Mel Brooks – Broadway's Best Shows

Where’s That Cast Now? The Producers Edition

Mel Brooks’s musical comedy, which held the record for the most Tony Awards ever received by a single production for 15 years (in 2016, Hamilton tied with 12 Tony Awards), opened on Broadway in 2001. The musical, based on Brooks’s 1967 Oscar-winning film, which constantly broke box-office records at the St. James Theatre, ran for 6 years and was adapted into the 2005 hit film of the same name. Come with Broadway’s Best Shows as we look into the careers of the original Broadway cast since their departures from the show.

Nathan Lane (Max Bialystock)

After his Tony Award-winning performance in The Producers, Nathan Lane has continued to be a prominent figure in entertainment. On Broadway, Lane has appeared in The Odd Couple (Alongside Matthew Broderick), Butley, November, Waiting for Godot, The Addams Family, The Nance, It’s Only a Play, The Front Page, Angels in America (Tony Award Win), Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, and Pictures From Home. He has appeared in TV shows like “Only Murders in the Building”, “Modern Family”, “The Good Wife”, “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels”, and “Gilded Age.” On Film, Lane has been in the A24’s “Beau is Afraid” and “Dicks: The Musical.”

In 2006, Lane received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2008.

The Producers" at Arizona Broadway Theatre — Photo by Paul Kolnik

Matthew Broderick (Leo Bloom)

Broderick has remained an active entertainer since his acclaimed run as Leo Bloom. He starred in the 2005 movie adaptation of the musical alongside Nathan Lane. On Broadway, Broderick has starred in The Odd Couple (with Nathan Lane), It’s Only a Play (also with Nathan Lane), The Philanthropist, Nice Work If You Can Get It with Kelli O’Hara, Sylvia with Annaliegh Ashford, and most recently, Plaza Suite alongside his wife, Sarah Jessica Parker. He appeared in TV series like “Better Things”, “30 Rock”, “Bojack Horseman”, “Rick and Morty”, and “Modern Family”, and did voice work in the films “The Lion King 1½”, “Good Boy!”, “Bee Movie”, and “The Tale of Despereaux.” In 2006, Broderick also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and has also been inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Gary Beach (Roger De Bris)

After his Tony-winning performance as Roger De Bris, Beach starred as Albin in the 2004 Broadway revival of La Cage Aux Folles, as well as the 2006 Broadway revival of Les Misérables. Beach also starred alongside Lane and Broderick in the 2005 film adaptation of the musical.

Unfortunately, Gary Beach passed away in 2018.

Gary Beach, Tony Winner for 'The Producers,' Dies at 70 - The New York Times — Photo by Paul Kolnik

Cady Huffman (Ulla)

Since The Producers, Cady Huffman continued her career in theater and appeared in various productions, including alongside Nathan Lane in the Broadway play The Nance. She has also had appearances in the TV series “The Good Wife”, “Frasier”, and “One Life To Live.” Huffman was a regular judge on Food Network’s competition show, “Iron Chef America.”

Roger Bart (Carmen Ghia)

Following his departure from the show, Bart returned in 2004 as a replacement for Leo Bloom. Bart’s other Broadway appearances since The Producers include Stephen Sondheim’s The Frogs, as Dr. Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein, Disaster!, and currently Back to the Future: The Musical at the Winter Garden Theatre. Bart has had TV appearances in “The Blacklist”, “The Good Fight”, “Grace and Frankie”, “Modern Family”, “How I Met Your Mother”, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, “30 Rock”, and many more. Bart has a cameo in the 2021 film adaptation of Tick, Tick… Boom!.

Brad Oscar (Franz Liebkind)

After his successful run as Franz Liebkind, Oscar replaced Lane as Bialystock. In 2008, Oscar returned to Broadway as Sir Bedevere in Spamalot, and has since appeared in The Addams Family, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Big Fish, Something Rotten!, and Mrs. Doubtfire. Recently, Oscar was a replacement in the Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors. Oscar has had appearances in TV series including “Law & Order”, “The Good Wife”, and “Smash.”

Which Broadway shows have won the most Tony Awards?

Broadway’s clearest indicator of notoriety is the Tony Awards. The annual ceremony has been celebrating excellence in New York theater since 1947 and has made actors, creators, and shows themselves become household names.

In our list, we’ll be listing which Broadway shows have won the most Tony Awards for a single production, though we’re giving shout-outs to Cabaret, Death of a Salesman, and La Cage Aux Folles as each has collected an impressive number of awards over their multiple productions throughout the years. So if awards mean the best Broadway shows to you, then see below.

The Producers by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan

It may come as a surprise but the record for most Tony wins by a single production was set over 20 years ago.

Back in 2001, Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan brought their hilarious 1967 film, The Producers, to the stage. The meta-musical about a pair of money-hungry Broadway producers who want to purposefully put on the worst show possible to fraudulently make money wowed audiences and critics. Nathan Lane starred alongside Matthew Broderick (both of whom would go on to star in the 2005 film adaptation) with Nathan Lane winning the coveted Best Actor in a Musical Tony Award.

Nathan Lane’s award is just one win of a whopping 12 as The Producers won in every single category it was nominated in, losing out only when multiple actors were nominated for the same award.

Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda

You’d be forgiven if you believed Hamilton was top of the list when it comes to wins as it holds the record for most Tony Award nominations for a single production. Back in 2016, Hamilton was nominated for a staggering 16 awards in 13 categories. It was believed that it would equal or surpass The Producers as the Broadway show with the most Tony wins, but alas, it came home with 11. Wins include Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Costume Design in a Musical, and Best Choreography.

Though Lin-Manuel Miranda lost the Best Actor in a Musical award to cast-mate Leslie Odom Jr., he still won two awards – one for Best Original Score and one for Best Book of a Musical.

Billy Elliot by Elton John and Lee Hall

After the surprise run-away success of the independent film and considering its subject matter, it was no surprise when a stage adaptation of Billy Elliot hit the West End in 2006. Two years later, Billy Elliot the Musical came to Broadway sealing its status as “a global theatrical phenomenon” (Los Angeles Times).

In 2009, Billy Elliot the Musical was nominated for 15 awards (the same number of nominations as The Producers received) and won 11. The most notable award was that of Best Actor in a Musical as the three young actors – David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish – who shared the role of Billy shared a single nomination and win.

South Pacific by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Joshua Logan

If you were going to use cumulative Tony Award wins as a metric, South Pacific would be at the absolute top of the list.

During its first Broadway production in 1950, the Rodgers and Hammerstein masterpiece firmly cemented its place in Broadway history as one of the greatest musicals of all time. Not only did it win over audiences and critics, it also won every single Tony Award it was nominated for and a Pulitzer. In fact, it’s still the only production in history to win all four of the acting awards in the same year.

Since its premiere, there have been productions of South Pacific all over the world including multiple Broadway revivals each garnering praise and accolades in their own right. Its 2008 Broadway revival won seven further Tony Awards bringing the show’s cumulative total to an unbelievable 17.

Fiddler On The Roof by Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Joseph Stein

Almost 60 years ago, Fiddler on the Roof took Broadway by storm. When it first opened in 1964, the now-classic musical wowed audiences and became the first Broadway musical to run for more than 3,000 shows. In fact, the original production won nine Tony Awards in 1965 and then received a special Tony Award in 1972 for the longest-running Musical in Broadway History bringing the total to 10.

Since its initial run, Fiddler on the Roof has had five revivals but has only received one further Tony Award.

Other shows that have been awarded 10 Tony Awards for a single production include David Yazbek’s The Band’s Visit and John Logan’s Moulin Rouge! The Musical.