Opening Night, It’s Opening Night. Zodiac Theatre Group have brought the hilarious Mel Brooks musical, The Producers, to the Hammond in Chester this week. A new venue for the company but the space was used extremely well.
Directed by Neil Silcock, there were nods from the 2005 film mixed with some fresh and hilarious moments, with lots of physical comedy made possible by the brilliant cast who threw themselves, sometimes literally, into the roles to bring this hilarious musical to life.
Gareth Earl leads the company as doomed theatre producer Max Bialystock and lead he does. Earl delivers a fantastic Bialystock, with absolute top notch acting, plenty of physical comedy and some incredible vocals, especially during Betrayed where he recaps most of the story at top speed, including an intermission. Just fantastic to witness. Jack Parry plays the shy, awkward, accountant/wannabe Producer who comes to work for and eventually with Bialystock. Parry gives a strong performance with plenty of comedy and strong vocals. Casting Earl and Parry together was a stroke of genius as they work so well together and just bounce off each other.
Chloe Pennington gives us a brilliant Ulla, with great dance moves and lovely vocals and Ben Greenall is hilarious as Franz, treating us to a brilliantly funny Der Gutten Tag Hop-Clop and a fantastic Have You Ever Heard the German Band.
Michael Shneck delivered an awkwardly hilarious Roger Debris with a lot of physicality and some great vocals, with Kyle Hickman as his camp, loveable/bitchy assistant, Carmen Ghia. Hickman gave some great vocals, and his physical comedy was brilliant, extremely reminiscent of Roger Bart in the role. Fantastic. Valarie Ball as Hold-Me, Touch-Me is just perfect. An incredible performance and it’s not often you get to see an OAP throw herself around the stage and sofa like that. Just brilliant.
The whole cast give everything in this show with vocals and dancing, and they all look they’re having a brilliant time on stage which relays to the audience well.
The Producers is full of songs and music, and Craig Price has done a wonderful job here, with incredible vocals, brilliant harmonies and a fantastic sound overall. Huge well done must go to the band also who were perfect.
Choreography came from Stuart Maher, and this is his first time choreographing a musical and a great job he has done too. From smaller numbers to the large group numbers, they were all full of energy, from OAPs dancing with Zimmer frames to dancing sausages and pretzels, it was a joy to watch. As with all live theatre things can go a little astray and I felt there was a struggle with the amount of cast trying to get on with Zimmers meaning some were fighting to get on and dance at the same time, but they soon caught up and carried on.
Joe Sanderson provided lighting and for the most it was brilliant, helping bring the piece together and direct our eyes to certain areas for important pieces or detract from scene changes. There were a few times some of the cast were not lit, possibly due to not being where they were supposed to be or maybe being too far either side of the stage, more noticeable in the big group numbers, but overall, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the show. Sound by Tom Maurice was brilliant, great balance so the cast could all be heard over the band with the band sounding fantastic. The occasional beginning of a line may have been missed but this can be forgiven on opening night.
Scene changes for the most were quick, and it flowed well so the use of projections was genius, and they were high quality. They elevated the show and made scene changes so much faster than a full set change so a huge well done on this.
The Producers is a fantastic show and Zodiac Theatre Group have pulled out all the stops to ensure their audiences have the best time.
The Producers runs until Saturday 1st November with tickets available at https://thezodiac.org/event/mel-brooks-the-producers-chester/
Reviewer: Damian Riverol
Reviewed: 29th October 2025
North West End UK Rating: