Danza too likable for Max

Friday, Sept. 7, 2007 | 7:30 a.m.

Who: "The Producers"

When: 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays

Where: Le Theatre des Arts, Paris Las Vegas

Tickets: $69 to $143.50; 946-4567

He isn't the best singer, the best dancer, the best actor or the best comedian, but no one works harder at the craft of show business than Tony Danza.

When he sets his mind to accomplishing something - whether it's learning to dance, sing or act - he throws himself into the task until he is the best he can be, generally with favorable results. He is driven to succeed.

After a near fatal skiing accident in 1993, he decided to pursue a longtime dream and created a nightclub act - a little singing, a little dancing, a little comedy. It became a successful sideline for the former star of such hit TV shows as "Taxi" and "Who's the Boss?"

And he played Broadway, most recently as Max Bialystock, the shifty producer in "The Producers."

Danza recently joined the Las Vegas cast of "The Producers," replacing Brad Oscar as Bialystock.

Danza isn't the best in the role. My vote goes to the late Zero Mostel, who created the part in the 1968 movie that launched the franchise. Nathan Lane, who created the role on Broadway, would be a close second. Oscar did a fine job, too.

To make the role his own, Danza has to overcome some of his strengths - boundless energy, physical fitness and a likable personality that always seems to shine through, regardless of what role he is playing.

None of these attributes fit Mostel. That was why he was so brilliant in Mel Brooks' satire. The spoof grows from watching an oily, obese, out-of-shape, fast-talking, double-dealing, comical-looking man seduce a stable of rich elderly women. Mostel's Max becomes hyperbolically absurd.

With Danza, the absurdity is lost. Take one look. Danza is entirely believable as a weapon of mass seduction.

It's fun watching Danza turn his strengths into weaknesses. Instead of oozing sleaze, he oozes charm. Instead of being loathsome, he's likable. Instead of physically over the hill, he's a slim and agile producer.

But his characteristic energy and determination make his Max work within the fine ensemble.

He joins a cast that has gelled nicely since the production debuted at the Paris Las Vegas in February, featuring David Hasselhoff in the role of cross-dressing director Roger DeBris.

Hasselhoff generated a lot of publicity for "The Producers" but his replacement, Broadway veteran Lee Roy Reams, is much better for the part in the long run.

Larry Raben delightfully overplays his role as the obsessive-compulsive accountant Leo Bloom, who is among those seduced by Bialystock. It's hard to beat Bill Nolte, who makes the most of his limited stage time as Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind, and the show-stopping, 5-foot-11 Leigh Zimmerman, who plays Ulla, the sexually liberated Swedish starlet.

Danza is a celebrity who will bring attention to the production, but he's also a craftsman who has fit his strengths - and weaknesses - into the production.