When the producers of “The Producers” were faced with the need earlier this year to replace the hit musical’s original stars, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, they knew the stakes were high. The main requirement was comparable to the old physician’s adage –“Do No Harm.”
Too much money was at stake.
But to the amazement of the Broadway community, harm was indeed done.
Just four weeks after Lane and Broderick left the show, Lane’s replacement, the English actor Henry Goodman, was unceremoniously fired after the matinee performance on April 14. Steven Webber, Broderick’s replacement, remains in the cast.
While high-profile dismissals in major theatrical productions are not unknown, especially in Andrew Lloyd Webber projects, this casting foul-up was of staggering dimension, perhaps threatening the longevity of one of Broadway’s most lucrative vehicles of all time.
A sell-out for its entire New York run (and most of its Chicago tryout), the hit show now has grossed more than $64 million — more than six times its initial $10.5 million capitalization. And that’s not including all the revenue from the video spinoff (“Recording the Producers”), or Mel Brooks’ book (“The Producers: The Book, Lyrics and Story Behind the Biggest Hit in Broadway History!”).
With wads full of cash and a project with unlimited cache, the producers could have had almost any actor they wanted for the role of Max Bialystock, the king of the Broadway flop. But by picking Goodman, they somehow made a disastrous choice.
How on earth did this happen?
A change in quality
Director Susan Stroman, and all of the producers, will say nothing beyond the pre-planned and oft-quoted statement that Stroman released to the media immediately after Goodman’s dismissal. Therein, Stroman avowed her ongoing respect for Goodman but said that “the producers have decided to pursue a different quality for the role.”
In actuality, it’s clear that Goodman proved unable to re-create the character of Max Bialystock in a funny way. According to several reports, his version of the producer was so dark as to destroy the show’s delicate ironic balance.
“There was a difference in approach,” said original cast member Jeffry Denman, who worked with Lane and Goodman and has now published his own book about the show, “A Year With the Producers.”
“Goodman wanted one thing,” Denman said, “and the show wanted another.”
Denman also said that Stroman, Brooks and others had tried to work with Goodman for the four weeks he was in the show (there were special rehearsals), but that the incorrigibly serious actor proved unable to find a viable comic tone.
Another source close to the show said that the actor was difficult to work with, stunning a cast that has come to regard itself as a close family. Given the apparent train wreck on stage, it was thought that once Goodman was paraded before the press at the show’s second media night for reviews in early May, disaster would be the result. Therefore, it was decided it would be better to cut bait.
Goodman was told he was out by telephone.
But how did Stroman and Brooks — who had hitherto not put a foot wrong with this show — not see all this coming? One would have thought they would have known the requirements of their lead role.
Different onstage presence
“The story is that his audition was very strong and he wowed them,” Denman said. “Once he did the whole show and got in front of the audience, that was different.”
According to Denman, Goodman took the firing very well, even returning to the theater the following week to shake his fellow performers’ hands. “He told us the show was bigger than him,” Denman said. “He was very gracious.”
Despite attempts to contact his agent in London, Goodman could not be reached for comment.
Goodman’s departure now leaves Brad Oscar, Lane’s understudy, in the lead role on a permanent basis.
In Chicago, Oscar was in the humble position of being the understudy to Franz Liebkind, the show’s Nazi character.
Now, he suddenly has become a ubiquitous media presence, thanks to the producers’ desire to put a positive spin on their casting woes.
“That’s twice now that I have gotten a role at the expense of another actor,” Oscar said, declaring himself to be “numb from it all,” and describing his rise up the ranks of “The Producers” as a “bittersweet” experience.
“But by the same token,” Oscar continued, “they have hired me to do my job. What are you gonna do? That’s show biz.”
What’s the fallout?
The jury is still out on whether the Goodman debacle will damage “The Producers” in the long term. The show is still routinely selling out (even with a $480 top ticket), although many of these tickets were bought before the recent shenanigans. And there have been reports in New York that the returns line has become smaller in recent days.
Still, “The Producers” remains a huge hit — and, in the long term, the Goodman snafu is likely to prove to be a minor blip on its radar.
But this charmed show now has hit its first rock in the road.
Clearly, more attention will now have to be paid to casting.
This week, the Broadway gossip mill had Jason Alexander doing the Lane role in the upcoming Los Angeles production (with Martin Short playing the Broderick part), with Lewis J. Stadlen doing Bialystock on the road.
None of this casting has yet been confirmed by the producers.
