Mel Brooks was so brazen in its satire that major studios would not touch it, nor would many exhibitors. Brooks finally found an independent distributor who released it as an art film, a specialized attraction. In 1968, Brooks received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film, beating such writers as Stanley Kubrick and John Cassavetes. "The Producers" became a smash underground hit, first on the nationwide college circuit, then in revivals and on home video. Brooks later turned it into a musical, which became hugely successful on Broadway, receiving an unprecedented twelve Tony awards. With the moderate financial success of
Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening is the 2007 incarnation of Gerard Alessandrini's long-running hit Off-Broadway musical revue "Forbidden Broadway", which parodies notable current Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals. "Rude Awakening" opened on October 2, 2007 at New York's 47th Street Theatre and closed on March 24, 2008. The show was conceived, created and written by Alessandrini and was directed by Alessandrini and Phillip George. The musicals parodied in "Rude Awakening" include "Wicked", "A Chorus Line", "Les Misérables", "The Little Mermaid", "Grey Gardens", "Chicago", "Spring Awakening", "Jersey Boys", "Spamalot" and "Mary Poppins". The tracks featured on the cast recording