Dramatic Productions' musical The Producers stars Daryl Somers and is directed by Rachael Beck

Hey Hey It's Saturday star Daryl Somers and Adelaide-raised Jason Bensen are working in a Canberra musical for the first time.

And actor Rachael Beck, whose career includes stage musicals such as Beauty and the Beast and the sitcom Hey Dad...!, is making her directorial debut with the show.

The Producers, with songs by Mel Brooks and co-scripted by him, is based on Brooks' 1967 film for which he won the best original screenplay Oscar. The 2001 Broadway musical won a record 11 Tony Awards including best musical.

The Producers tells the story of struggling stage producer Max Bialystock (played by Somers) who teams up with stagestruck accountant Leo Bloom (Bensen) to sell much more than 100 per cent of the money needed to produce a show they hope will fail instantly.

They will then abscond with the unused money, since nobody will bother auditing a flop.

To ensure the biggest chance of failure/success they choose the worst play they can find, Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden by mad ex-Naxi Franz Liebkind (Zack Drury).

Then they employ the worst director - the flamboyant Roger DeBris (Paul Sweeney) - and the worst actors and do everything they can to ensure it will die a swift death. But are they as smart as they think? And what will become of their sexy Swedish secretary Ulla (Demi Smith)?

Beck is relishing the opportunity to put her stamp on a production and to work with Somers for the first time ("I've known him round the traps for a long time now.")

She says in the #MeToo era the character of Ulla is problematic. She's a stereotypical sexy blonde Swede whose grasp of English is limited and who is something of a sex object for Max and Leo.

While such a character "provokes people" nowadays, Beck says, she is playing up that sexy quality - "We decided to lean into it rather than lean out of it" - in the hope that "people will squirm in their seats".

She also thinks the Nazi content is slightly unsettling, even though it is played for laughs.

"The thing is, one of the joys of theatre is that we get to laugh at what terrifies us. Nazis terrified everybody - sexism terrifies us now."

As a theatre veteran, she knows how hard it is to be a producer.

"They're gamblers: they never know whether a show is going to hit or miss."

Max and Leo in this show are gamblers of a different kind to most producers, since they want their show to flop. But coming up with the scheme and carrying it out bonds them. Beck says, "Max and Leo get each other. The love story in the show is between Leo and Max."

Bensen, originally from Adelaide, moved to Canberra last year and works at the Embassy of France.

Although he had done plenty of theatre previously, he hadn't become involved again since he came here and says he was getting "withdrawal symptoms".

Bensen auditioned for The Producers and landed a leading role. He was familiar with the musical, having seen the film version with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick as well as a Sydney production.

"It was hilarious."

Leo, he says, is a meek, mild, nervous accountant subject to panic attacks. He works in a mundane desk job but dreams of producing a Broadway show. And working with Max, it looks like he will achieve this - and more.

"He's quite frenetic with some lines but then of course his timid nature brings him down.

"Bensen is keen to highlight the contrast between Leo's swings between frenetic anxiety and timid nervousness". And there's also a more confident side that emerges when things are going well.

How is Bensen enjoying his first time rehearsing a musical theatre show in Canberra?

"It's going really, really well. At times I was a bit surprised how smoothly," he says.

Having the input and example of two professionals, Beck and Somers, can't hurt.

"We're really building up a rapport with Daryl and Rachael," he says.

"There's a lot of insight into the characters from Rachael."

And, he says, "Daryl really sticks some reality into the stagestruck thing."

Working with a seasoned performer of Somers' calibre makes him keen to see how the star will bring out the comedy in his own way.

Bensen started learning the piano at the age of 12 and sang in a school choir. He performed in musical theatre at school, his first role being Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun, and continued to do so while studying voice at university and beyond. Bensen studied Italian arias, German lieder and French chanson and says he "fell in love with [French] and never stopped learning it.".

This was a big help when he applied for the embassy job. Now, having started in the Canberra musical theatre scene, he's hoping to do more. And, unlike Max and Leo with their show, he's hoping The Producers will not be a flop.