Little Theatre takes on ‘The Producers’

With six cast members, 24 chorus members and at least 20 behind the scenes crew members, the Little Theatre of Owatonna’s “The Producers” is one of the toughest undertakings yet. 
The reason it is so challenging is due to the vast amount of costumes, actors and actresses, props and the huge set. 
The musical, written by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, is adapted from the 1968 film and first hit the Broadway stage in 2001. 
Technical Director Kathy Purdie has been involved with LTO since 1992 and has done a variety of roles both on stage and behind the scenes. Purdie says since the show is so “huge” they had to start auditions and rehearsals a month and a half earlier than they normally would. 
Where as auditions would have typically been held right after the spring show “Treasure Island” at the end of April, they were held mid-March so cast and chorus members could start rehearsing the music and choreography off-site. 
As the technical director, Purdie’s job is to be Director Jeffrey Jackson’s right arm. “I always call myself the mother of the bride, because I have to coordinate everything,” she said. 
Purdie has helped choose the cast, paint the set and coordinated trips to Mankato and Coon Rapids not only to pick up costumes and props from other theatres that have done the show, but also to see the show firsthand. 
On top of the multitude of costumes needed for the chorus who all play multiple roles, another challenge has been the amount of props. During the show character Ulla paints character Max’s whole office white meaning they need duplicates of all the props and furniture. 
 Costumer Norma Louis has been involved with LTO since 2002 and says this is by far the most challenging show she has done. 
“I can’t even begin to count how many costumes we have. It has been quite a ride, but fun,” Louis said. 
Despite the many trips to Mankato to get some old costumes and props, Louis and her team of five were forced to start from square one when the costumes didn’t fit. Louis works on costumes in conjunction with Glenice Swensen, Gail Plathe, Mary Gontarek, Jan Partridge and Sharon Stark. In the end, she says all the work is worth it. 
“When you start out two months early with 30 people that don’t know each other, nobody knows the script, the songs, the musical, the costumes have yet to be determined and you work your hinny off and once they get on stage it is magic,” Louis said. “Every time I sit through a show I am stunned because I know all the pieces it took to put it together. 
Meet the Cast
“The Producers” tells the story of Max Bialystock, a Broadway producer who used to be successful but recently has produced flop after flop. He meets an accountant named Leo Bloom who gets the idea that they could potentially make more money off of a flop rather than a hit. The two set out to find the worst play ever written and hire the worst director along with actors to be part of the production. 
Erik Eitrheim, OHS theater director, decided to do his first show with LTO because of his love for the musical. 
“It was a great show and I just did not want to be kicking myself this time of the year  if it was going up without me in it so I just auditioned and was fortunate enough to land this part and it has been a blast ever since,” Eitrheim said. 
He described his character, Max, as a man who is all about the money and will do almost anything in order to get it but in the end he discovers another reason for existing, friendship. 
Eitrheim enjoys playing Max because he is his polar opposite. “Max gets to do all the things that I would never ever do. He is unscrupulous and somewhat filthy at times. Because I play Max I get to do all sorts of terrible and awful things and the more into it I get the more everyone seems to like it,” he said. 
The biggest challenge for Eitrheim has been memorizing the lines, as it has been a while since he has been on stage and had to remember lines. 
“It is a show you don’t want to miss. I think the people who come will be crying they are laughing so hard,” he said. “It is a great evenings entertainment.” 
Betsy Cole, who plays Ulla, has been involved with LTO since 2001 and decided to try out for the part because of her love of the musical. 
“I got the soundtrack as soon as it was available. I thought this was one that no one locally would ever have the guts to tackle so when it came around that they were going to be doing it I had to give it a shot,” Cole said. 
Cole described Ulla as “an aspiring actor, singer and dancer from Sweden who is very free-spirited. Her grasp of the English language isn’t that great, which causes some comedic misunderstandings.” 
Cole enjoys playing the character because it is different from other roles she has played in the past. 
“Personally I love the big over the top hilarious musicals and this is just another character that fits in with that,” she said. 
The main challenge for Cole has been all of her quick costume changes and nailing the timing of them all. She recommends the show because of its humor.