By Michael Kuchwara
The Associated Press

Broadway's original Bialystock and Bloom are coming back to The Producers.

After weeks of speculation, it was announced Tuesday that Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick will return to the Mel Brooks musical Dec. 30 for a limited engagement through April 4.

Tickets for the Lane-Broderick reunion will go on sale starting at noon Nov. 16 at the St. James Theatre, said John Barlow, a spokesman for the show. Also at that time, tickets will be available through Telecharge, (212) 239-6200, or online. Prices will range from $30 to $100.

A limited number of tickets for the best seats in the house will be available from Broadway Inner Circle for $480 each, starting on Nov. 16, Barlow said.

Advance tickets had only been on sale through Dec. 29th performances, as the show's producers negotiated for the return of Lane and Broderick.

The Producers, which won a record 12 Tony Awards in 2001, was Broadway's hottest ticket during the two stars' yearlong run. After they left, its fortunes sagged a bit, particularly after the firing of Henry Goodman who replaced Lane in the show. The musical now stars Fred Applegate as Bialystock and Don Stephenson as the nebbish accountant, Leo Bloom.

Lane, who won a Tony Award for playing the conniving Max Bialystock in the show, is starring in a production of Simon Gray's Butley, at the Huntington Stage Company in Boston. It closes Nov. 30.

The show's recent grosses have been healthy but nowhere near the sellout status it had when Lane and Broderick were in the production. For example, last week The Producers grossed $779,514, filling only 70 percent of the St. James.

Its producers expect grosses to zoom past the million-dollar mark when the two stars return.