“…I’ll see you in a couple of minutes.”
That got another big laugh, but I wasn’t far off the mark.
* * *
—
There was a veritable deluge of Tony Awards raining down on The Producers that night. Peter Kaczorowski won for Best Lighting Design, Robin Wagner won for Best Scenic Design, William Ivey Long won for Best Costume Design, and Doug Besterman won for Best Orchestrations. Susan Stroman won two Tonys that night—one for Best Choreography and the other for Best Direction. Cady Huffman won Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her knockout performance as our blond bombshell Ulla. Gary Beach won the Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his incredible twin performances as director Roger De Bris and then later as Roger playing a larger-than-life Adolf Hitler. He actually beat out two of his co-stars, Roger Bart as the fabulous Carmen Ghia and Brad Oscar as the hilariously insane Franz Liebkind. That happened again when Nathan Lane won a well-deserved Tony for Best Actor in a Musical, beating out his equally deserving but unfortunately not awarded co-star Matthew Broderick. It’s too bad Matthew couldn’t share the award with him, but the award says Best Actor not Best Actors.
And then at the end of the ceremonies, Glenn Close took the stage and announced that “the 2001 Tony Award for Best New Musical goes to—they’ve broken the record! The Producers.”
And indeed—we had! All in all, The Producers won more Tonys that night than any other musical in the history of Broadway. And we hold that record to this day! Other shows threatened to knock us out of the winner’s circle, most recently Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, which I loved, but secretly hoped didn’t surpass us. It ended up winning a well-deserved eleven Tonys, but with twelve Tony Awards, The Producers still held the crown.
When I got back onstage for the third time to accept that final award of the night, I started by thanking the most important person in our show: “Well, I want to thank Hitler. For being such a funny guy onstage.”
It got a roar of laughter. I went on to thank the American Theatre Wing, which presents the Tonys, everyone who helped me make the original movie, and everyone who helped me make the Broadway show, especially Tom and Stro. Then I couldn’t leave the stage without thanking our dynamic duo:
“Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick are just a gift from the gods. I mean, those guys are tops in taps. They’re better than eating pizza and watching Top Hat.”
And last but not least, I had to thank all of the producers of The Producers.
“Behind me you see a phalanx, an avalanche of Jews who have come with their talent and their money. But most of all, their spirit and their love for the theater. And that’s what brings us all together tonight. We all love this thing called the theater. And I’m so proud to be a part of it. I’m not choking up. I’m just dry. But I just want to thank everybody behind me. It would be foolish of me to try and name them all. You should’ve worn signs…God bless you all. It’s been wonderful working with you. See you next year!”
There are certain nights in your life that you would call “a night to remember.” For me, that was certainly one of them.
On a New Year’s Eve during the run of The Producers on Broadway I decided to surprise Nathan and Matthew by sneaking in and appearing onstage as the judge in the courtroom scene. The judge’s lines went like this:
JUDGE:
Gentlemen, it breaks my heart to break up such a beautiful friendship. So I won’t.
[Slamming down his gavel.]
Five years in the state penitentiary at Sing Sing! Court adjourned!
So unbeknownst to Matthew and Nathan, but knownst to some sharp members of the audience, I donned the judge’s robes and took my place onstage at the judge’s bench. Whispers and murmurs began to spread throughout the audience and there was a definite buzz in the courtroom. Obviously, a few people in the audience had spotted me. Matthew and Nathan were puzzled and looked around, not knowing what was happening. It all became clear, shocking, and funny when I read the judge’s lines with my own twist on the dialogue:
ME AS JUDGE:
Gentlemen, it breaks my heart to break up such a beautiful friendship. So I won’t.
[Slamming down his gavel.]
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS in the state penitentiary at Sing Sing! Court adjourned!
When they heard “TWENTY-FIVE YEARS” they were shocked! They looked up, saw me, and burst into laughter. I’m happy to say I got a small ovation for my one and only acting turn in The Producers.
* * *
—
The Producers musical is a gift that keeps on giving. Since its birth on Broadway, it has played in many languages in many cities and countries all over the world. One of the most exciting runs was at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane—one of the most historic and beautiful theaters right in the very heart of London’s West End. The Drury Lane traces its history all the way back to 1663; it was closed for the plague, burnt down, rebuilt, and rebuilt again in 1812 where it still stands today as a splendid monument to British theater. Somewhere hidden behind the second balcony is a special toilet, just for the use of the queen. （I must confess that on an emergency occasion—I used it. But please don’t tell anyone!） Stro put an incredible cast together for the London production. Leading them was the wonderful British comic and actor Lee Evans as Leo Bloom and as Max Bialystock the talented American actor Richard Dreyfus, best known for his roles in movies like American Graffiti （1973）， The Goodbye Girl （1977）， Close Encounters of the Third Kind （1977）， and Jaws （1975）。 At one of the early rehearsals in London, Richard threw his back out—badly. He valiantly struggled to carry on and promised Stro that he’d be ready on opening night, but Tom and I could see that it would take more time than we had for him to be fit to perform by opening night. So we asked Stro to call Nathan Lane and beg him to come over and save the show.