To no one's surprise, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick have signed for the film version of the Broadway version of the movie of The Producers. Susan Stroman, who directed the Broadway show, will direct the movie. One hopes they will name it something other than The Producers but they probably won't. The movie version of the musical of Little Shop of Horrors was called Little Shop of Horrors, causing a goodly amount of confusion, especially in the home video market.
I'm guessing we'll see Mel Brooks and many of the surviving members of the movie's cast doing cameos. And there will be at least two new songs by Mel so that he has a shot at an Academy Award for Best Song.
And do we all know that Curb Your Enthusiasm is doing a storyline that involves Mel Brooks casting Larry David in a production of The Producers? And that after Nathan and Matthew get through with their current Broadway run, my pal Brad Oscar goes back in as Max with Martin Short as Leo? And that Bob Amaral, whom I raved about in a local production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is now playing Max in the touring company that is presently in Detroit? I'll bet he's terrific.
And one bit of Non-Bialystock News: Cathy Rigby has announced that she's going to tour again in Peter Pan, commencing in the Fall of this year. This is real good news since I saw her in her last two tours and thought she was superb in the role. If you've got a kid that you want to introduce to live theater, that's a great introductory show. You might even get a seat near me.