If you didn't know that Joey Fatone was part of 'N Sync, the boy band that sold 56 million records, or that he finished second on "Dancing With the Stars" a couple of seasons ago, or that he has two Broadway shows and several movie roles under his belt, you wouldn't suspect anything of the sort from the easygoing guy in the seat across the table.

But the jovial Mr. Fatone has done all of those things, plus voice-overs and TV hosting duties -- and he's got that ever present trim beard and mustache, so he's easily recognizable when he walks into a small conference room in the Benedum Center.

He's wearing a T-shirt and shorts after a wardrobe fitting for Pittsburgh CLO's "The Producers," and he shares an iPhone image of himself in the lederhosen and Nazi helmet of his character, the Hitler-adoring playwright of "Springtime for Hitler," Franz Liebkind.

The role was played by Will Ferrell in the movie version of "The Producers" and earned Brad Oscar a Tony nomination on Broadway.

When 'N Sync dissolved, Mr. Fatone, 33, looked to his first love, musical theater. In 2002, he was offered his choice of a role in the Broadway revival of "Rent," but asked to audition.

"When I did 'Rent,' it was a huge leap for me coming out of 'N Sync. Of course I embrace [the band years], that's where I came from, but you try to set yourself away from it. I wanted to become someone on Broadway."

He auditioned for the part of Roger, the tortured rocker and recovering addict. He wound up as the narrator Mark, the role he had coveted from the beginning because it was more within his voice range.

As a replacement in the 2003-04 revival of "Little Shop of Horrors," he again had his choice: the sadistic dentist or Seymour. "I said Seymour, because it's a lot more challenging for me to do a role that even though he's funny and slapsticky, he's not trying to be funny. He's just geeky, and that's who he is."

Several stops along the way will come in handy for his role as Franz Liebkind in "The Producers." It's a relatively small role with the potential showstoppers "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop" and "Haben Sie Gehort Das Deutsche Band (Have You Ever Heard the German Band)?"

He joined 'N Sync fresh out of a Florida high school that did three stage productions a year -- one Shakespearean, a one-act drama and a musical. The boy band was launched in Germany, where he recorded and toured for about 21/2 years.

"I know a lot more German than I should; sometimes some of the bad words," he says with a chuckle.

After one day's rehearsal, he's mostly struggling with hand motions, like a schoolyard clapping game, that go with "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop."

"The words were getting all screwed up because I was trying to concentrate on this crazy, silly hand thing that's so simple, it's driving me nuts." He demonstrates, without the words.

"There, I've got it now," he says.

His experience on "Dancing With the Stars" has been of help, too.

"They're very similar in a way because you're getting thrown into something and you literally have about a week to learn it. Same thing with 'Dancing With the Stars.' You were learning on Wednesday and you would actually have it pretty much done by Friday or Saturday, because you have the blocking and rehearsal in costumes on Monday. For this, it's weird because I can't run it over and over again with the cast I'm doing it with, because they're off rehearsing another scene. So it's really relying on yourself and the rehearsal time you have at hand when you're with other people."

His scenes are mainly with John Treacy Egan, who plays Max Bialystock, a role he understudied and moved into on Broadway, and another veteran of the New York stage, Jim Stanek, of Seneca Valley High and Carnegie Mellon.

The opportunity to play opposite other Broadway veterans in Mel Brooks' musical comedy that won 12 Tony Awards was among the attractions that initially brought Mr. Fatone to regional theater.

Among his dream roles is a part in "The Pirates of Penzance," He said listening to the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta was part of his earliest exposure to musical theater and cemented his desire to be a part of it.

He has followed an unusual path to the stage, from band member to Broadway pop-rock musicals such as "Rent" and "Little Shop of Horrors" to a more traditional show such as "The Producers" here in Pittsburgh.

"It means a lot to be here, actually, because it's kind of where ... I'd be starting to make a career out of it. I think it's great because it builds up your chops," Mr. Fatone says.

He marvels at the ensemble members who go through the short rehearsal process for all of CLO's shows.

"I would lose my mind. But it's a great learning tool. Say you're going to be hired as an understudy on a Broadway show and you only have a week to rehearse -- they can do it. It's probably a no-brainer for them to absorb what they need to know. I heard as far as 'Curtains' was concerned, it had never been seen [here] before, and they all did an amazing job. And they didn't have a ready reference, there is no movie of 'Curtains,' and it's kind of like hitting out in the dark."

For Franz, he has not only the long-running Broadway and touring success, but two movies -- the original 1968 version and the 2005 musical.

"The character is fun and a little hokey, but Franz has been basically -- OK, a pun -- cooped up in his coop area; it was just him and his birds. This is the first time he's seen people, and he's like, why are they up here on the rooftop where this is my sanctuary, my place? So he is kind of coo-coo."

He says you can joke about Franz and the show within a show, "Springtime for Hitler," because of Mel Brooks' ability to transcend the notion of being politically correct.

"You have to break boundaries, and he is just so smart the way he does it, you can't help but laugh at it. That's why he's so great doing all the things he did, 'Blazing Saddles,' 'Young Frankenstein,' 'The Producers.' I love a lot of the stuff he does. 'History of the World' is hysterical. So wrong, yet so right in so many ways."

After Pittsburgh, Mr. Fatone plans to spend some time with his family. His wife, Kelly, endured a difficult pregnancy before the birth of his second daughter, Khloey, now 5 months old. After some time off, he may be headed back to a recording studio to follow up his recent single, "Radio."

"The industry, I didn't know how they would react, because [former bandmate] Justin [Timberlake] has been out there doing his thing, and they didn't know my take on it. So we didn't promote it, we just put it out there. And it sold -- nothing extensive or tremendous, but the response has been positive. That's good because now I can go and do the promotion. After this, the next [single] should probably come out in mid-July, and hopefully I'll do a lot more production after that."

He also has a movie in the can, his first foray into the horror genre after roles in comedies such as "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." He plays a police detective in "Inkubus," starring the original Freddy Krueger, Robert Englund.

It's something different that might be of help in another challenge he's hoping to conquer -- a play. He's already done voice-over work on shows such as "Robot Chicken" and hosting gigs on NBC's "The Singing Bee" and the TV Guide Channel's red-carpet coverage.

For his role in "The Producers," a relatively small but memorable one, "I just want to do the character justice."

"What I've done, I've been very lucky, very fortunate. ... Whatever it is, I'll put 110 percent into it. I'm not trying to put all my eggs in one basket. I found out there's a lot of things, you want to take a chance, you definitely don't want to take a huge chance. 'Cause you don't want to go off the deep end."

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