A couple of L.A. guys, really!

I read with some interest today Paul Brownfield’s column about Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick and the Los Angeles run of “The Producers” (“Good Ol’ Buckethead,” June 26). A little mean-spirited, don’t you think? If he checks his annals, he’ll see that both Broderick and Lane have done a lot of theater in Los Angeles and La Jolla over the past two decades and were happy to do it. In fact, all the Neil Simon plays that starred Broderick originated in Los Angeles. Brownfield will also see that these guys were in “The Producers” in Chicago and New York for one heck of a long time. Having seen the show, he’ll know that it’s exhausting and two years of eight shows a week can take a toll. Yes, Lane did a sitcom in Los Angeles (something he was contractually committed to before the run of “The Producers”), and Broderick has made some movies since then, but that’s the beauty of being a performer. You get to mix it up a little bit every now and then.

I know Brownfield was trying to make a point that there should be more theater in Los Angeles. But taking a poke at two true theater icons for the sake of making a point is a little out of line, don’t you think?

Simon Halls

Beverly Hills

Simon Halls is the president of PMK/HBH public relations and the representative for Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane

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I haven’t viewed the past movie, read the book or seen any other production of “The Producers.” I do know that I saw a class production at the Pantages and thought the two leads did an outstanding job. For me, it was a fresh production, and I judged it for the moment. It stood on its own and did not need any comparisons.

Sandy Kahn

Ventura