A big Broadway book musical that is so ecstatically drunk on its powers to entertain that it leaves you delirious

New York Times

"It was everything I thought it would be, which is tasteless and vulgar, and it is going to probably run for five years," he said.

Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick play the lead roles.

There is widespread agreement that Lane gives his best stage performance to date as the producer Max Bialystock, a character made famous by Zero Mostel in the 1968 movie.

Lane draws on Mostel's portrayal but he has reinvented the character and made him refreshingly different.

Broderick is in the role that Gene Wilder played in the film, that of Leo Bloom, the neurotic accountant who becomes Bialystock's accomplice in crime.

Mel Brooks also took the curtain call

At the opening night Broderick said he wanted the role because he was eager to work with Mel Brooks and Nathan Lane.

He was clearly pleased by the enthusiastic reception saying that to arrive on Broadway, after a successful tryout in Chicago, was "really fun, it was great, a great experience".

Broderick's wife Sarah Jessica Parker was on hand as his biggest supporter.

"It's one of those moments where everyone is at the top of their game, just doing fantastic work and Matthew is among them," she said.

She confirmed that her husband is an avid fan of the movie on which the musical is based.

"[Matthew] has probably seen it more than 30 times, he's a huge Mel Brooks fan since he was a young boy."

Mel Brooks has not had a major hit in years. The Producers was released in 1968 and his other comedies, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein followed in 1974.

So his night of triumph on Broadway, at the age of 74, is quite a feat. Brooks has been responsible for the show's music and lyrics, and he co-wrote the book.

The Broadway adaptation still contains the movie's centrepiece musical number Springtime For Hitler, a wonderful piece of cinematic kitsch, which has been artfully recreated for the stage.

Singer Paul Simon went to the premi�re

But there is a lot of new material. Many in the opening night crowd declared that the musical was better than the movie.

The Producers is a return to old-fashioned musical comedy, once a Broadway staple, but there has been an effort to modernize the show.

One of the big numbers, Keep It Gay, is a celebration of contemporary "gayness" in theatre that would have been unthinkable in the original movie of 30 years ago.

This number, although well received, contains some very outdated stereotypes of gays that will not leave everyone happy.

Despite an advance ticket sale of $17m, and considerable hype, it is not clear whether this musical will appeal to young audiences who are unfamiliar with Brooks' work.

Appeal

Former Monty Python member Eric Idle, at the premi�re, claimed that The Producers was for older people like himself who needed entertaining.

He said he did not care whether it appealed to younger people. "Broadway isn't about young people, they can't afford it."

The average ticket price for the show is $74, but the show's choreographer and director Susan Stroman, thinks it will have broad appeal.

There are hopes that the success of The Producers will help revive musical comedy on Broadway, which has had a tough time making headway in recent years.

There is every indication that The Producers is going to become the biggest hit of the current Broadway season.

The influential New York Times theatre critic, Ben Brantley, declared the show was "to put it simply, the real thing - a big Broadway book musical that is so ecstatically drunk on its powers to entertain that it leaves you delirious".

With an endorsement like that, and the fact that Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick have committed to the show for a year, suggests that The Producers could become a fixture on Broadway for a very long time.