Popular comedian Peter Kay will play Roger De Bris in the smash hit Mel Brooks musical The Producers when it comes to the Manchester Palace Theatre in the new year. This acclaimed and commercially successful show was based on the cult 1968 film comedy and has itself more recently been turned into a movie starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Brodercik. When down-on-his-luck theatrical producer Max Bialystock and his hapless accountant, Leo Bloom, hatch the ultimate theatrical scam: to raise more money than they need to produce a sure-fire Broadway disaster... and then pocket the left-over cash when the show flops - who do they turn to? The world's worst director, of course; Roger DeBris, played by Peter Kay. Their guaranteed-to-fail fiasco? Springtime for Hitler - the musical! Kay said: 'I've always been a huge fan of The Producers, ever since I first saw the film on telly when I was 11. 'For years I harboured a secret ambition to turn The Producers into a stage musical, even going so far as to write a rough stage adaptation for it in an old school exercise book. 'Luckily, Mel Brooks beat me to it and created what I think is the funniest musical of all time. So to finally get an opportunity to play a part in a production of it is definitely, for me a real dream come true. I can't wait.' This multi-award winning musical is the winner of every major Best New Musical Award including the Laurence Olivier, Evening Standard and Critics Circle Awards as well as the most Tony Awards in Broadway history, a staggering 12 in total. * The Producers can be seen at the Manchester Palace Theatre from February 19-May 12. Ring the box office for details on 0871 677 0000. | 
