Richard Dreyfus finally speaks out about why Mel Brooks replaced him before the London production of The Producers opened last year. “Brooks has told Playbill magazine that he always had Dreyfuss in mind for Bialystock, calling the actor a “brilliant artist” and a “nervous wreck”. But Dreyfuss soon discovered that doing a musical was like ascending to the pearly gates and being banished to the hellfires at the same time.”