[citation needed] Olsen & Johnson led a large cast of entertainers:[2] the comedy team of Barto and Mann (Dewey Barto and George Mann); Charles Whithers; celebrity impersonators, the Radio Rogues; Hal Sherman; Walter Nilsson; singing group The Charioteers; identical-twin dancers Betty Mae and Beverly Crane; stage magician Theo Hardeen (better known as Harry Houdini's younger brother); the Hawaiian music of Ray Kinney and the Aloha Maids; Bergh and Moore; J. C. Olsen; Reed, Dean and Reed (Bonnie Reed, Syd Dean, and Mel Reed); Roberta and Ray; The Starlings; Dorothy Thomas; Shirley Wayne; Cyrel Roodney and June Winters; Billy Adams; and Whitey's Steppers (also known as Whitey's Lindy Hoppers).

[4] The cast included Grace & Nokko, The Oxford Boys, Sterner Sisters, Ben Dova, Paul Gordon, Billy Potter and Bobby Jarvis.

This road edition of Hellzapoppin included Barto and Mann, Charles Withers, the Radio Rogues, Harry Reso, Walter Nilsson, The Charioteers, Lyda Sue, Theo Hardeen, June Winters, Bonnie Reed, Shirley Wayne, Ruth Faber, Stephanie Olsen, Bergh and Moore, Dippy Diers, Bobby Barry, Billy Adams, and Sid Dean.

The all new cast featured family members J. C. Olsen (Ole's son), June Johnson (Chic's daughter), and Marty May (Chic's son-in-law), along with vaudevillians Harrison & Fisher; Shirley, Sharon & Wanda; Nirska; Jose Duval; Gloria LeRoy; Frank Cook; The 6 Mighty Atoms; Shannon Dean; Helen Magna; Andy Ratouscheff; Hank Whitehouse; John Howes; Billy Kay; Maurice Millard; and Frank Hardy.

[12] The sketches were a "smorgasbord of explode-the-fourth-wall nuttiness:... comedy songs; skits abandoned partway through; cameos by audience stooges; an absurdist raffle; and in a trademark stunt, a man who wandered through the theater hawking an ever-larger potted tree".

[13] The comedy continued even after the show had ended, as departing audience members discovered the man who'd been carrying the increasingly tall plant waiting for them in the lobby, trapped and shouting atop a 20-foot tree.

Songs featured during the run also include work by Don George, Teddy Hall, Annette Mills, Gonzalo Curiel, and Oscar Hammerstein II.

[14][15][16] The Australian shows were produced by J. C. Williamson, and featured a predominantly American cast including Don de Leo and George Mayo (as 'Olsen and Johnson'), Gloria Gilbert, Tom Toby, Marlene Lilyponds, Dorothy Jean, Snowball Whittier, Charlie Pope, trombonist Reg Thorpe, and David Hogarth.

In addition to Olsen & Johnson, this international production featured Marty May (Chic's son-in-law), singer Joan Elms, Hawaiian dancer Dell-Fin Thursday, juggler Lloyd Nairn, and banjoist and comedian Ken Card.

Reviews were mixed, with The Sydney Morning Herald stating, "Noise was the predominant theme of Olsen and Johnson's "Hellzapoppin' of 1954," which opened at the Palladium on Saturday night.

Cohen renewed his Broadway plans in 1976, as quoted by syndicated columnist Jack O'Brian: "I do think that to succeed today, a comedy revue requires a larger-than-life comic.

Things were just as chaotic backstage, as comedy star Lewis dominated the production and had serious arguments with producer Cohen, co-star Redgrave, and writer-adaptor Abe Burrows.

"[23] The frantic activity extended to several sudden cast changes during the Boston run, including dancer Tommy Tune being called in on Saturday, January 15 to debut in a specialty act on the following Monday.

The following day, Cohen abruptly closed the show and canceled both the Broadway engagement and the TV spectacular, forfeiting the million-dollar payment from NBC.