Bringing Ulla to life in a hurry

Tuesday, March 6, 2007 | 7:07 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, Paris Las Vegas

Tickets: $75.50 to $143.50; 946-4567

Two tall show-stoppers pop out of the Las Vegas cast of Mel Brooks' "The Producers."

The crowds already know David Hasselhoff, who stands 6 feet, 4 inches and plays a gay, cross-dressing director.

But Leigh Zimmerman, who plays Ulla, stands 5-feet-11 and likes to wear heels that add three or four inches to her height.

She isn't at all like the character she plays: a Swedish bombshell who becomes the love interest for Leo, the accountant. She also played the role in London.

The Madison, Wis., native is bright, talented and always on the run. She's in three British TV series in addition to being in "The Producers" in Las Vegas. The TV shows are on hiatus, but in the near future she may become a jet-setter, flying back and forth.

Zimmerman is married to Scottish actor, singer and musician Domenick Allen, whose career has included stints as a member of the rock group Foreigner and once was a featured entertainer with Liberace in Las Vegas. Allen tours with his own group, performing an eclectic show that includes music that covers genres from big band to rock 'n' roll.

Zimmerman has an extensive background in theater, off and on Broadway, where she appeared in "Chicago," "Crazy for You" and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."

In 2000 she and her husband moved to London, where she appeared in "The Seven Year Itch" with Darryl Hannah and as Velma Kelly in the West End version of "Chicago."

She joined the London cast of "The Producers" in 2004 and played Ulla for more than 18 months.

Zimmerman talked with the Sun about the differences between the long and the short versions of the musical comedy.

Q: How does the London production of "The Producers" differ from the American version?

The production itself isn't different, but the reception and the cultural surroundings are different. I had to learn that the British audiences are loving it just as much as American audiences, they just don't show it in the same way. They aren't as vocal as the Americans are, not as demonstrative. It took me several shows to learn they were absolutely loving it.

Were any changes made for British audiences?

We didn't change any of the book at all. There weren't any noticeable changes onstage. It was just sort of playing the audience slightly differently, working with the audience in a different way, and that's hard to describe. But you have to work the room, it's one of those rules of show business. When you're getting a quieter response you don't keep banging at them. You meet them half way. It's a delicate balance.

What about your Swedish accent?

My Swedish accent is the same, very thick. That's part of the comedy. I was very proud of my authentic Swedish accent that I learned, and Mel said, "It's great, but it's not funny. Exaggerate it and make it funny."

What's the difference between the full 2 hour and 20 minute production in London and the 90-minute version in Las Vegas?

It's Mel Brooks on speed.

The primary differences are in two places. You don't quite get the amount of time to see the relationship develop between Max (the producer) and Leo (the accountant). And the other huge difference is that you don't see the relationship between Ulla and Leo developing.

Leo is the caterpillar that has to transform into the butterfly throughout the play. Max and Ulla help Leo do that. When you're cutting a lot of that out, I think you're getting a little bit less of that story, but people who don't know the difference won't know that subtlety.

(Director) Susan Stroman always says Leo is the audience. He's the innocent here. He doesn't know anything. We have to take him by the hand to lead him through the story, just as we do the audience. So I think for the most part if you don't know the difference you aren't going to miss those story lines.

The film didn't have the relationship between Ulla and Leo. That was an addition to the musical that I thought was very clever, to help that story along of how Leo matures throughout the story.

You lost a lot of lines in the shorter version.

I did. The whole opening of the second act. (Max and Leo) tell Ulla "You can be a secretary-slash-receptionst until the show starts. So can you tidy up around the office?" She decides to tidy up around the office in the original full version by painting everything white, in her Swedish way, including the couch and the desk and the pictures and everything else. Then Max leaves, and Ulla and Leo get to have a scene together - a very long, big Fred-and-Ginger dance number, a falling in love moment where the audience goes, "Ah, I get it."

It's a very important part and it is what people miss who know it, the romantic part. Yet there just wasn't time in a 90-minute version to get it all in.

Were you bothered by losing such an important part of the show?

I miss it from a storytelling point of view. I miss it as an actor. Leo and I have to make a huge jump and try and get that across to the audience. I meet him and suddenly we're in love. We have to do little looks and little glances, touching each other here and there, so the audience gets it. But it's subtle.

By having so many of your lines cut, did you feel an urgency to overplay your part to make sure the audience gets it?

That's the danger, but no I haven't felt that. Comedy looks easy, but it's actually very hard, a delicate balance. You can't push. You have to play comedy straight. You have to do all those things you learn as an actor. The temptation is to say, "Well, I do so much more, watch this" and double it. You can't do that. You have to resist that because then you're over the top. You're pushing too hard and nobody's going to get your character, the story or anything.

The audiences have really responded to your character. You're one of the highlights of the show.

I got that reaction throughout London, and I'm getting it here as well. I receive fantastic fan mail. It helps being the only female lead. It also helps being this giant blond Swedish lovable character.

The great thing about Ulla is everything she touches works. She floats through life with absolutely no problems. She's a likable character, hopefully partly because she's a likable character and partly because it's my interpretation.