Beach blankets Broadway.

Gary Beach talks about dancing in gowns, playing Der Fuhrer, and keeping it gay in The Producers

"It's nice walking around the theater district and having friends I've known for years come up and say, `You did it!'" says Gary Beach, talking about winning his first Tony award, for his featured role in Mel Brooks's uber-hit The Producers. Playing flamboyantly gay theater director Roger DeBris marks another milestone for this 30-year Broadway veteran--it's his first role in drag.

"But I have a feeling it won't be my last," jokes Beach, who was previously best-known for his Tony-nominated role as flamer Lumiere (the candelabra) in Beauty and the Beast. "From Disney to Hitler," laughs Beach. "What range!"

Out of character, Beach, 53, resembles Chris Noth, the studly Mr. Big from Sex and the City (I'm speechless," he responds to tiffs comment. "Thank you.") But as we know by now, his part in The Producers is hardly a he-man. He performs his first musical number wearing silver lame heels and a fabulous Chrysler Building--inspired sequined dress by William Ivey Long. The song? "Keep It Gay."

Obviously, we're talking stereotypes here, as Beach is quick to concede. But in this case, he points out, funny comes first. "The gay community went through so much in the '80s and we've come so far, I think we're now big enough to make fun of ourselves," he says. "And I think that people know a satire by Mel Brooks is another animal altogether. He says it himself--ring the bell, don't tap the bell."

Beach's character clangs the bell from all directions. Having twirled in a frock, he dons jackboots to play Adolf Hitler in Springtime for Hitler, the production's howlingly awful play-within-a-play. Beach insists his character has no concept of the politics: "What is important to Roger De Bris is that he's in a hit show. It doesn't matter to him that he's playing Hitler--it could be Churchill or Diamond Lil."

Within the realm of Brooks's stinging humor, there's been a slight softening of the portrayals from the 1968 film version of The Producers. One example: the onstage relationship between De Bris and his "common-law assistant," Carmen Gia (played by straight actor Roger Bart). Together the two actors developed a back story about how their characters, silly as they may seem, have been together for 20 years and are totally in love. "I think that comes through," says Beach.

Beach has paid ample dues to get to The Producers. He grew up in Alexandria, Va., and attended the North Carolina School of the Arts. He moved to New York in 1970. "It was a fun time to be here. I had long hair and a mustache, and I guess I did everything everyone else did--except wear polyester shirts," recalls Beach. "But I had to shave my cool mustache, because my first job on Broadway was in [the period musical] 1776."

Over the next 17 years, Beach worked constantly in theater (often in touring productions such as Annie and Les Miserables). He describes the '80s, when Broadway was devastated by AIDS, as a "very scary, difficult time. Anyone my age who is still around has a lot to be thankful for."

In 1988, he moved west to do more television (Cheers, Sisters, Murder, She Wrote) before getting cast in Beauty and the Beast. He clocked over 1,000 performances as Lumiere--and earned lifetime free admission to Disney theme parks. The Producers brought him back to New York, "lock, stock, and barrel and two Jack Russell terriers." Beach credits his partner of the past 12 years, actor Jeff Barnett, with getting him through the past six months. "I would have never made it without him," Beach says lovingly.

Beach is obviously enjoying the roller coaster of the The Producers' success, and he's amused at how desperate people are to see the most talked-about show in years. "The most extreme was a call I got from someone who said, `I have to have tickets to The Producers--my aunt is dying of a brain tumor and she has to see it!'" He rolls his eyes. "I know this is the only way to get in right now, but a simple ticket request would have done the trick!"

THE PRODUCERS * Book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan; songs by Brooks * Starring Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Gary Beach * St. James Theatre, New York * Tickets (ha!) via Telecharge, [phone]

Che is a contributing editor for Time Out New York.