Simone

Is it still worthwhile to see The Producers in London without Natan Lane?

djkbooks

I think so. I saw The Producers on Broadway with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. The show is so outstanding, I think any reasonably competent song/dance performers would make the show worth seeing.

flanneruk

I've been a fan of the film for nearly 40 years. Nothing, to my mind, could possibly come close to the film, and I fully expected the show to be a disappointment. How could anyone hold whatever the Yiddish is for a candle to Zero Mostel?

But I was still in tears of laughter watching it on Broadway on a day Lane was indisposed. If you like Mel Brooks - and I can easily sympathise with people who don't - it's hard to see how Lane could possibly have made the show any better.

WillTravel

I thought it was very worth it when I saw it in August.

Marilyn

We saw it in September and there is a brief review buried in my novel-length trip report. Email me directly if you like and I'll send you just that part.

Like flanneruk, we're huge fans of the film and couldn't imagine anyone better than Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. But we had never seen the stage production so we enjoyed it quite a lot. I guess I'd say if you haven't seen it you'll be very entertained at the least. If you've seen one of the acclaimed productions, then maybe this won't live up to your expectations.

xyz123

I like to read some of the British theatre web sites and it is funny the way the show is perceived....

Many (not all) have written it is American trash and they claim it is not doing well. Of course to these people doing well means complete sell outs night after night and waits of 2 or 3 months before you can get a ticket.

It has become a relatively easy ticket to get in London (and to some since it's only been open for less than a year that's terrible), there are discounts available on some web sites (I got a top seat for £25 for a matinee) although not at TKTS. That means, to these people, the show is in danger of an imminent closure (but consider Chitty Chitty Bang Bang lasted 2.5 years in London while apparently the American version will be closing after a 9 month run on New Year's Eve).

I've seen it both in London and in NY albeit not with Nathan and Mathew in NY. I preferred the London version and the audience that afternoon laughed and laughed and laughed and everybody there seemed to have enjoyed it immensely...of course the fact I paid £25 for a pretty upfront ticket as compared to $75 for a rear seat on Broadway just might have had something to do with it.

I think it is a very worthwhile production and I hope the nay sayers are wrong but it will be interesting to see how it continues to do after the film comes out in December.

Marilyn

We got discount tickets that cost under £30 for dress circle, center seats. They were excellent. We bought them less than an hour before curtain, on a weeknight.