National touring company for 'The Producers' to perform at ECC
Bringing the national touring company of Broadway's Tony Award winning musical "The Producers" to Elgin is quite a production.
A numerical rundown of what will be required for the one night only showing at Elgin Community College tells the story. Aside from the 25 cast members, 13 musicians and 11 crew members, the statistics include: a trio of 53-foot semi trailers, 4.2 miles of electrical cable and more than 200 stage lights.
There are a few oddities that only a production of "The Producers" might need, including seven rubber pigs, 16 walkers and eight Nazi puppets.
Still, even the national company, which has played at major venues across the country, was missing one element that could only be found in Elgin -- Elgin City Council member Mike Powers.
Powers will make his Broadway debut with a walk-on in the final scenes of the show. He'll deliver his line and, most likely, go back to his day jobs.
His big break came as a surprise to him. He hadn't auditioned for it, but the company likes to pick someone local for the spot.
"Maybe because I've been out front on how strong the Elgin arts community is and have been a proponent of having our arts groups pull together more," Powers said.
But he's not nervous.
"I never saw a microphone or a stage I didn't like," he admitted. "I'm hoping I can ham it up a little bit."
The show first came to life as a 1968 movie starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. The story concerns two sad sacks -- Max Bialystock, an erstwhile Broadway producer who has sunk to the level of seducing elderly women to finance his flop shows, and Leo Bloom, an exceedingly mild-mannered accountant.
The two unlikely partners come up with a sure-fire plan to make millions: raise more money than needed for a Broadway show that will have no choice but to fail and pocket the rest.
The show they choose, "Springtime For Hitler," becomes an inconceivable hit, spelling doom for Bialystock and Bloom.
•When "The Producers," written by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, hit the Broadway stage in 2001, it earned a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards and spawned a successful movie in 2005 starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.
Steve Duchrow, director of Performing Arts at Elgin Community College, was responsible for booking the national touring company of the Broadway show and says he believes it's a first for ECC stages.
"Elgin Community College has a reputation as a great facility," Duchrow said, adding that he has made many contacts during his 25 years in the business, thus the ability to get the production to entertain an offer.
There were some financial challenges to overcome, according to Duchrow.
"We have such an intimate hall, 650 seats in one and 160 in the other," he said. "This is probably going to be one of the smallest halls you're going to see this tour on. The financial numbers, we both had to work pretty hard on."
The show will close in Champaign Saturday night and begin setup Sunday morning for its Sunday night production, after which it will leave town once again.
"This is life on the road," Duchrow said. "You work for 18 hours to put on a show, you get done at 2 in the morning, you drive four hours and you do it all over again."
The life isn't quite as glamorous as portrayed in the arts, but the show makes up for it on every level, Duchrow said.
"It's a fabulous show with a hilarious premise, well executed and great music and great choreography," he said. "Even our farthest away seat in a 650-seat venue is a great seat."
If you go
What: The national touring company of "The Producers"
When: 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: The Blizzard Theatre, Elgin Community College, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin
Tickets: $60, $64 and can be purchased online at www.elgin.edu/arts or the box office in the Arts Center