Theater News

Las Vegas Producers to Bow on January 31 With Hasselhoff and Oscar

David Hasselhoff and Mel Brooks(© Michael Portantiere)
David Hasselhoff and Mel Brooks
(© Michael Portantiere)

The Las Vegas production of the hit Broadway show The Producers will begin an open-ended run at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel on January 31, co-starring Brad Oscar as Max Bialystock and David Hasselhoff as the cross-dressing director Roger DeBris. Additional casting will be announced shortly.

The musical has a score by Mel Brooks, and a book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan. As on Broadway, the Las Vegas production will be directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman and will feature sets by Robin Wagner, costumes by William Ivey Long, and lighting by Peter Kaczorowski. According to the authors, the show will run an intermissionless 90 minutes in Vegas, but only one song, “That Face,” has been completely excised.

At a press conference held today at the St. James Theatre, home of the Broadway production, Brooks said that Hasselhoff was chosen for the role of Roger because “he has looks, brains, talent — and the best legs in Hollywood. In fact, he’s so tall he really will look like the Chrysler Building.” (The reference was to one of the show’s costumes). Hasselhoff said he was “honored” to be working with Brooks and noted that this will be his first time acting in a dress, except for one episode of his television series Baywatch Nights.

Oscar created the role of Franz Liebkind in the Broadway production of The Producers, eventually taking over the role of Max, which he has played more than 1,100 times. He also appeared on Broadway in the musical Jekyll & Hyde and starred in the Arena Stage revivals of Cabaret and Damn Yankees.

Hasselhoff starred in Jekyll & Hyde on Broadway, and in the West End production of Chicago. A popular international recording and concert artist, he is best known in the U.S. for his more than 30 years of television work, including starring roles on The Young and the Restless, Knight Rider, and Baywatch.

The Producers opened on Broadway on April 19, 2001 and won a record-setting 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The film version — directed and choreographed by Stroman, and featuring original stars Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Gary Beach, and Roger Bart — opened in the fall of 2005 and received four Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture (Comedy or Musical).