Mel Brooks’ ‘The Producers’ Play Sets Major London Revival With Patrick Marber Directing

A major revival of Mel Brooks’ Tony Award-winning musical “The Producers” is set to open this winter under the direction of Patrick Marber at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory.

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“The Producers,” based on Brooks’ 1967 cult film, marks Marber’s return to the venue, after Alan Bennett’s “Habeas Corpus” in 2021-2022. The musical, with music and lyrics by Brooks, and book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan, holds the record for most Tony Awards won by a single production.

The plot revolves around Max Bialystock, a down-on-his-luck Broadway producer, and Leo Bloom, a timid accountant with dreams of becoming a theater producer. They concoct a scheme to raise far more money than needed for a sure-fire Broadway flop and pocket the difference. Their chosen production? “Springtime for Hitler,” a tasteless musical written by an ex-Nazi about Adolf Hitler. However, their plan goes awry when the offensive show unexpectedly becomes a smash hit. The story unfolds with a series of hilarious complications, outrageous characters and show-stopping musical numbers.

Marber, the Tony Award-winning director of Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt,” is also known for his work on “Closer” and “Notes on a Scandal.”

The original Broadway production of “The Producers” opened in 2001, spawning numerous international productions and a 2005 film adaptation starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. Previews of the London revival begin Nov. 26, with opening night set for Dec. 9. The show will run through March 1, 2025.

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The Menier Chocolate Factory season also includes Arthur Wing Pinero’s political satire “The Cabinet Minister,” adapted by Nancy Carroll. In the play, Sir Julian Twombley is in trouble: his wife and son have run up massive debts and his political reputation is in the balance. The House of Commons is far from a safe space for him and the newspapers are sniffing blood. Can he save face and hang on to his sanity?

Carroll will star as Lady Katherine Twombley, with Paul Foster making his Menier directorial debut. The ensemble cast features George Blagden, Joe Edgar, Pheobe Fildes, Rosalind Forbes, Dom Hodson, Dillie Keane, Nicholas Rowe, Laurence Ubong Williams, Romaya Weaver and Matthew Woodyatt.

The production set and costume designer is Janet Bird, the sound designer is George Dennis, the composer and musical supervisor is Sarah Travis and movement is by Joanna Goodwin.

“The Cabinet Minister” runs Sept. 21 through Nov. 16.

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