Posted Jan 31st 2007 9:34AM by Robin Leach

It's the most honored show in Broadway history, racking up an incredible 12 Tony Awards (the most in Broadway history), 11 Drama Desk awards, eight Outer Critic Circle awards, New York Drama Critics Circle awards, drama league awards and the Astaire Award, including for best musical, best actor, best score and best choreography. It doesn't get better than that!

Previews of the Mel Brooks' comedy 'The Producers' in Las Vegas begin tonight and Luxe Life was privileged to be amongst a very exclusive few VIP's permitted to view the very first orchestra and cast sing-along. David Hasselhoff has a fine and powerful voice and obviously he's having great fun with the laugh-filled songs and script. The orchestra is a tight, top-flight group with the best luscious big-band sound I've ever heard in Vegas! It all sounds and sings like one incredible fun-filled hit.

It's an ensemble cast, but former 'Baywatch' hunk Hasselhoff shines along with critically-acclaimed actress Leigh Zimmerman (above), cast as the seductive Swedish secretary, "Ullaa," for which she won rave reviews in the Broadway version and is an Olivier Award nominee for originating the role in London's West End. She currently stars as Scottish police sergeant, "Beesley," in the BBC America series Feel the Force and was the featured actor in the critically acclaimed motion picture 'United 93,' which has been nominated for numerous Golden Globe, Directors Guild and Academy Award recognition.

(Click here for our original David Hasselhoff interview, shortly after he arrived in Vegas.) Now, here's our candid chat from his first day of rehearsing face-to-face with the orchestra:

David Hasselhoff: Today was our first rehearsal where you actually get to listen to the orchestra for the first time. I have never heard the orchestra. I have never done the show before. What happens is that when they put the orchestra in the pits you don't hear them, you hear the monitors in your ear. You don't get that sound. So today it was a huge step forward. It sounded absolutely fantastic. It gave me so much energy and I was backstage talking to my daughter to decide whether she is going to come over and I am going like this waiting for my cue and I was so tired and I walk in and I go WOW, what class. I think the audience is going to flip.

Robin Leach: This is a huge building block process. When did you start, when did you first read the pages? What is the first thing you do in the process?

DH: First thing I do with this is I decided to wait until I got here to hit it. I didn't want to copy anybody. That is very easy to do because the Broadway actor won the Tony and he is so good in the role. I decided to wait and talk to the director and see how far I could take this. I didn't know if I should make him flamboyant, more gay? I asked what should I do? They said do what you want to do, make it your own. We will give you the blue print and you have to put the puzzle together. Right now if you watch the tech it is unbelievable. It is not as if I am walking into an existing show; they are mounting a brand new show. This is a huge theater. There are flying girls and the sets didn't go in the right place and we all realized that wow this is new to everybody here. They had the girls come from New York to form the paratroopers. The only thing new is that we are in Vegas and it rocks and it just goes so fast that you don't stop laughing.

RL: What is the next part of building the puzzle?

DH: After this we go back in and have costume rehearsal tonight because that is going to be a complete train wreck.

RL: Have you fallen over in the heels yet?

DH: I have when I was trying to do the turns and I fell down. One of the best parts of the show is taking the heels off. I have no idea how women walk in those. I mean by the end of 20 minutes I am exhausted. It comes in around the first 38-40 minutes and then I am in for the rest. I am playing Hitler. I am playing Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, and Ethel Merman; it is just nuts. You know the best part is that I can eat anything I want in this food city of Vegas. I can eat desserts and pasta because running around the stage under the lights in the costumes it just drips off of me. Especially wearing the dress. I used to lose a pound a night when I was doing 'Jekyll and Hyde' on Broadway but the best part about this is that you can eat whatever you want. Robin, you are right about Vegas restaurants and food. I finally got out for an evening and went to the Eiffel Tower restaurant last night. What a great restaurant. I also went to TAO. But I was very impressed with that restaurant.

RL: We have the best restaurants in the world here.

DH: I was sitting up here and I told this girl I know Robin Leach likes it here, and I kind of get the feeling that you are sitting on top of the world in Vegas. It is one great town.

Previews for David in 'The Producers' begin tonight with a grand star-studded VIP red-carpet premiere on Friday, Feb. 9 at Paris Resort & Casino.