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
By the Beautiful Sea (musical) By the Beautiful Sea (musical) By the Beautiful Sea is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and music by Arthur Schwartz. Like Schwartz’s previous musical, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", also starring Shirley Booth, the musical is set in Brooklyn just after the start of the 20th century (1907). "By the Beautiful Sea" played on Broadway in 1954. "By the Beautiful Sea" played in pre-Broadway tryouts in New Haven at the Shubert Theatre starting February 15, 1954; in Boston starting February 23; and Philadelphia starting March 16. The musical opened on