New 'Producers' pair

Goodman, Weber to replace Lane, Broderick

By ROBERT HOFLER

Confirming rumors that had been circulating for several weeks, the producers of "The Producers" announced that Brit actor Henry Goodman will take over from Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock in the hit musical beginning March 19.

The Matthew Broderick role will likely be taken by Steven Weber, although the producers wouldn't confirm his casting.

Goodman was last seen on Broadway in "Art" in 1998. His acclaimed perf as Shylock in the National Theater's latest "Merchant of Venice" was recently shown on PBS. Known as a versatile character actor with a dark edge, Goodman could be expected to bring the portrayal of the fraudulent Broadway producer Bialystock closer to Zero Mostel's original hard-edged interpretation in the 1968 film.

Weber would be making his Broadway musical debut in the Mel Brooks tuner. He recently appeared in Los Angeles in the Reprise series's concert staging of "Hair" but is better known for his TV career, most recently as a recurring character in the current ABC series "Once and Again."

Weber auditioned for the role of Leo Bloom as recently as Sunday.

$25 million advance

How potent Goodman and Weber will be at the box office remains to be seen, but the show has a major advance going beyond March.

"The advance beyond Nathan and Matthew is about $25 million," said Tom Viertel, one of the show's producers. That dollar figure does not include most of those $480 tickets available through Broadway Inner Circle. "If we released all of those" -- 50 per show -- "the advance would be closer to $30 million," Viertel said.

"The Producers" had a $17 million advance prior to opening April 19, which compares with the $27 million for "Mamma Mia" before its Gotham premiere Oct. 18. The advance for "The Producers" hit its peak shortly after the Tony Awards in June, when the dollar amount reached $37 million. Tickets are now available for the musical through March 31, 2003.

From the moment of its successful opening, legit observers wondered if "Producers" would turn into a two-star vehicle dependent on name actors or if it had the potential to be a long-running hit a la "Les Miserables" or "Rent" that theatergoers had to see regardless of the headliners.

Viertel pointed to the show's huge post-Lane and Broderick advance. "I believe we have branded the show," he said. "Or rather, the show branded itself."