Former Seattle actor now behind the scenes of Village's 'The Gypsy King'

In the 1980s, Randy Rogel starred in Seattle's longest-running hit, "Angry Housewives." In the 1990s, he sang and danced the acrobatic Donald O'Connor role in "Singin' in the Rain" at the 5th Avenue Theatre.

Now he's back, but strictly behind the scenes as the writer-composer of a new musical, "The Gypsy King," about a father-son acting team who get mixed up with an arrogant prince who looks a lot like the son.

The Village Theatre held a reading in 2008, and a developmental production in 2009 — both of them featuring Eric Ankrim, who again plays the dual leading role in the new production at the Village.

"He has to switch quickly back and forth between two extreme characters while on stage, and he's hysterical at it," said Rogel in an e-mail interview. "Personally, I find it a little scary that someone can do that.

"The story takes place in a fictitious yet comfortably familiar principality that smacks of Eastern Europe, circa late 1700s, but that's only my guess." The description suggests a stage version of Danny Kaye's 1956 movie, "The Court Jester."

"The show is indeed cut from the same cloth as 'The Court Jester,' " said Rogel. "In fact, I think Danny Kaye ripped off a lot of my ideas."

How does Rogel know where to place the songs in a musical comedy?

"I believe it was the late, great Oscar Hammerstein who said that people sing when words aren't enough to express what they're feeling.

"You can have a guy who's just fallen in love tell you how wonderful he feels, or you can have him start dancing in the rain and playing with an umbrella. The latter will not only tell you how he feels, it will make you feel the same way he does."

Was he tempted to play a role in "The Gypsy King"?

"I'd rather sit in the audience as an actor watching the performances and say 'I could have done that better.' " He has bittersweet memories of roles he did play on Seattle stages.

"When we rehearsed 'Angry Housewives,' the seven-member cast were each making $15 a week and it was to be Pioneer Square Theatre's last show before they closed up shop. After seeing the run-through the artistic directors were so unimpressed that they decided to cancel the show before it even opened.

"Our director, Linda Hartzell (who now runs the terrific Seattle Children's Theatre), convinced them to let us open the show."

It ran for five years.

At a Seattle audition for "Girl Crazy," Rogel found himself suddenly deprived of essential props. Another actor accidentally picked up his music and tap shoes and walked off with them.

"Realizing I wasn't going to get the part, I didn't bother trying to impress anyone," he said. "To my surprise, I got the part ... from that day on I went into all my auditions completely unprepared."

Now based in Los Angeles, where he's won Emmys for television scripts, Rogel tries to make it back to Seattle as often as possible, if only to "remember what rain looks like." His son, Ryan, is a student and rugby player at the University of Washington.

Speaking of L.A., he added, "I love the studio environment and the level of talent that surrounds you there." His new series, "1001 Nights," goes on the air in the fall. He's also written several PBS shows, including "Mixed Nutz."

One role he never tires of is the O'Connor character in "Singin' in the Rain."

"Learning that part was like trying to take a drink from a fire hose," he claimed. "I've now done 26 productions of 'Singin' in the Rain,' and I'll keep doing it until I get it right."

John Hartl: johnhartl@yahoo.com