This weekend Dane Cook will appear in the stage production of Mel Brook’s play, The Producers as Franz Liebkind.

The platinum-selling comic has certainly experienced his share of backlash. Will he be able to sing and dance his way to a new level of creativity? Here are 5 reasons to catch Cook in the play.

Reason #5
Cook actually boasts a formidable musical-theater background, having taken the stage throughout his high school career and beyond for summer stock and traveling productions of such popular shows as West Side Story.

Reason #4
His character, Franz Liebkind (portrayed by Will Ferrell in the 2005 film version), is an anger-prone Nazi playwright who penned Springtime for Hitler. He also keeps and trains performing pigeons on his roof.

Reason #3
He rounds out a top-notch cast including Richard Kind as Max Bialystock, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Leo Bloom and Rebecca Romijn as Ulla.

Reason #2
Having recently survived personal blows and famously cleared the air with Louis C.K. on a second-season episode of FX’s Louie, Cook says he’s experienced huge amounts of personal growth. “Having come through the other end of that and having a couple of incredibly healthy years, I just can’t think of a better place that I’d like to be.”

Reason #1
Lederhosen. ‘Nuff said.

The Producers runs Friday July 27th – Sunday July 29th at the Hollywood Bowl. www.hollywoodbowl.com