He sings! He dances! Veteran actor York is the king of "Camelot"!

Veteran actor Michael York has spent his four-decade career biting into plum roles available to a debonair British thespian of his generation — one with a posh accent, an Oxford University degree and fair-haired good looks.

On film, he competed with Romeo for Juliet's hand (in "Romeo and Juliet"). He two-timed Liza Minnelli with a guy (in "Cabaret"). As head of the British Secret Service, he tried to keep Austin Powers in line.

York also did a short stint in Seattle filming a TV pilot. "It was one of those dynastic family things, with quarreling sons," he recalls.

But this year, York is undertaking a professional "first." He is crisscrossing the U.S. on tour, playing King Arthur in a stage revival of the Lerner and Loewe musical "Camelot" at the 5th Avenue Theatre.

Like many an actor whose main medium is film, York says he did not know how rigorous musical touring would be. Add that to the demands of playing King Arthur, a mythic icon who in this adaptation of T.H. White's "The Once and Future King" sings, dances and engages in a bit of swordplay.

On stage

"Camelot" previews tonight, opens Thursday and runs through April 8 at 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave., Seattle ; $20-$73 (206-625-1900 or www.5thavenue.org).

"One reason I wanted to do this was to see a lot more of this big country," says the congenial and modest York. "But that's been hard to do, since the tour is so physically exhausting. Often on the weekend, you do five shows, then spend your day off traveling."

No wonder the actor (who turns 65 on March 27, so wish him happy birthday if you see him) looks forward to three weeks in Seattle, rain or shine.

Since "Camelot" hit the turnpike in January, "We've done a lot of one-weekers ... Greenville, Schenectady, Indianapolis. As soon as you settle into a place, you have to move on."

On the other hand, York thinks his travels may be good fodder for his next book.

Next? York has penned five well-received tomes, including an autobiography ("Accidentally on Purpose") and a thespian handbook ("A Shakespearean Actor Prepares," co-written by Adrian Brine.) "I guess the autobiography unleashed something," York says with a light laugh. "Curiously, I was asked to write one at the same time by separate English and American publishers."

York remains enthusiastic about his own move to the U.S. in late 1960s, where he and Patricia McCallum, a photographer, raised a family — and have stayed happily wed for 39 years (an eternity in Hollywood).

"I first came here to work in Hollywood and felt immediately comfortable," York says. "Show me an Englishman who doesn't like California, and I'll show you a phony!"

York is now a U.S. citizen and finds it "fascinating to be a part of this great ongoing experiment in democracy." (Queen Elizabeth II didn't mind: She conferred on him the honorary title of Officer of the British Empire, anyway).

The actor sees a connection between "Camelot" and current U.S. politics. "It's not been a good time politically, and this show posits a time when there was charismatic leadership, and democratic values prevailed. It was a brief shining moment, but an important one."

The late Richard Burton, who was a colleague of York — they were both in a film of "The Taming of the Shrew" — originated the lead role in "Camelot" on Broadway in 1960.

A favorite show of President Kennedy (whose administration is often identified with the "brief shining moment" of Arthur's Camelot), the musical has been "tweaked" for the tour with input from Liza and Michael Lerner, daughter and son of the late Alan Jay Lerner, who wrote the lyrics and book to Frederick Loewe's music.

York says he grew up on stories about Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. "It's part of being British."

When approached to star in the tour, he remembers, "It seemed to me an appropriate time to revive this. There's a whole generation that hasn't seen it yet. And it portrays a ruler who felt that violence was not strength and compassion was not weakness.

"Also I liked that they didn't just want to trot out another 'Camelot,' but make it a real statement for our time."

One perk of the tour is "seeing how moved and interested young people are in the story," York declares. "My grandchildren, who are 19 and 20, were thrilled by it."

Reviews for this "Camelot" have been mixed. But York's "regal" and "heartfelt" Arthur, sterling Broadway soprano Rachel York (no relation) as Arthur's impetuous Queen Guenevere and James Barbour as Guenevere's lover, Sir Lancelot, have won kudos.

But tinkering with "Camelot," according to the Variety notice and others, has not improved a book "overly reliant on clunky exposition to move the story along." And some critics complained that York is "too mature" for a part played by Burton at 35. Ouch.

But come what may, York is committed to "Camelot" into August. After that, he says, he'll continue to do what he's always done: "I'm keeping my options open."

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com