Free Congress Foundation's
Notable News Now
Excerpts from FCF Programming and Other FCF Projects
May 4, 2001
Inside Stories
YorktownUniversity.com Sets Debut Date
The Free Congress Commentary
Broadway Play Ruffles PC Crowd
by Nicholas Sanchez
Not too long ago, a friend and colleague of mine - who like me is a Mel
Brooks junkie - made the sage remark, "There is no way that Mel Brooks could
produce the films that he did in the late 60s and 70s today." This is
undoubtedly true.
Witness the commotion that has come about as a result of the release of the
Broadway play "The Producers", a remake of Mel Brooks' 1968 movie classic. A
lot of people have complained loudly that the play is "insensitive". In
fact, Fox News Channel interviewed a Jewish lady who said that she had to
leave the play when she saw "all those Nazis on stage."
For those of you who are not familiar with "The Producers", it is a
satirical look at Broadway. The main character in the movie, Max Bialystock,
is a former Broadway bigwig, who, with his glory days behind him after a
slew of failures, is forced to spend his days hopping on the knees of rich
old women with the hope that they will invest in his plays.
Bialystock then meets Leo Bloom, a nervous young accountant who is sent to
review his financial records. As Bloom looks over Bialystock's books and
discovers a few "discrepancies", he unwittingly discovers a way in which a
producer could become fabulously wealthy by cheating their investors.
The formula goes like this: if a producer were to get several investors to
put in a lot of money into a play that was absolutely, positively guaranteed
to flop, then the producer could keep the leftover money. Max Bialystock
loves the idea and after much handholding and conning, he is able to
convince the honest young Bloom to take part in this scheme.
Bialystock and Bloom then go about trying to assemble the worst play,
director, and lead actor - ever! After finding a former Nazi who is in
hiding in a New York flat who has written a play "Springtime for Hitler", a
cross-dressing stage director, and a drugged out lead actor (whose initials
are L.S.D.), Bialystock and Bloom think they have a winner.
Opening night comes and their audience is shocked to silence by the opening
dance number:
Germany was having trouble, what a sad, sad story
Needed a new leader to restore its former glory
Where, Oh where was he? Where could that man be?
We looked around and then we found
The man for you and me.
And now it's...
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Deutschland is happy and gay
We're marching to a faster pace
Look out, here comes the master race
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Winter for Poland and France
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Come on, Germans, go into your dance
I was born in Dusseldorf, and that is why they call me Rolf
Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Goosestep's the new step today
bombs falling from the skies again
Deutschland is on the rise again
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Uboats are sailing once more
Springtime for Hitler and Germany
Means that soon we'll be going
We've got to be going
You know we'll be going to WAR!
Not surprisingly, people are stunned by the Nazi soldiers dancing to this
snappy tune. And many make a "b-line" for the door. "Talk about bad taste,"
remarks one disgusted patron.
Of course, Max and Leo assume that the play will fail and they will spend
the rest of their lives living off of the million dollars they raised for
the play. What they didn't expect is that shortly after the opening song
ended, the audience saw the play for what it really was...a lampoon of the
Nazis. Sigh. If only real life matched the movies sometimes.
While the release of the Broadway version of "The Producers" is doing
phenomenally well - it has made advance ticket sales of $100 million
dollars, and is sold out until next year - we are, undoubtedly, going to
have to listen to the yapping of the Politically Correct crowd who disdains
anything that is genuinely funny.
For his part, Mel Brooks has said, "Hey, I'm Jewish. I can say whatever I
want." And I guess with a $100 million in ticket sales he can.
Nicholas Sanchez is the Free Congress Foundation's Director of Development.
For media inquiries, contact Notra Trulock 202.546.3000 /
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
For other questions or comments, contact Angie Wheeler
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
YorktownUniversity.com Sets Debut Date
Yorktownuniversity.com, the first, for-profit Internet university staffed by
political conservatives will begin enrolling students in its courses on May
24, 2001. A press conference is scheduled to occur at the National Press
Club on May 24 to debut the launch of Yorktownuniversity.com. A number of
the university's professors will be introduced at the conference.
Yorktownuniversity.com courses will be offered for students of all ages, and
can be accessed solely via the Internet.
Continue to read FCF's Notable News Now for more information about
Yorktownuniversity.com or visit their website at
http://www.yorktownuniversity.com
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