Opening Night of “The Producers”
MAY 29, 2003 – HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA
Pantages Theatre
Story and Photos are © Lee Roth / Roth Stock Digital Media
Links go to Actor Profiles on IMDb.Com
Based on Mel Brooks’ movie “The Producers” from 1967, the musical originally opened on Broadway in 2001. This being Hollywood, and Mel Brooks being Mel Brooks, with an entertainment career spanning more than 50 years, many legends of comedy turned out to pay homage for opening night at the Pantages Theatre. His wife, screen legend Anne Bancroft was on his arm.
Comedienne Carol Burnett was all smiles as she came down the red carpet.
Writer/producer/director/actor Carl Reiner … really, all of these seasoned pros are multi-hyphenates!
Writing television shows since the mid-1960’s, Garry Marshall got his start around the same time as those mentioned above.
Rising from a bingo caller at age 15 to become one of Hollywood’s most endearing side-kicks, Ed McMahon has quite a history in show business.
Also in attendance were Alec Baldwin, Amy Yasbeck, Christina Applegate, Cheryl Tiegs, Dana Delaney, David Hasselhoff with his wife Pamela Bach, Eugene Levy, Goldie Hawn, Holly Robinson Peete, Jacqueline Bisset, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Joe Mantegna, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jessica Capshaw, Kate Capshaw, Kate Hudson, Mindy Burbano, Oliver Hudson, Richard Lewis, Rita Wilson, Steven Spielberg, Tim Allen, Tom Hanks and Tori Spelling.
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Thanks Lee!
The most brilliant day of all
By Jed Kemsley
May 29th, 2003, was the most brilliant day of all. It was two days before my 16th birthday, and it was the opening night of Mel Brooks’ musical The Producers at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California.
Everyone who was anyone was there… Tom Hanks, Jason Alexander (who played the lead role in the musical), and Jacqueline Bisset, who my father actually bumped into near the bathroom. I will never forget dad’s exclamation at the chance encounter – I think he nearly spilled his drink down her top!
The musical was a huge success. I remember there being endless applause and cheering, and everyone in the musical itself was simply outstanding. It takes a lot of courage to go on stage and sing, and it is something I cannot do. And so when Jason Alexander (he’s George from Seinfeld, for those who don’t know) got up and sang in his stunning operatic voice (he’s a clasically trained opera singer), I was, how to say it, mesmerised and in awe.
It was a magical night. Dad said it was an early birthday present, and, well, you know what, it was the best birthday present I have ever received. And as the musical ended, and dad and I left the theatre to return to our hotel, I simply remember thinking that it was the stuff dreams are made of.
That’s what I mean. It’s that magic that Hollywood itself brings to the world in the form of entertainment, movies, performances, and specatcularly special events such as the premiere of The Producers on that night more than 12 years ago. I have yet to experience anything else in my life that compares to the sheer delight that the musical gave me, and I returned to Australia believing in something more than I did when I left.
I began believing in ‘the dream’. By that I mean the dream that we can do anything, and there is nothing to fear. Jason Alexander showed me that night what true courage is… what bravery is all about. As he sang and sang and brought the house down over and over, I started believing in the human spirit. He’s not just George from Seinfeld. He is one of the greatest men to have ever lived.
And it was all thanks to dad, who, in his usual, incomparable, magical way, managed to procure the tickets just in time.
Hi Jed,
What a great memory! Thanks so much for sharing! Your Dad RAWKS!!! 🙂