General public sale for tickets to the Los Angeles engagement of The Producers, starring Jason Alexander and Martin Short, begins Aug. 5 at the Pantages Theatre or via phone.

Alexander and Short will star as Max and Leo, respectively, in the eight-month Los Angeles run of Mel Brooks' smashzilla musical beginning May 2, 2003.

For ticket information, call (213) 480-3232 or visit Ticketmaster.com.

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A spokesperson for the national tour confirmed the news and said the physical production and company that launches this fall will stop into the Pantages starting May 2, 2003, with an opening set for May 29. Fall 2002 tour stars Lewis J. Stadlen and Don Stephenson will take a break from the company while Alexander ("Seinfeld") and Short ("SCTV," "Saturday Night Live") step in. A second touring company begins in Boston in July 2003. No casting has been announced for it.

The casting of Short, known for neurotic, quirky characters in film and TV, has been a longtime dream for Brooks. Alexander, known for his blustery characters and solid singing voice, is an obvious right type to play offensive producer Max Bialystock. Both bring huge marquee value to the staging.

Martin Short won the Tony Award for Little Me and was nommed for The Goodbye Girl. Alexander won the Tony for Jerome Robbins' Broadway.