SummerStage at the Capitol Theatre, Rome, NY

The Producers is based on Brooks' Academy Award-winning 1968 film of the same name, and tells the story of down-on-his-luck theatrical producer, Max Bialystock, and Leo Bloom, a mousy accountant. Together they hatch the ultimate scam: raise more money than you need for a sure-fire Broadway flop and pocket the difference. Their sure-fire flop is called Springtime for Hitler, and becomes an unexpected smash.

The Producers opened on April 19, 2001, to historic, unanimous rave reviews, and earned the most Tony Awards in theatre history (with 12 wins including Best Musical). The original company starred Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock, Matthew Broderick as Leo Bloom, Gary Beach as Roger de Bris, Cady Huffman as Ulla, Roger Bart as Carmen Ghia and Brad Oscar as Franz Liebkind.

The day after its opening, The Producers broke the record for the largest single day box-office gross in theatre history, taking in more than $3 million, and then went on to break its own record in 2003 (when Broderick and Lane's return to the show went on sale) with over $3.5 million in single day ticket sales.

A 2005 film version of the musical was released by Sony Pictures during the run of the show. Stroman made her feature-film directing debut. It starred Lane, Broderick, Bart and Beach, with Uma Thurman as Ulla and Will Ferrell as Franz. The picture was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards including Best Picture (Musical or Comedy). A new Brooks song written for the picture was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Two national touring companies played 74 cities throughout the United States, beginning in September 2002, and grossed over $214 million. The show has played in over 12 countries around the world, including such locales as Las Vegas, Budapest, Copenhagen, Italy, Korea, Spain, Mexico, Israel and Prague.

About Aida

The musical—which was once titled Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aida—was pop superstar Elton John's first attempt to write directly for the musical theatre stage. (His score for The Lion King was first heard in the hit screen version of that tale.) John teamed with veteran English lyricist and Lion King collaborator Tim Rice. The libretto is by Linda Woolverton and Robert Falls and David Henry Hwang.

The story is based on Verdi's opera of the same title, and tells the story of a forbidden love triangle between Aida, a Nubian princess forced into captivity, Amneris, an Egyptian princess, and Radames, the soldier they both love. The Broadway production created two stars: Heather Headley, who dazzled critics in the title role, and Sherie Rene Scott, who played Amneris, and has since played roles in the musicals The Last Five Years, Debbie Does Dallas and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Headley surprised many by winning the Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award, beating out Marin Mazzie, Rebecca Luker, Audra McDonald and Tony Collette. The show's third star, Adam Pascal, who played Ramades, had already achieved notice through his portrayal of Roger in Rent.

Aida also won Tonys for Best Lighting Design (Natasha Katz) and Best Set Design (Bob Crowley). Aida ran on Broadway for 1,852 regular performances, overcoming a rocky developmental period, mixed reviews and the loss of the 2000 Best Musical Tony Award (though it did win for Best Score) to earn back its investment in 99 weeks' time.

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