‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ is neither dirty, nor rotten, but it is full of scoundrels. It is reminiscent of “The Producers’, in that two incorrigible men try to scam rich ladies on the beautiful French Riviera.

Lawrence Jameson, the suave and smooth John Lithgow, has set up shop in this town and does quite well, thank you, giving sob stories of unbelievable proportions that they have to be believed. Lawrence, and the always corruptible police chief, Andre Thibault, played by the veteran actor Gregory Jbara, share the ‘earnings of deceit’. They are considered good citizens as they also contribute money to the local convent for religious purposes.

Enter, Freddy Benson, the sloppy, crass, American, played by Nathan Lane, I mean, Norbert Leo Butz. With this breakout role, Mr. Butz is headed toward stardom—he is an absolute riot, funny, and gross and he gets our sympathy. His initial number is ‘Great Big Stuff’ explains his theme.

When Freddy and Lawrence meet, a bet is made as to who can get $50,000 from a rich woman first. Thus, the story is set up with Lawrence and the police chief singing ‘Give Them What They Want’.

Wait until you meet brother Ruprecht! Be prepared to laugh so hard you might miss the next scene. But wait, you haven’t met any of the women yet. Sherie Rene Scott as Christine Colgate, the soap queen, and Sarah Gittelfinger as Jolene from Oklahoma, and Joanna Gleason as Muriel are the men’s equal on the battlefield of finance and deception.

The music is very good and there are some rousing numbers, written by David Yazbek (‘The Full Monty’); the scenery of the French Riviera is excellent and the sets are clever. Kudos to the director, Jack O’Brien (‘Hairspray’ and ‘Henry IV’) and choreographer Jerry Mitchell (‘Hairspray’), for bringing musical comedy back to Broadway. (*** ½ stars out of 4)