The Mel Brooks musical "The Producers" is a bit of a conundrum. It's a musical production about the production of a musical, only the people who are mounting the show-within-a-show want it to be really bad -- historically bad -- so that no one will go see it.

The titular showmen are Max Bialystock, a producer who's worked on Broadway for years, and Leo Bloom, an accountant who'd like to be in showbiz. After Max's newest show is a flop, Leo points out to him how, technically, a producer can make more money from failing than from succeeding. The IRS doesn't care about failed shows, Max says. If you raise a lot of money for a long run, but poor attendance closes the show right away, nobody asks what became of the unused funds.

Max sniffs a literally golden opportunity and harangues Leo into helping him find and produce the worst musical ever written. They settle on the Nazi-adulating "Springtime for Hitler" and plan to raise $2 million to bankroll production, which they can split 50-50 after the show crashes and burns.

Elizabeth Clinard plays Ulla, the Swedish vixen who comes between the unlikely partners. A graduate of Northwestern University who lives in New York City, Clinard, who spoke to the Daily Herald on Tuesday morning, is appearing in her third Pioneer Theatre Company production and said that she's enjoyed them all.

"This theater is really top notch in all departments," she said. "It's been really fun, so I keep coming back."

Part of what she's enjoyed about "The Producers" is giggling with the cast. The material is funny for the actors until they've gotten used to it, she said. And even after that there are moments. "Last night we had our first dress rehearsal and we got to see each other's costumes," Clinard said. "There was one point where we just all started laughing at each other."

"It's taken us a while to get that out of our system," said Dale Hensley, "to stop laughing with each other onstage."

Hensley, who's also based out of New York City, is a first-timer at Pioneer Theatre Company. One thing that's thrown him a little about Salt Lake City is the altitude. Hensley plays Roger De Bris, the director of "Springtime for Hitler," who takes over the title role on opening night as a last-minute fill-in and cavorts around the stage with gleeful abandon.

"The biggest challenge that I've had is just building up the stamina," Hensley said. "For me, Act II [the point in 'The Producers' at which 'Springtime for Hitler' is actually performed] is pretty crazy."

Not that he's complaining, mind you. "It's kind of a hammy actor's dream to get to play this part."