The Producers, Mel Brooks’ musical comedy about two Broadway producers who try to get rich with a guaranteed flop, has about two dozen numbers, running from “Opening Night” to the farewell “Goodbye!”, with the show-within-a-show “Springtime for Hitler” as its most famous. Here is every song in order, who sings it, what happens, and how the two Producers films handle the music.
The Producers has music and lyrics by Mel Brooks and a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan, adapted from Brooks’ own film comedy. Directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, with Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock and Matthew Broderick as Leo Bloom, it opened at Broadway’s St. James Theatre on April 19, 2001, and ran until April 22, 2007, for 2,502 performances (IBDB). It won 12 Tony Awards from 15 nominations, still the record for the most Tonys won by a single show (Tony Awards).
What songs are in The Producers musical?
The Producers has about two dozen musical numbers across two acts, counting reprises, the overture and the entr’acte. Brooks wrote the score as a valentine to old-fashioned Broadway: big brassy openers, a soft-shoe for two pals, a Busby Berkeley-style showgirl number, a torch song, a Swedish bombshell’s novelty number and a jailhouse chorus. Almost every song is also a joke about show business.
The story, set in New York in 1959: washed-up producer Max Bialystock and timid accountant Leo Bloom realize that a show that flops on opening night could make more money than a hit, if they oversell shares in it and the backers never expect a return. So they look for the worst play ever written, the worst director and the worst actors. The play they choose is “Springtime for Hitler”, a fawning musical tribute written by a Nazi enthusiast. Then the unthinkable happens: the audience thinks it’s a satire, and it becomes a hit.
What is The Producers song list in order?
This follows the original Broadway production.
Act 1
| # | Song | Who sings | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Overture | Orchestra | The score’s main tunes in brassy medley |
| 2 | Opening Night | Usherettes and company | Max’s latest show, Funny Boy, flops |
| 3 | The King of Broadway | Max and company | Max remembers when he was the toast of Broadway |
| 4 | We Can Do It | Max and Leo | Max talks Leo into the flop scheme |
| 5 | I Wanna Be a Producer | Leo, showgirls and accountants | Leo’s daydream of escaping his dull office |
| 6 | We Can Do It (Reprise) | Leo and Max | Leo joins, and Bialystock and Bloom is born |
| 7 | In Old Bavaria | Franz | The playwright pines for Germany on his rooftop |
| 8 | Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop | Franz, Leo and Max | Franz makes the producers swear an oath and dance |
| 9 | Keep It Gay | Roger, Carmen, Max, Leo and Roger’s team | The producers persuade director Roger De Bris to take the job |
| 10 | When You Got It, Flaunt It | Ulla | A Swedish actress auditions in the office |
| 11 | Along Came Bialy | Max and company | Max raises $2 million from his elderly lady backers |
| 12 | Act One Finale | Max, Leo, Ulla, Franz, Roger, Carmen and company | Everyone looks forward to the flop |
Act 2
| # | Song | Who sings | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Entr’acte | Orchestra | Opens Act 2 |
| 14 | That Face | Leo, Ulla, then Max | Leo and Ulla fall for each other |
| 15 | Haben Sie Gehört Das Deutsche Band? | Franz and Max | Franz’s audition wins him the role of Hitler |
| 16 | Opening Night (Reprise) | Usherettes | Opening night of Springtime for Hitler |
| 17 | You Never Say “Good Luck” on Opening Night | Roger, Carmen, Franz, Leo and Max | A backstage lesson in theatre superstition |
| 18 | Springtime for Hitler | Lead tenor stormtrooper, Ulla, Roger and company | The show-within-the-show: a deliberately grotesque spectacle |
| 19 | Where Did We Go Right? | Leo and Max | The reviews are raves, and the producers panic |
| 20 | Betrayed | Max | In jail, Max recaps the whole show in one breathless number |
| 21 | ‘Til Him | Leo, Max and little old ladies | Leo defends his friend in court |
| 22 | Prisoners of Love | Convicts, then Roger, Ulla and company | A new show staged in Sing Sing heads for Broadway |
| 23 | Leo and Max | Leo and Max | The two partners celebrate their friendship |
| 24 | Goodbye! | Company | The curtain call tells the audience to go home |
Who sings each song in The Producers?
- Max Bialystock, the scheming producer, has the most material: “The King of Broadway”, “We Can Do It”, “Along Came Bialy” and the tour-de-force “Betrayed”. Nathan Lane won the Tony for the role.
- Leo Bloom, the nervous accountant, gets the dream number “I Wanna Be a Producer”, the love duet “That Face” and the courtroom song “‘Til Him”. Matthew Broderick was nominated for a Tony as Leo; read our review of Matthew Broderick’s endearing performance.
