London theatre latest: Andy Nyman on The Producers – ‘Mel Brooks’ kindness makes it okay’

We will recap, to be on the safe side. The Producers musical is about Max, a producer down on his luck who meets an accountant called Leopold Bloom (Marc Antolin), who posits Max could make more money with a flop show than a hit if he cooks the books right. Max’s eyes light up at the potential here and the two search for the most offensive show they can find, stumbling across Springtime For Hitler, written by, yes, a German fascist with a pigeon fixation (Franz Liebkind, played by Harry Morrison. Throw in flamboyant director Roger DeBris (Trevor Ashley), Ulla the Swedish secretary (Joanna Woodward) and musical numbers filled with Nazi iconography, high camp and a chorus of grannies on Zimmer frames, and, well, you will be hooting at the outrageousness.