Mel Brooks Faces Broadway Backlash

THE knives are out for Mel.

On the eve of the first preview of "Young Frankenstein," a growing chorus of theater people, their hearts as black as night, secretly hope Mel Brooks' latest Broadway musical falls far short of the hype.

Ticket brokers have been screaming all summer about the $450 top ticket, which cuts into their business. Also howling have been group sales agents, who are bitter because they've been given lousy locations (row X by the wall, thank you very much).

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Comments

[Violababy]

05:49 PM on 10/13/2007

I have never found Mel Brooks remotely funny.

[Rand]

09:53 AM on 10/15/2007

How sad for you! May I suggest Welbutrin?

[dharmamom]

11:13 AM on 10/15/2007

Are you kidding. When I first saw the Producers (movie in 70's) I rolled in the aisles with laughter. The line, "You can't kill the actors", "Why", "They're people", Oh yeah, did ya ever eat with one"... That kept me howling for years. My next fav is Spaceballs. My kids and I rate that in our top ten rewatchable movies of all times. One of the best spoofs ever. I love Mel Brooks, his self deprecating humor is not lost on anyone, including himself (the scene where he tries to get beamed into the next room and comes out backwards, OMG classic). As for the gouging audiences on Broadway...what's changed? That's broadway...

[WhackaTroll]

02:43 PM on 10/12/2007

"We wrote to him, through clenched teeth, a polite letter"
Now that's a feat of prestidigitation I'd like to see. :)

[commonsenselives]

01:45 PM on 10/11/2007

Mel makes fun of everyone.

If people who were offended by his play didn't know that, its their own damn fault for being ignorant about him.

Blazing Saddles is one of the most offensive movies ever made. And I laugh my ass off every time I watch it. Mel's sense of humor bites us all in our self-righteous butts and its fabulous!

Stereotypes are FUNNY, people! Lighten up before you all shrivel up and DIE from boredom.

[ibivi]

10:10 AM on 10/11/2007

Mel has become a greedy guts. Tut, tut.

[TurgidCaterwauling]

09:15 PM on 10/10/2007

Can't wait for Space Balls.

[rektruax]

06:24 AM on 10/11/2007

Would rather see them try to mount Blazing Saddles. It would be fun to see Sharpton and that other guy (?) picketing the show for it's constant use of the n-word.

[rini]

07:46 PM on 10/10/2007

Mel, Mel, Mel, Mel, Mel,

Why didn't you pay your dues?

[SouthJerseySteve]

03:49 PM on 10/10/2007

I'd rather wait until the movie comes out like they did with the Broadway show Hairspray.

[Gerahufff]

02:28 AM on 10/11/2007

Hairspray was a John Water's movie first, then it went to Broadway, and then the remake with John Travolta was made....

[dvsinla]

03:32 PM on 10/10/2007

this is coming from the ny post. haven't you learned that they LIE!

[alguien]

02:17 PM on 10/10/2007

wonder what the stakes would be like if they did a broadway musical of "silent movie."

[sureofit]

01:14 PM on 10/10/2007

I love the Beatles, but I wouldn't pay $450 to see a reunion concert with ALL OF THEM!

[meandmagoo]

02:36 AM on 10/11/2007

How could you not,seeing as how two of them would have had to return from the dead for the show?

[rektruax]

09:56 AM on 10/11/2007

I assume that was his point, but even if they were all alive, 450.00 would be an incredible bargain.

[Iconoplastic]

11:21 AM on 10/11/2007

Three bullets (one for yourself, one for Ringo, one for Macca) cost WAY WAY LESS than $450.

That's the only way it'd happen soon.

[sureofit]

06:26 PM on 10/11/2007

See meandmagoo's comments and rektruax's response as to what I meant.

[Michael Giltz]

12:22 PM on 10/10/2007

Interestingly, my sister was just able to buy four tickets to Young Frankenstein next week at $450 via American Express. I assumed the Amex allotment would be sold out by now and that the $450 tickets right now -- just before the show opened, would be impossible to get at face value. Maybe this is why they don't want to include the grosses.

[Ginzaman]

11:44 AM on 10/10/2007

I wonder what the next show will be? After Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein I stopped being a fan of his movies.

[Rand]

12:11 PM on 10/10/2007

Sorry to hear about your losing your sense of humor. Get well soon!

[WRPrintz]

07:05 PM on 10/12/2007

Well...after High Anxiety, what movie has he done that was any good? Mel has had a long, long dry spell, and while these are "re-treds" of movies...at least they were really, really funny movies.

[STORMATSEA]

11:15 AM on 10/10/2007

people have to stop being so victimized by humor.
Mel makes fun of everyone and other than Nazis he has no hatred of any group.
When my sister-in law, nephew and I saw the "Producers" in its pre Broadway run in Chicago, I heard a woman in the row in front of us quip at intermission that "gays and Jews must be totally offended by this show." I excused myself for interrupting her conversation and explained that I as a gay man and my sis-inlaw and nephew as Jewish folks were in fact not offended, but, in fact amused by Mr. Brooks humor. People need to lighten up.

[rektruax]

06:22 AM on 10/11/2007

They won't.