The Producers (musical): History and Key Facts

The Producers is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Mel Brooks and a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan. It is adapted from Brooks's 1967 film of the same name. The story concerns a theatrical producer and his mild-mannered accountant who scheme to get rich by fraudulently overselling interests in a Broadway musical designed to fail. Complications arise when the show is a surprise hit. The humor of The Producers draws on exaggerated accents, caricatures of Jews, gay people and Nazis, and many show business in-jokes.

After 33 previews, the original Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre 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 West End production running for just over two years, national tours in the US and UK, many productions worldwide and a 2005 film version.

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