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 Cleans Up Its Act Forbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its Act Forbidden Broadway Cleans Up Its Act is the fifth incarnation of Gerard Alessandrini's "Forbidden Broadway", his popular off-Broadway musical revue spoofing "the best of Broadway". All the parody lyrics were written (as always) by Gerard Alessandrini. This version was co-directed by Alessandrini and his long-time collaborator Phillip George. George had up till then only been credited with "Musical Staging" and as "Assistant Director". George also contributed many of the more successful ideas and dialogue sketches to the more recent "Forbidden Broadway" editions. The show played in the basement of Ellen's Stardust Diner, and the