Perhaps best
of all is Bill Nolte, whose goggle-eyed Franz Liebkind,
the neo-Nazi nitwit, possesses a booming voice, a hearty
presence and a splendid unawareness of his own idiocy.
NEW YORK TIMES
A gruff,
exaggerated and excellent Bill Nolte plays the benighted
Nazi playwright, Franz Liebkind.
NEW YORK POST
The bug-eyed
Bill Nolte is jolly and most amusing as Franz Liebkind,
the author of "Springtime for Hitler", the worst
musical ever written.
THE JOURNAL NEWS
Bill
Nolte’s gruff Franz Liebkind is the best I’ve seen.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Bill Nolte
takes hilarity to a new level.
KANSAS CITY JEWISH CHRONICLE
But the
stand out performance that steals the show is Bill Nolte
as Franz Liebkind, the German playwright whose children
are pigeons. Nolte's growling German accent is perfection.
The way his voice, volume, and tongue cover the accent is
side splitting hilarious. This tour finally matches the
original Broadway production when Nolte finally appears
midway through act one. It was here when I heard the
laughs soar loud and often. Each of Nolte's solos was met
with resounding cheers and applause. His performance of 'Haben
Sie Gehort Das Deusche Band', an uproarious number,
slayed the audience in laughter.
JOHN GARCIA, TALKIN'BROADWAY, DALLAS
As for
thinking it was best privately in the cast, writer and
Bill Nolte which plays the Franz. Is fascinated doubtful
part mysterious performing was done in any case. Although
it is the atmosphere full load which fears also the
appearance with the giant, the form which holds the lovely
pigeon the gap is funny in any case highest. Of course
also song being perfect, the The Producers it came to the
singing which bass the beam beam is sounded!
REIKO, TOKYO
Nolte's
stage presence is as big and bold as his knockout bass
voice
and he's an inspired comic.
OMAHA WORLD HERALD
Bill Nolte
happens to have one very powerful voice and a very
forceful stage presence. One of his scenes, with Sieg
Heiling pigeons, is a comic masterpiece.
COLUMBUS FREE PRESS
Nolte's
portrayal of the Nazi screenwriter is the single funniest
performance of the show. His German accent is
appropriately overdone, his singing is wonderful and his
physical mannerisms are hilariously authoritarian.
RENO GAZETTE/JOURNAL
The smaller
roles all come off marvellously here, with Mr. Nolte
especially impressive.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Nolte
is a triple-threat hoot in swastika and boots.
JACK NEAL'S NEVADA EVENTS
Bill
Nolte, who often steals scenes with bug-eyed abandon,
plays ex-Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind with a dash of
bizarro menace that's funny and creepy.
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
Bill Nolte
gives a scarily funny performance as Franz Liebkind.
STAR TRIBUNE, MN
The not
quite sane Bill Nolte is Franz Liebkind, a neo-Nazi
playwright.
SAN FRANCISCO WEEKLY
Bill
Nolte as Franz Liebkind, the German playwright, is the
best thing you'd want to see in lederhosen.
IDAHO STATESMAN
Along
with must-see performances by Bill Nolte, as crazed
playwright and Nazi Franz Liebkind
who I might mention, may be the perfect lead for Brooks
and Stroman's future stage collaboration "Young
Frankenstein."
EW ONSTAGE/BALTIMORE
Nolte
is a cut above everything else, taking a wild role and
bringing it alive.
SUN GAZETTE
On the other
hand, the secondary cast is top-notch, particularly Bill
Nolte
as the crackpot Nazi fugitive Franz Liebkind, whose
"Springtime for Hitler"
script is chosen by Max
and Leo as their surefire Broadway flop.
Nolte gives a
wild-eyed, goofy performance that's among the best in the
show.
NORTH COUNTY TIMES
Bill Nolte is a
hoot as the insane Nazi author of the worst play.
TALKIN'BROADWAY
Bill Nolte's
Liebkind is all the funnier for taking himself so seriously.
BALTIMORE SUN
The cast here is
uniformly strong, particularly Bill Nolte.
CONTRACOSTA TIMES
Bill Nolte is
particularly hilarious in the role of the self-deceived neo-Nazi Liebkind.
STANDARD TIMES
Bill Nolte is
terrific as Franz, the colorful and ultimately loveable Nazi playwright.
ONSTAGE BOSTON
Bill Nolte, with his deep voice,
is the perfect Franz Liebkind.
His scene with his pet pigeons up on the roof is one of my favorites.
REGISTER-GUARD/EUGENE, OR
Bill Nolte
as Franz Liebkind is the “way out there” nutso Nazi,
author of the fiasco.
Only Mel Brooks could create such a weird, twisted
character that you would not otherwise consider funny.
He is hysterically comical in all his scenes.
MORGAN HILL TIMES/BOSTON
One of the
best things about the show remains Bill Nolte as Franz
Liebkind,
the Nazi playwright with a soft spot for Dah Fuhrer.
ONSTAGE BOSTON
Last week's
opening night performance was the fifth time I've seen the
show and I must say that it was thoroughly enjoyable. Bill
Nolte as Franz Liebkind is the best Liebkind I've seen,
making this round of performances as enjoyable as the one
I saw in New York and the others in Chicago.
INSIDE CHICAGO
But then Max
and Leo, in search of a surefire Broadway flop, arrive at
the rooftop rookery of one Franz Liebkind (the hilarious
Bill Nolte), a Bavarian lunatic who has written a stage
valentine for his beloved Fuhrer, "Springtime for
Hitler," and suddenly an off night in the Catskills
is transformed into the Broadway gut-buster that we've all
been waiting for.
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
The
supporting characters are spectacular, especially Bill
Nolte as Hitler worshipper Franz Liebkind.
CHICAGO READER