Character guide
Franz Liebkind
from The Producers
Franz Liebkind is the eccentric, pigeon loving playwright behind the disastrously misguided show within the show in The Producers.
- Show
- The Producers
- Broadway premiere
- 2001
- Role
- Supporting
- Music by
- Mel Brooks
Franz Liebkind: from the film to Broadway
Broadway compared with the 1967 film and 2005 movie musical
In the musical, Franz nearly plays Hitler himself. After his jazzy audition wins him the part, he breaks his leg falling down the stairs on opening night, and Roger De Bris goes on instead. In Mel Brooks's 1967 film, Kenneth Mars plays Franz, and the part of Hitler goes to a hippie actor, Lorenzo St. DuBois (L.S.D.).
Brad Oscar originated Franz on Broadway in 2001 and earned a Tony nomination, but he could not repeat the role in the 2005 movie musical because he had signed on to play Max on Broadway; he appears in the film only as a cab driver. Will Ferrell played Franz on screen.
Who is Franz Liebkind?
Franz is introduced on his New York rooftop tending to a flock of pigeons, fiercely devoted to a wartime past he refuses to let go of. When Max and Leo go searching for the worst possible script to produce, they land on Franz's earnest, tone deaf tribute play, unaware quite how far his devotion to the material runs.
His rigid insistence that the show be treated with total sincerity, even as everyone around him plays it for laughs, becomes one of the musical's key comic engines, and his temperament threatens to derail the scheme at several points.
Playing Franz on stage
This is a supporting role built almost entirely around commitment to a single, absurd comic voice. The part demands a performer willing to go fully into an exaggerated accent and physicality, along with strong musical theater instincts for a couple of memorable featured numbers involving his pigeons and his devotion to his cause.
Franz resonates with audiences because his sincerity is so wildly out of step with everything happening around him. He never seems to be in on the joke, which is exactly what makes the character work as pure, committed farce.
Franz Liebkind: frequently asked questions
What show is Franz Liebkind from?
Franz Liebkind is a character in The Producers, which premiered on Broadway in 2001.
Is Franz a lead or supporting role?
Franz is a supporting role, though a memorable and featured one within the ensemble.
Who wrote the music for The Producers?
Mel Brooks wrote the show's music and lyrics.
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