Theaterweek	It's Good to Be the King by Anthony Chase

Even within the entertainment industry, most people don’t think of Lou Diamond Phillips as a stage actor. He’s a movie star.

“I know,” agrees Phillips in a telephone interview. “They don’t know the body of my work. Eyebrows went up when I was mentioned for The King and I, like ‘This guy thinks he can do Broadway?’ I’ve done a lot of theater. I’ve got a degree in theater!”

Phillips was sensational as the King of Siam, bringing great energy, wit and sex appeal to the role. Indeed, his Broadway performance in The King and I earned him a Tony Award nomination and a Theater World award. He is currently taking on a major musical role. Phillips stars as King Arthur in the current national tour of Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot, which opens at Shea’s on Tuesday.

Camelot takes us to King Arthur’s enchanted kingdom where honor and chivalry reign, where there’s a legal limit to the snow, and where winter exits March 2nd on the dot. There’s simply not a more congenial spot, right up until Arthur’s wife, Queen Guenevere, falls in love with his best friend, Sir Lancelot. Then, all hell breaks loose and everybody breaks into song. The marvelous score, by the creators of My Fair Lady, includes “If Ever I Would Leave You” and the title song, “Camelot,” which became the retrospective anthem of the Kennedy administration.

Is Phillips nervous about taking on such a familiar vehicle?

“Taking on an established role is like putting a target on yourself,” Phillips concedes. “The role in The King and I was so associated with Yul Brynner, and I am nothing like him. Ultimately, that worked to my advantage. I was able to bring my own talent and personality to the role. And then, it was a musical, so everybody wanted to know if I can sing. Even after doing The King and I, when I was announced for Camelot, people still asked, ‘Can he sing?’ Well, I don’t want this to come out wrong,” says Phillips with a chuckle, “but I think I can sing at least as well as Richard Burton and Richard Harris!”

Burton originated the role on Broadway in 1960 and Harris played the part in the 1967 film. Each spoke-sang the music.

The other question people Phillips says people ask about his performance in Camelot is, “How can he play the king of England?”

“Well,” says, Phillips, “I am Scottish-Irish.”

To be sure, Phillips’ father was an American of Scottish-Irish—and also Hawaiian and Cherokee—ancestry. His mother was of Filipina, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese descent. Thus, Phillips can reasonably play the king of Siam or England, or he could play the king of Spain, an Indian chief or the emperors of China and Japan. And his acting credits reflect that diversity.

Phillips first achieved stardom when he played Ritchie Valens in La Bamba. This was followed quickly with a highly praised performance in Stand and Deliver, for which he won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actor and received a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe nomination. He has also starred in such films as Young Guns I and II, Disorganized Crime, Renegades, The First Power and Shadow of the Wolf. He also wrote and starred in the Miramax release, Ambition. Phillips directed and starred in Sioux City, in which he plays a Native American man who was adopted as child by a Jewish family and raised in Los Angeles. In the film, his desire to find his roots takes him back to the reservation where he discovers that his birth mother has died under suspicious circumstances.

Phillips has other directing credits and enjoys the directorial role. His first film was Dangerous Touch, a psychological thriller that he co-wrote. Trimark Pictures and HBO distributed the film in association with Phillips’ own production company, Facet Films.

In the midst of this tour, Phillips has become a father for the fourth time—all daughters, including twins who just turned 10. His wife tours with him and does his makeup.

“That’s why I took the part,” explains Phillips. “It’s a great role and they were willing to accommodate my needs. I knew the director, Glenn Casale, through Cathy Rigby—he directed her in Peter Pan. But most importantly, I wanted to be able to be with my family. At this point in my life, it’s not about green M&Ms and special star treatment. It is about family.”

The manner in which he makes career decisions begs the question: Would Phillips do a new role on the New York stage? Film work is far more lucrative. A national tour is far less risky.

“The theater is a part of me,” says Phillips. “I consider theater projects on a case-by-case basis. I would do a new script at Manhattan Theatre Club, for sure. And if the playwright were Terrence McNally or Tony Kushner or William Mastrosimone, I would certainly be interested. Of course I would!”

Phillips is new to touring, but, so far, is seeing the positive side.

“It is fun to find the personality of each city’s audience. Audiences in LA are different from audiences in Portland. I am glad to say that we are entertaining people and they have been receptive to the show. It is fun to have an opening night every third week.

Camelot plays at Shea’s, November 6-11, as part of the 2007-08 M&T Bank Broadway Series. Tickets ($24.50-$57.50) are available by calling Ticketmaster at 716-852-5000, online at www.ticketmaster.com and at all Ticketmaster outlets, including Macy’s Department Store and the Shea’s Ticket Office, 650 Main Street.