Search for star with Max factor

Where is the West End's Max Bialystock? The Producers is meant to open next autumn in London, but so far, no one has been found to play the lovable schemer - a role brought to life on Broadway by Nathan Lane.

In the past few weeks, big names such as Michael Crawford and Brian Conley have been rejected as possibles for the role of Max - and another, Robert Lindsay, has turned down the job.

There is a bit of good news, though. Comic Lee Evans will play Max's hapless sidekick (and accountant) Leo Bloom. Evans has absolutely delighted the creative team behind the Broadway show, Susan Stroman and Mel Brooks (who directed the original movie and wrote the film's score and lyrics), and will soon be officially contracted.

Crawford lost out because he said he would be unwilling to work with Evans. It was him or Evans, he told the producers of The Producers. The producers chose Evans.

Mr Conley, meanwhile, was flown to New York to audition, but there appear to have been some creative differences and he was not invited to join The Producers.

Many actors whom Stroman and Brooks would like to be considered for the Bialystock role are just too scared to take it on. It requires an actor to give a comic tour de force - it has been seen as the Lear of musical comedy - but so far, Stroman and Brooks have been left disappointed (though they were keen on Lindsay).

'We have a couple of people in mind for Max and we're keeping our fingers crossed,' one executive close to the show told me.

'But the truth is, a lot of people have run for the hills. They're frightened of failure and this is a great big, high-profile musical.'

I'm not even convinced that the UK will take to The Producers, but one thing is certain: it's a thousand times better than the garbage waiting in the wings if it doesn't take off.