WASHINGTON (JTA) — A Berlin theater will stage the first German production of the musical "The Producers," which features a singing and dancing Hitler.
The German publication Spiegel Online reports that the Admiralspalast theater, which until recently had a Fuehrer’s box built specifically for Adolf Hitler, will stage the show beginning May 15.
"The Producers," a 1968 Mel Brooks film he turned into a Broadway musical in 2001 that went on to win a record 12 Tony Awards, is the story of a Broadway producer and his accountant who decide to put on the most offensive show they can find after realizing that they can make more money by staging a flop than a hit. So they come up with a show called "Springtime for Hitler," which audiences see as satire and turns out to be a surprise success.
Last year, an Austrian theater in Vienna put on the first German-language production of the show, and that cast will be putting on the show in Berlin for at least a two-month run.
The Admiralspalast theater’s manager, Falk Walter, told Spiegel that he is "pretty sure" Brooks will attend the premiere because of the significance of the show being staged in Berlin.
