'We can’t stop laughing': The Producers comes to Mullingar

It’s got to be a good sign when the cast of a play can’t get through a rehearsal without cracking up over the script.

That’s what’s been happening to those taking part in the Mullingar Musical Society’s new show, The Producers, which runs at the Arts Centre on October 21 to 24.

“It’s one of the funniest shows I’ve ever worked on, to be honest. We can’t get through it without breaking ourselves laughing,” says actor Daniel Egerton, who plays a lead role in the show, that of Max Bialystock.

Dating back to 1967 and originating as a film, it’s not really a surprise that The Producers is so funny: the writer and director of the original work was the renowned American comedian, actor and filmmaker Mel Brooks.

Just over 30 years later, Brooks transformed the story into a stage musical, and it opened on Broadway in 2001, going on to become a phenomenal success, winning 12 Tony Awards.

“So it’s a huge musical with huge songs, dances; massive numbers - and it is an absolutely hilarious comedy,” says Daniel.

Mullingar Musical Society has staged The Producers in the past: “I think it was 2010 or 2011. I was only a teenager when it happened and I remember seeing it and I was like: ‘that is a musical I would love to do’. And sure enough nearly 16 years later I’m getting my chance at it,” he says.

The format is the classic “play within a play”, Daniel explains.

“The storyline is about two producers on Broadway – Max Bialystock [played by Daniel] and Leo Bloom [Sam Gilmartin] - who come up with a scheme in which they raise a load of money for a production and then hope that the production fails so that they can keep all of the investors’ money and scam them and go off and live as millionaires in Brazil or somewhere.

“And so the idea of the show is they are trying to find a flop of a musical that’s going to be so bad that it’s going to shut down and no one’s going to care about it because it was so terrible. They get the worst directors and the worst actors they can find and put it on, and hopefully it’ll just close as soon as it goes out and obviously a lot of crazy comedy ensues.”

The play the duo come up with is called ‘Springtime for Hitler’, and Greg Dunne plays Franz Liebkind, the German who wrote the work. They then hire Roger De Bris (Garry Nolan), an outrageously flamboyant and incompetent director, and his theatrical partner Carmen Ghia (James Elliffe). Max and Leo also cast Ulla (Isabelle McCumiskey), an attractive Swedish actress, hoping she will help make the production even more ridiculous.

On opening night, however, everything goes disastrously right. Instead of being rejected, Springtime for Hitler becomes an unexpected hit. The audience interpret the show as outrageous satire rather than the intended celebration of Hitler, and Max and Leo find themselves responsible for a successful production.

“It’s set during the 1950s and it’s full of inappropriate humour and gags, and it is just an absolutely riotous musical. Te songs are fantastic, the choreography is huge, our sets are mental. What we’re trying to achieve with it is monumental,” says Daniel, adding that there is a total cast of approximately 30 involved.

Daniel says that for him, it’s one of the biggest undertakings he has attempted in his career to date: “I think out of the two hours of the show, I’m on stage for an hour and 45 minutes of it.”

What makes it all worthwhile is not just the kick of playing a major role in a great show, but the enjoyment he is getting out of the process: “It’s so much fun. It’s great craic and the cast are great. The ensemble are great.

“The dancers and the background actors are fantastic too and Sean Lynch is directing. Our musical director is Greg Bentick and then our choreographer is Siobhan Moore - and funnily enough Siobhan played the Ula character in 2010 when they did it last time.”

The crew have been working on the show since May of this year, and Daniel says that Seán Lynch has pulled out all the stops in terms of set design.

“It’s definitely one to see: it’s hilarious and audiences will really enjoy it,” says Daniel.

• The box office at Mullingar Arts Centre is at 04493 47777; and online here.