Likeable scoundrels share the stage
for 'The Producers' in Norwell

It's going to be a busy week for Dave Daley. In his day job as an analyst at a Statehouse committee, the Hingham resident will be part of the drive to wrap up the legislative year. At night, he'll rehearse his leading role in the Company Theatre's of production of "The Producers,'' which opens Friday.

In an interview with The Globe, Daley talked about his role in the Mel Brooks musical, which is adapted from his 1968 movie about a Broadway producer who try to swindle his backers by producing a flop.

It's one of those plays I've always wanted to do. I loved the original movie with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder, and I also really liked the movie. I'm sort of short and stocky, and when you have that body type, there aren't too many parts out there that are as good as Max Bialystock.

In the movie version, the comedy is so natural to Nathan Lane, and the chemistry with Matthew Broderick is wonderful. Steve Shannon [at right, with Dave Daley in red vest], who's playing Leo, is a terrific comic actor, and one of the challenges we have is to develop our own chemistry and our own interplay with each other. That vaudevillian type of timing is written into the script, and you can't get away from that or the material won't work like it's supposed to.

One of the wonderful things that both Zero and Nathan did with that part -- in very different ways -- is to try to find the humanity of the character, as well as make him likeable, even though Max is very much a scoundrel. Steve and I have tried very hard to make these characters as likeable as possible, so that the audience is willing to go along with their journey....

But this musical really isn't a star vehicle. It's more of an ensemble. Anything Mel Brooks does has a lot of jokes spread around a lot of folks. Some of the songs I like best in the show are ones I don't sing -- like John King's Judy Garland-style turn as the flamboyant director or Steve's 'I Want to be a Producer.'

Of the ones I do, the most challenging is "Betrayed,'' which is kind of Max's mad scene. At the center is a recap of the earlier numbers, so you get to act out in quick fashion pretty much every other character in the show.

It's something we've been working on since May, and I have a feeling that I'll be working on it until the end of the run. That's not to say it won't be ready for opening night, but you're always thinking of something you could add here or there.

At one point, for example, you have the ex-Nazi officer, who had an oom-pah number, and right away you go to the flamboyant director, with a little kick at the end, which is one of his signature moves. We just added that at the last rehearsal.

It's a lot of fun to inhabit that many characters so quickly and be convincing. But the physicality of the show is also very challenging. You come home from rehearsal, and you ready to go to bed.