How long can it produce?

Monday, Feb. 12, 2007 | 7:16 a.m.

What: "The Producers"

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Tuesdays, with an additional 2 p.m. show on Saturdays

Where: Le Theatre des Arts at Paris Las Vegas

Tickets: $75.50 to $143.50; 946-4567

Rating: *****

David Hasselhoff should be a dairy farmer. He milks his portrayal of the gay, cross-dressing director in Mel Brooks' "The Producers" for every ounce of humor he can get out of the juicy role.

The very masculine former star of "Knight Rider" and "Baywatch" stops the show when he makes his entrance about 15 minutes into the musical comedy - bedecked in a dazzling dress and jewelry.

And he continues to be a showstopper as he makes periodic appearances throughout the 90-minute musical, right up to the point when he is a very effeminate Adolf Hitler struggling with himself to present a more manly persona.

Brilliant.

The entire production is brilliant - the acting, the writing, the staging, the dancing, the music, the costumes.

"Springtime for Hitler and Germany" is the most memorable number. It's Brooks at his best with bizarre costumes, a zany song and incredible choreography. The chorus line that forms a swastika is priceless.

And when Hasselhoff sings "Keep it Gay," it's enough to make you fall to the floor laughing.

While Hasselhoff gets top billing because of the name recognition factor, the rest of the cast is no less inspired. Each takes a campy role and plays it for all it's worth, creating a memorable evening at the theater.

Brad Oscar plays producer Max Bialystock - a role originated by Zero Mostel in the 1968 film and played by Nathan Lane in the award-winning Broadway production as well as the 2005 film remake.

Oscar portrays the cad to perfection, seducing little old ladies into investing in his productions that routinely fail. He is reminiscent of both Mostel and Lane.

In the 1968 film Gene Wilder was accountant Leo Bloom. On Broadway and in the 2005 movie it was Matthew Broderick. In the Las Vegas adaptation, Larry Raben plays the role of the obsessive-compulsive accountant with a secret desire to become a producer.

It's Bloom who latches onto the basic plot of the story - a producer can make more money by producing a flop than a hit, by finding investors to put $1 million into a show that costs only $100,000 to produce.

Maybe Broadway in Vegas isn't dead yet.

This is one of those must-see productions, unless you are void of a sense of humor and easily offended.

But it remains to be seen whether this will be a long-term engagement.

The million-dollar question: Can it draw repeat customers?

"Mamma Mia!" has enjoyed a four-year run, so far, at Mandalay Bay. But it has the draw of ABBA's music, regardless of its story line. Many of its fans return again and again - five, 10, 20 times.

Repeat customers are a major revenue stream in Las Vegas. Will "The Producers" be able to accomplish that feat?

"The Producers," while a work of genius in so many ways, has only one memorable song: "Springtime for Hitler." Once you have seen the production two or three times and are no longer surprised at all of the craziness, will you find it interesting enough to keep coming back? Will "The Producers" be able to survive if it must always rely on new customers?

Only time will tell.