Mel Brooks: BLAZING SADDLES Musical is 'Almost There'

Funnyman Mel Brooks appears to have every intention of continuing to expand his brand on the Broadway stage. In an interview with The Wrap published yesterday, Brooks came closer than ever to confirm that he will be bringing a stage adaptation of his 1974 satirical Western comedy 'Blazing Saddles' to the Great White Way.

Commenting on whether he would consider turning another one of his movies into a musical, the comic replied, "Well "Blazing Saddles" is almost there. I get the feeling that if I could find the time to write three or four more songs, it could be a bold and crazy musical."

Earlier this year, BWW reported that at a PBS panel on his American Masters Series, Brooks was asked again about turning the film into a stage show. His answer - he's 'thinking about,' and added "A lot of it is musical already. It has a rather fanciful and fantastic tone to it. and now that Django Unchainedhas literally used the N word, I think I'm in the clear. I don't look so bad. He really used that word a lot."

1974's 'Blazing Saddles' was directed by Brooks who also co-wrote the film along with Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the movie was nominated for three Academy Awards, and is ranked No. 6 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Laughs list.

Brooks was last represented on Broadway by Young Frankenstein. The musical opened on Broadway on November 8, 2007 to mixed reviews. The Broadway production closed on January 4, 2009 after 30 previews and 484 performances. Prior to that, Brooks scored big with The Producers, which opened on Broadway on April 19, 2001, starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, and ran for 2,502 performances, winning a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards.