The story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich by fraudulently overselling interests in a Broadway musical designed to fail.

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.

Brooks persuaded Mike Ockrent and his wife Susan Stroman to join the creative team as director and choreographer.

They go to the playwright's home in Greenwich Village to get the rights to the play, where Franz is on the roof of his tenement with his pigeons reminiscing about life back in Germany ("In Old Bavaria").

Max and Leo return to the office to meet Ulla Inga Hansen Benson Yansen Tallen Hallen Svaden Swanson, a beautiful Swedish woman who wants to audition for their next play ("When You've Got It, Flaunt It").

Finally, a frustrated Franz performs his own jazzy rendition of "Haben Sie Gehört Das Deutsche Band?

The curtain rises, and Max and Leo watch the opening number ("Springtime for Hitler"), which shocks the audience, before sneaking away.

Back at the office, Max and Leo are horrified that the IRS will learn of their actions as they read positive critical reviews for Springtime ("Where Did We Go Right?").

Source:[7] The Producers had a pre-Broadway tryout at Chicago's Cadillac Palace from February 1 to 25, 2001, starring Matthew Broderick as Leo Bloom and Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock.

[13] After the opening, The Producers broke the record for the largest single day box-office ticket sales in theatre history, taking in more than $3 million.

They were replaced during the Los Angeles engagement in 2003 by Martin Short and Jason Alexander for the duration of the show's run in that city, as well as in San Francisco.

[17] Michael Kostroff, who had several supporting roles in that production and understudied Max, published a 2005 memoir of his touring experience, Letters from Backstage.

[citation needed] A second national tour opened on June 17, 2003, at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, starring Andy Taylor as Leo and Brad Oscar as Max.

The cast included Michael Therriault and Seán Cullen as Leo and Max, Juan Chioran as Roger, Paul O'Sullivan as Franz, Sarah Cornell as Ulla and Brandon McGibbon as Carmen Ghia.

[19] The Producers opened in London's West End at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, on November 9, 2004 and closed on January 6, 2007, after 920 performances.

[23] For the majority of the tour, which ran until early 2008, Joe Pasquale and Reece Shearsmith took over the role of Leo and Russ Abbot played Roger.

[24][25] A new production began a UK and Ireland tour at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley on March 6, 2015,[26] starring Cory English as Max, Jason Manford as Leo,[27] Phill Jupitus (until May 16) and Ross Noble (from May 18 onwards) as Franz Liebkind,[28] David Bedella as Roger De Bris and Louie Spence as Carmen Ghia (until May 2).

It starred Brad Oscar as Bialystock, Larry Raben as Bloom and Leigh Zimmerman as Ulla, with David Hasselhoff receiving top billing as Roger De Bris.

[31] In 2007, the first U.S. regional theater production played in Lincolnshire, Illinois at the Marriott Theatre from September to November 2007 and starred Ross Lehman as Bialystock and Guy Adkins as Bloom.

[32] In 2009, the show played at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and at the Diablo Light Opera Company in California, starring Ginny Wehrmeister as Ulla, Ryan Drummond as Leo, and Marcus Klinger as Max.

Oscar and Bart reprised their roles as Max and Leo, respectively, in a production at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri in August 2010.

The cast also starred Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Leo Bloom and featured Dane Cook as Franz Liebkind and Rebecca Romijn as Ulla.

[34] An Off West End revival at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London, directed by Patrick Marber, began previews on November 26, 2024, with an opening night set for December 9, and is expected to run until 1 March 2025.

[35] The Producers has been presented professionally in cities around the world, including Toronto,[36] Berlin, Breda, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Sydney, Christchurch, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Copenhagen,[37] [38] Milan, Budapest, Madrid,[39] Halifax, Manchester,[40] Mexico City, Prague, Stockholm, Panama,[41] Bratislava, Vienna, Helsinki, Athens, Rio de Janeiro,[42] São Paulo, Caracas, Lisbon, Gothenburg, Oslo, Oradea, Paris,[43] Varde, Moscow,[44] Ghent, Manila,[45] and Belgrade.