Producers saviour receives £50k a week

He stepped into the breach to save the show. And Nathan Lane was rewarded last night when he strode on stage as the highest-ever earning West End star.

The American actor has engineered a deal worth an extraordinary £50,000 a week after rescuing The Producers from collapse following the dramatic sacking of Richard Dreyfuss.

It can be revealed that Lane is taking a £38,000-a-week salary, plus an estimated £12,000 from a profit-sharing agreement.

It is an arrangement which puts him among the ranks of Premiership footballers and Hollywood stars in the earning stakes.

In addition, Lane was given a £100,000 'golden hello' to persuade him when he initially refused to help save the production after Dreyfuss was fired days before the first night.

Dreyfuss, 56, had failed to master the complicated and strenuous dance routines, sources said.

Lane was seen as the perfect replacement.

Already a millionaire thanks to award-winning performances in the New York production of the show, the 48-year-old could now earn up to £600,000 in total for the 12-week run at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

Lane plays the conniving theatrical impresario Max Bialystock in the show, which opened last night.

His deal dwarfs the £7,000 a week for his comedian costar Lee Evans in the role of Leo Bloom, and the £15,000 Dreyfuss would have received.

Insiders say Evans is 'peeved' by the differences in their salaries, especially since he has won rave reviews in preview shows.

Directors of the show are convinced that Lane's star quality is worth it - and he has already had a number of five-minute standing ovations at previews.

Thanks to Lane's profile, insiders are expecting to turn a £200,000 weekly profit, not to mention the healthy income from the bar takings - put at about £150,000 a week - and the sale of merchandise such as programmes and CDs.