjamin’s My Favorite Year.

The 1980s saw Brooks produce and direct only two films, the first being History of the World Part I in 1981, a tongue-in-cheek look at human culture from the Dawn of Man to the French Revolution. As part of the film’s soundtrack, Brooks, then aged 55, recorded a rap entitled “It’s Good to Be the King”, sending up Louis XVI and the French Revolution; it was released as a single, and became an unlikely US disco hit. His second movie release of the decade came in 1987 in the form of Spaceballs, a parody of Star Wars. Both films featured him in multiple roles. He also starred in the 1983 remake To Be or Not to Be.

Brooks’ most recent success has been a transfer of his film The Producers to the Broadway stage. Brooks also had a vocal role in the 2005 animated film Robots. He is currently working on an animated series sequel to Spaceballs. Spaceballs: The TV Series is expected to premiere June 1st, 2008 on G4 TV.

Brooks is one of the few who have received an Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy. He was awarded his first Grammy award for Best Spoken Comedy Album in 1999 for his recording of The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000 with Carl Reiner. His two other Grammys came in 2002 for Best Musical Show Album, for the soundtrack to The Producers, and for Best Long Form Music Video for the DVD “Recording the Producers – A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks”. He won his first of four Emmy awards in 1967 for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Variety for a Sid Caesar special. He went on to win three consecutive Emmys in 1997, 1998, and 1999 for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role of Uncle Phil on Mad About You. He won his three Tony awards in 2001 for his work on the musical, The Producers. He won Tonys for Best Musical, Best Original Musical Score, and Best Book of a Musical. Additionally, he won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Young Frankenstein. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian’s Comedian, he was voted #50 of the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Three of Brooks’ films are on the American Film Institute’s list of funniest American films: Blazing Saddles (#6), The Producers (#11), and Young Frankenstein (#13).

Brooks and his wife Anne Bancroft acted together in Silent Movie and To Be or Not to Be, and Bancroft also had a bit part in the 1995 film Dracula: Dead and Loving It. Years later, the Brooks’ appeared as themselves in the fourth season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm, spoofing the finale of The Producers. It is reported that Bancroft encouraged Brooks to take The Producers to Broadway where it became an enormous success, as the show broke the Tony record with 12 wins, a record that had previously been held for 37 years by Hello, Dolly! at 10 wins. Such success has translated to a big-screen version of the Broadway adaptation/remake with actors Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane reprising their stage roles, in addition to new cast members Uma Thurman and Will Ferrell. As of early April 2006, Brooks had begun composing the score to a Broadway musical adaptation of Young Frankenstein, which he says is “perhaps the best movie [he] ever made.” The world premiere was performed at Seattle’s most historic theatre (originally built as a movie palace), The Paramount Theatre, between August 7, 2007, and September 1, 2007 after which it opened on Broadway at the Hilton Theatre, New York, on October 11, 2007.

In interviews broadcast on WABC radio, Brooks has discussed with NYC radio personality Mark Simone the possibilities of turning other works from his creative oeuvre (such as the movie Blazing Saddles) into future musical productions. Specifically, in a conversation airing March 1, 2008, he and Simone speculated on what show tunes might be incorporated into a theatrical adaptation of the Get Smart property.

Personal life Brooks was married to Florence Baum from 1951 to 1961. Their marriage ended in divorce. Mel and Florence had three children, Stephanie, Nicky, and Eddie. More famously, he was married to the actress Anne Bancroft from 1964 until her death from uterine cancer on June 6, 2005. They met on rehearsal for the Perry Como Variety Show in 1961 and married three years later, August 5th. They had one son, Maximillian, in 1972.