the producers
I like The Producers because it raises the question literary critics have been discussing: why some plays turn out to be a complete flop, whilst others are a huge success; what is the formula for a box office hit? Here, I am thinking Jonson's bitter experience of his The New Inn in comparison to the budding playwright, his manservant, Brome's The Lovesick Maid. Other than that, I felt uneasy seeing a camp, comical Hitler dancing on stage. The media tells me that Nazi Germany remains a touchy subject, ie Prince Harry + Ken Livingston, etc. HY says that this is entertainment hence acceptable, but even though Mel Brooks is Jewish, had fought in the war, and that the plot arrangement is quite clever, he still receives scathing criticism from the Jewish community. My boss thinks that the Europeans are horrified by Hitler because his baleful influence caused large numbers of deaths, brought so close to home. People dislike the image/idea of death near them. The band of cruel brothers such as Ghengis Khan, Alexander, Pinochet have conducted evil acts (though not all based on race), but were distance in time and place. In this case I feel that placing it in the showbiz arena does not make the issue less complicated. SR says that the Jewish people would not be very happy if The Producers were staged in Germany. Whilst we have every reason not to forget, take the dispute b/w China and Japan over history textbooks for example, I am told that Israel only recently has allowed the performance of Wagner.
And a note to future viewers, prepare to climb millions of stairs to the seats at the balcony, which is a very stuffy room. The show is genuinely funny, but I don't understand why the majority of the audience laugh and cheer at everything Lee Evans does.