'Doogie Howser' star undergoes musical-theater transformation

NEW YORK -- Theatergoers may not be quick to recognize the new master of ceremonies in Broadway's "Cabaret." Chances are that many have seen him in something before, but never quite like this.

Neil Patrick Harris -- TV's "Doogie Howser, M.D." -- began headlining the Roundabout Theatre Company's raunchy revival of the musical in January, joining a cast that has been heavy on mainstream name recognition in the long-running show that opened in 1998.

As the painted, lascivious Emcee who lures audiences into director Sam Mendes' dark vision, the only thing familiar about the former teenage star is his name. Harris shed some weight for the role, along with the squeaky-clean image that accompanied his early stardom.

Taking a break in his dressing room on a recent afternoon, Harris' signature wholesomeness was apparent. Only traces of the goth stage persona were visible -- a long flap of jet black hair pushed away from his eyes and "weeks-old" layers of chipped nail polish, also black.

"Cabaret" is the latest in a recent flurry of theater work for Harris, who jumped at the opportunity to play the strung-out host of the Kit Kat Klub.

"Living in Berlin in the late '20s, at the end of the Weimar Cabaret period, there was great fun and frivolity," he says. "And suddenly it started to turn very dark and caustic and drugs were abundant. Cocaine addiction was running rampant. There was lots of heroin and opium. So you have this very twisted sense of reality."

The distortion of reality is somehow tweaked by the procession of familiar faces that has starred in the production, which celebrated its 2,000th performance this month. The cast has featured, at various times, such actors as Molly Ringwald, Brooke Shields, Tom Bosley and Hal Linden.