Is the new national tour of Mel Brooks' The Producers — launching Sept. 10-29 in Pittsburgh — a carbon copy of the Broadway original?

"Certainly, they're not gonna deviate too far from the success that the show had in the Broadway production," star Lewis J. Stadlen told Playbill On-Line in the Sept. 10 26 Brief Encounter interview. "But once [director] Susan [Stroman] realized we understood the style, she gave us the latitude to create our own interpretations..."

Stadlen says the process of creating the new company for the road was exploratory and healthy.

"[Susan] changed things, she's tweaked things: Part of the opening number, new lines have been added," Stadlen said. "She's been stimulated by this process. Susan's been there all the time, Mel's been there a lot. This was seven weeks of intensive rediscovery. What we were all unaware of is that this show was choreographed down to every lyric. It's as specific in terms of movement and design as any show I've ever done, but once she gained the confidence that she had a really good cast, she could enjoy it as a whole new creative process."

To view Stadlen's complete Q&A click Brief Encounter.