SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER AND TEL AVIV: Can a musical about "the true Hitler, the Hitler you loved, the Hitler you knew, the Hitler with a song in his heart" make it in a country where one in three citizens is a Holocaust survivor or descended from one? It may seem like a surefire flop on account of tastelessness, but that's the point, after all -- tonight, The Producers is coming to Tel Aviv. In Hebrew.
There are a few modifications: fewer swastikas, for one. And then one that I really like: the first few times Hitler's name is mentioned, the entire cast will intone "Yimach Sho Ve'zichro" -- may his name and memory be erased -- a bit of drama normally reserved for the mention of Haman during Purim. The staging theater's artistic director is hoping that the audience will chime in and keep cursing Hitler's name throughout the show.
I don't purport to be an expert on Israeli culture, but an appreciation for black humor has always struck me as fairly standard. So I'm thinking that The Producers should find a comfortable -- if somewhat uncomfortable -- home among the Middle Eastern branch of the Chosen People. At a minimum, the pigeons ought to get a decent laugh.
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