Princeton University seniors Evan Thompson, Mary Lou Kolbenschlag, and Jake Robertson are set to present ‘The Producers.’ (Photo by Marcos Cisneros).
Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts is set to present The Producers.
Students are set to perform Mel Brooks’ and Thomas Meehan’s musical adaptation of Brook’s 1968 film comedy.
As in the 1968 film, the musical follows the antics of down-on-his-luck Broadway producer Max Bialystock and his timid accountant Leo Bloom as they team up in a get-rich-quick scheme to convince a bevy of widows to invest in what the producers plan to be the world’s worst show by a Nazi playwright.
Aiming to oversell shares and for the show to flop and close on opening night, they plan to pocket the money and head to South America. Joined by a Swedish secretary, Ulla, and a colorful assortment of outrageous characters, the pair set off to produce the ridiculous musical, Springtime for Hitler.
The stage musical of the film opened on Broadway in 2001 starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, garnering a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards.
In the Lewis Center production directed by faculty member Ethan Heard, the emphasis is on “theater about theater.” Heard said in a statement that the audience see the backstage drama, including a band on stage and actors scrambling to change costumes.
Senior Evan Thompson, who plays the role of Bloom, has had a prolific theatrical career at Princeton appearing in the Lewis Center production Floyd Collins, Princeton University Players’ productions of Assassins and The Last Five Years, as well as leads in several Princeton Summer Theater productions.
Senior Mary Lou Kolbenschlag, who will play both Ulla and the Nazi playwright Franz, has also been an active member of Princeton’s theatrical community. She has appeared in Pippin at the Lewis Center and in Princeton University Players production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
The all-student cast also features Jake Robertson in the role of Max along with an ensemble of actors including Billy Cohen, Will Plunkett, Allen Hernandez, Brian Lax, Luke Pfleger, Pat Rounds, Evan Strasnick, Maeve Brady, Anna Aronson, Katie Birenboim, Emily Libresco, Allison Malkowski, Alexa Pugh, Amy Sun and Kamber Hart.
Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. March 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 at the Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center, 91 University Place, Princeton.
Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors.
More information is online at arts.princeton.edu.