- Ulla, the Swedish actress who becomes their secretary, has “When You Got It, Flaunt It” and shares “That Face”. Cady Huffman won a Tony for the role.
- Franz Liebkind, the pigeon-keeping playwright, sings “In Old Bavaria”, “Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop” and “Haben Sie Gehört Das Deutsche Band?”
- Roger De Bris, the flamboyant director, leads “Keep It Gay” and ends up playing Hitler himself on opening night. Gary Beach won a Tony as Roger.
- Carmen Ghia, Roger’s assistant and partner, is a scene-stealer in “Keep It Gay” and “You Never Say ‘Good Luck’ on Opening Night”.
For a deeper look at each of these roles, see our guide to The Producers characters explained.
Why is ‘Springtime for Hitler’ so famous?
“Springtime for Hitler” is the most famous joke in Broadway history because it is a perfect trap. Max and Leo want a show so offensive that it closes in one night. The opening of the number is designed to horrify: a cheerful stormtrooper tenor, showgirls in absurd costumes, and a Busby Berkeley dance spectacle in honor of a dictator. Audiences in the story walk out. Then Roger De Bris enters as a preening, camp Hitler, and the audience on stage starts laughing. They decide it is a satire, and the producers’ plan collapses because the show is a hit.
The joke is aimed squarely at the Nazis. Brooks, who served in the U.S. Army in World War II, turns Hitler and his followers into ridiculous kitsch, and the number gets its laughs by making them look vain, silly and small rather than powerful. Brooks first used the song in his film comedy, and he kept it at the center of the musical.
The number is also a great piece of musical-theatre parody. It borrows the language of big 1930s movie musicals and uses it to expose how glossy showmanship can make anything look glamorous. You can see a performance featuring MOL’s own Kuya Manzano in our “Springtime for Hitler” excerpt.
Want to play these songs yourself? Brooks wrote The Producers in the style of classic Broadway, so its songs, from the soft-shoe “We Can Do It” to the big-band swing of “Springtime for Hitler”, are ideal for learning old-school show-tune piano. Try Pianoforall.
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How are the songs different in The Producers movies?
There are two Producers films, and they are very different.
The original film (1967/1968)
Brooks’ first film as a director starred Zero Mostel as Max and Gene Wilder as Leo. It premiered in Pittsburgh in November 1967 and reached wider release in 1968, which is why it is usually called the 1968 film. It is a comedy with a few songs, not a full musical. “Springtime for Hitler” comes from this film, and the jail-set “Prisoners of Love” grows out of its ending, where the partners stage a new show in prison. Brooks won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for it. Most of the stage score, including “I Wanna Be a Producer”, “Keep It Gay” and “Betrayed”, was written later for the 2001 musical.
The 2005 movie musical
The 2005 film is a screen version of the Broadway musical, directed by Susan Stroman and released in December 2005. Lane, Broderick, Gary Beach and Roger Bart returned to their stage roles, with Uma Thurman as Ulla and Will Ferrell as Franz. The main song changes:
- “The King of Broadway”, “In Old Bavaria” and “Where Did We Go Right?” were left out of the theatrical release. They appear in the extended cut, and “The King of Broadway” and “In Old Bavaria” are on the DVD as deleted scenes.
- The soundtrack adds a new Brooks song, “There’s Nothing Like a Show on Broadway”.
The film received mixed reviews, but it preserves most of Stroman’s staging and the original stars’ performances, which makes it a useful record of the Broadway show.
Recent productions
London has seen two major productions. The first played the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, from 2004 to 2007. A revival directed by Patrick Marber began at the Menier Chocolate Factory in late 2024, moved to the Garrick Theatre in 2025, and closed on September 19, 2026 (Official London Theatre).
If you enjoy shows that laugh at the darkest parts of history, our Chicago vs Cabaret comparison looks at two other musicals that use showbiz style to make serious points.
Frequently asked questions
How many songs are in The Producers?
About two dozen numbers, counting the overture, entr’acte and reprises: 12 in Act 1 and 12 in Act 2 in the Broadway running order.
Who wrote the songs in The Producers?
Mel Brooks wrote both the music and the lyrics. He also co-wrote the book with Thomas Meehan.
How many Tony Awards did The Producers win?
Twelve, from 15 nominations, at the 2001 Tony Awards. That broke the record of 10 set by Hello, Dolly! in 1964, and no show has won more since.
Who is Carmen Ghia in The Producers?
Carmen Ghia is the assistant and partner of director Roger De Bris. The name is a pun on the Karmann Ghia sports car, and the role is a famous comic part in “Keep It Gay”.
Is The Producers offensive?
It is designed to shock, and some viewers find it too much. But the satire targets the Nazis, not their victims: the show makes Hitler and his admirers look absurd, and its central joke is that an audience laughs at them.
