LL
Lexee Longwell
  • Class of 2014
  • Holland, MI

Lexee Longwell , of Holland, to perform in SVSU's 'The Producers'

2013 Nov 5

As part of Saginaw Valley State University's 50th anniversary celebration, the theatre and music departments will produce an authentic recreation of one of Broadway's biggest hit musicals and the largest production in SVSU's history.

In 2001, "Mel Brooks' The Producers" scored a record 12 Tony Awards. This month, some 80 students will be involved in SVSU's production of the hit, complete with the original Broadway set and costumes.

Among those students is Holland's Lexee Longwell , who will play Ulla, an actress looking for a part in the story's fictional production.

"In my 10 years on the faculty at SVSU, I have never seen students and faculty work harder on a production," said Ric Roberts, SVSU associate professor of theatre who will direct the play alongside Kevin Simons, SVSU assistant professor of music.

"We have been rehearsing since May and all we need now is an audience," Roberts said.

Audiences will arrive for performances at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday to Saturday, Nov. 20-23, in the Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts. A matinee is planned for 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24.

Tickets cost $13 for the general public and $10 for senior citizens and students.

Brooks wrote the cult comedy in 1968 and the script found new life in 2001 when it was adapted into a Broadway musical starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.

The story follows a down-on-his-luck Broadway producer and a mild-mannered accountant who set out to bilk their investors out of millions of dollars by creating the most notorious flop ever. That plan goes awry and comedy ensues when the show becomes a hit.

Two truckloads of material from the original Broadway production in New York City arrived earlier this month, and students have been readying the sets, props and costumes for opening night. The play -- which marks the first time the theatre and music departments have collaborated on a full-scale musical -- will feature actors, a chorus and orchestra.