BWW Interview - John Treacy Egan Returns as Franz Liebkind in Paper Mill's THE PRODUCERS

John Treacy Egan reprises his Broadway role as Franz Liebkind in Mel Brooks' award-winning musical THE PRODUCERS, running at the Paper Mill Playhouse from September 28th through October 23rd. The musical follows two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich by overselling interests in a Broadway flop. Complications arise when the show unexpectedly turns out to be successful. The musical took Broadway by storm in 2001, winning a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards.

Today, Egan speaks with BWW about revisiting the role of this Nazi-loving, Broadway-crazed nutjob!

What has it been like for you to take on the hilarious role of Franz Liebkind again?

It's been a lot of fun. It's interesting, it's actually been a long time. The last time I played Franz was probably 2005, I played Max for 2006 and 2007, and it's like I never left. It's all still there, all the choreography, all the lines and the experiences all come flooding back ten years later, and it's pretty great.

I read that your audition for the original Broadway production was through an open call and that you chose an interesting audition song for it.

Yes, I went to an open call, I was actually auditioning for the tour, not necessarily for the part of Franz, but just for the show in general. I had just been in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar that wasn't very successful when it came to reviews. We called it "Springtime for Jesus." So for the audition I decided it would be a good idea to sing "Gethsemane" as if I was Max Bialystock, because it's very much in the vein of the show. [singing] 'God, Thy will is hard but You hold every card.' You know it's like, come on God, give me a break!

That could have turned out to be a poor decision, but obviously it didn't.

It could have, but I think since we're talking about the world of Mel Brooks, there was really only one way it could have gone!

Can you talk about Franz. Do you think he's out of his mind or just a bit eccentric?

You know it's funny because there's breakdowns for the show that say that he's not even really German, he's just this guy who thinks he's German. So there's sort of a debate among people who have played him. I once said to Brad Oscar, 'did you realize the breakdowns for this guy says that he was from Minnesota?' And Brad was like, 'What? What are you talking about?!' And if you think about it, he couldn't possibly have been old enough to be a German Nazi for when the story takes place, right out of the war. So yes, I think he's crazy. And he's just enamored with Broadway and enamored with Hitler and the fact that he gets to put those two things together is just the greatest thing since peanut butter and jelly!

In many ways, The Producers changed the landscape of American theater.

Oh yes, it definitely changed the landscape because it went back to traditional theater but yet took the politically incorrectness of it and made it funny. You know if you go back and look at shows like maybe Showboat or Flower Drum Song, shows like that where things were politically incorrect, but back then were the norm. But this is a musical that took the humor into a little bit of a different place, and I think a lot of shows have since followed suit.

I agree. Book of Mormon is one that comes to mind.

Sure, Book of Mormon and Spamalot and Something Rotten. Even Avenue Q.

Now that rehearsals are well underway, what has it been like to work with this cast and creative team?

It's actually been a few weeks and we are already running the show. And the cast has been fast and really good. And a lot of them have never done the show before. Mark Price, who plays Carmen Ghia, Kevin Pariseau, who plays Roger DeBris have never done the show before, and they are hilarious. David Josefsberg, who is playing Leo Bloom has never done the show before, although he came in the first day pretty much knowing all his lines. Not to mention the ensemble, picking up all this music and all this choreography, it's just mind-blowing. They're all really, really talented and doing an amazing job.

You know it's hard to believe that the show has closed ten years ago and now here's a whole new generation of performers doing these numbers. And luckily for me, the older I get the more I fit in my part. I remember the first time I went out for Max Bialystock, Susan Stroman said to me, 'you're jumping around the stage like a 15-year-old boy, you have great energy, but you've got to stay on the ground. He's much older than you are!'

This is your third time starring in a Paper Mill production.

Yes it is. I love Paper Mill. It's just the best. It's such a great place to work. Everyone is so nice

there, you really just feel like you're going home. Like the crew, and everybody backstage, they are just so happy to see you. That's really one of the things I love about going back there. Like I can't wait to see Debbie Whitehead from wardrobe, she's the greatest. You know Paper Mill is a big stage, it's a very big house, so you're really playing a Broadway house. You just have to cross the river to do it!

Who are some of your comedic influences?

Well I was lucky enough to grow up in New York and I think The Producers is just my favorite kind of thing to perform because I grew up watching Mel Brooks and Jackie Gleason, Lucille Ball, Jack Klugman and Tony Randall in the The Odd Couple and Bugs Bunny, you know all that New York humor which I just think is so gritty and fun. Those are my influences I would say.

And I think that's another reason why this production of The Producers is going to be so great. For people who didn't get to see it originally, or maybe people who did but were a little on the younger side at the time, they will now sort of be in on it. You know how those Bugs Bunny cartoons when you were a kid were funny, but then you watch them again as an adult and you go, 'ohhh, that's a grown up joke!' I think this is going to be just like that for them. And that's going to be a lot of fun!

For tickets and more information for THE PRODUCERS visit: papermill.org

John Treacy Egan (Franz Liebkind) returns to Paper Mill following his performances as Mr. Bumble in Oliver! and Tito in Lend Me a Tenor. Mr. Egan appeared on Broadway in Casa Valentina, Sister Act, Bye Bye Birdie, Disney's The Little Mermaid, The Producers, and Jekyll & Hyde. On television Mr. Egan was featured on The Good Wife, Boardwalk Empire, Nurse Jackie, 30 Rock,

Mel Brooks' award-winning musical THE PRODUCERS will be directed by Don Stephenson and choreographed by Bill Burns. The Producers features music and lyrics by Mel Brooks, a book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, and the original Broadway direction and choreography by Susan Stroman.

Leading the company are David Josefsberg as Leo Bloom, Michael Kostroff as Max Bialystock, Ashley Spencer as Ulla, Kevin Pariseau as Roger De Bris, Mark Price as Carmen Ghia, and John Treacy Egan as Franz Liebkind. The Producers will run at the Millburn, New Jersey, theater from Sept 28-Oct 23, 2016. The official press opening night is Sunday, Oct 2, at 7PM.

THE PRODUCERS photo credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

OLIVER photo courtesy of Paper Mill