The latest Gilbert & Sullivan production ‘The Producers’ is a smash Broadway play about a smash Broadway play. Yeah, it can be a little hard to get your head around.‘The Producers’ is the 2001 theatrical version of the 1968 hit Mel Brooks movie by the same name. The plotline is that a failed theatrical producer, Max Bialystock (Alexander Rosati), deliberately attempts to stage a flop play called ‘Springtime for Hitler’. The plan is to raise $1 million, and only use a small portion of the money on the show itself. In the ensuing financial chaos, none of his backers will ask where the rest of the money is, and Mr Bialystock and his accountant will run off to Rio for a vacation.“My character tells all of his investors they own half of the play,” said Mr Rosati. “His investors are mostly little old ladies who he is shaking down. He is a bit of a pervert. He courts these old ladies and gets them to give their money. He goes into business with his accountant, Leo Bloom (Phillip Jones). They find the worst play, hire the worst director Roger DeBris (Gavin Wilson), hire the worst actors and do everything completely wrong so the show will be a flop. General wackiness ensues.”Mr Wilson said the worst possible thing happens for the main characters, ‘Springtime for Hitler’ is a success.“Things don’t go according to plan,” said Mr Wilson. “Something happens which is not expected and it changes the whole play. ‘The Producers’ is a Mel Brooks concept so you can’t go wrong with that.”Mr Wilson said the original movie was quite avant-garde for its time because it was made only 20 years after the Second World War.“Here is someone making total fun of the most horrific period in modern history,” said Mr Wilson. “Mel Brooks could do it. He was Jewish and probably so were the actors and everyone else in the play. That was probably important in its day. Brooks also did ‘To Be Or Not To Be’, also Nazi orientated. I always felt it was his way of getting back at this horrific period. Brooks was a genius. He does it with laughter. Mark Twain said, ‘against the assault of laughter, there is no defence’. That is appropriate here.”It was Mel Brooks wife, the late actress Ann Bancroft, who encouraged if not “pressured” Mr Brooks into making his film into a musical. Ms Bancroft died in 2005 from uterine cancer.“He had to write a whole bunch more songs for the play,” said Mr Wilson. “They are very tuneful songs. They are ones you can hum along to. There is lots of melody. He borrows, not songs, but atmospheres from other musicals. You hear a song and you say, that reminds me of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’. It is meant to. He has taken the rhythm or tempo. It is not plagiarising. It is more of an hommage. It is great fun for the audience.”Mr Wilson said he had not done anything with the G&S in several years, but had been pleasantly surprised.“It was a wonderful surprise to come back in and see who G&S now bring in to do these productions,” he said. “You have top British production teams coming in to do these shows. You are dealing with a director whose background is West End. You are dealing with a musical director who is a professional, stage manager of the same ilk. These people work big shows that you and I know and love. It is quite daunting, but at the same time it is very exciting, because these people know what they are doing and know how to get every nuance out of people. We are so lucky to have this man (Mr Rosati) playing the lead role. He is a soaring talent. I can’t think of anyone else here who could do it.”By profession, Mr Rosati is Divisional Council at Chartis Excess Limited, but he has an extensive background in theatre both in Bermuda and overseas. Last year he was Annas in the G&S production of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’. He was also in the ensemble in the G&S musical ‘Best Little Whore House in Texas’ and several other productions.“Prior to coming to Bermuda I had a background in both classical music and theatre,” he said. “I sang with the Riverside Opera Company in New York. Before that most of my training on the stage was in high school and university being in various productions. I came to Bermuda and I thought I wasn’t going to be doing much here. Then I realised that theatre is a wonderful beacon for a whole bunch of people from all over the world, in Bermuda.”Mr Wilson said the actors in ‘The Producers’ were a buoyant group of people who seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves.“Any show where people are enjoying themselves, that sense drifts over to the audience,” he said. “The audience loves to see the actors having a good time.”‘The Producers’ will be held between October 4 and 13 at 8pm at City Hall Theatre. There will be a matinee on October 7, and no performance on October 8. Tickets $55 are on sale now. The Box Office opens one hour before each show or purchase at www.ptix.bm.