Busy triple-threat performer Ethan Le Phong gets no break.

BY EDWARD GUNAWAN

Ethan Le Phong is one busy guy.

This year alone, Phong joined the world premiere production of Mask, a new musical at the Pasadena Playhouse and played the titular character of Stephen Schwartz's Prince Pippin to rave reviews, despite taking on the role literally days before opening night. Gay audiences might have even caught him acting, singing, dancing, and baring it all in the film version of Naked Boys Singing. Most recently, Phong performed the role of Montparnasse in Les Miserables at the Hollywood Bowl, alongside an all-star cast featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell.

How does he manage to do it all? “I don't have a social life!” Phong half-lamented. “I remember slipping away after the matinee of Mask in Pasadena to make the callback for Les Mis in North Hollywood and rushing back in time for the closing of Mask.”

Of course, the hectic schedule is nothing new for the consummate performer who has worked relentlessly ever since his first paying gig at 16 at the Six Flags theme park in Georgia where he grew up.

Over the past decade, Phong had toured across Europe and America, in shows such as Miss Saigon and The King and I. On the West End alone, he was an original London cast member of We Will Rock You, South Pacific, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Gay audiences might have even caught him baring it all in the film version of Naked Boys Singing.

The son of Vietnamese refugees, Phong thanks his parents for his artistic upbringing. “Mom used to sing and my dad was a lyricist and a poet. He even managed a Vietnamese pop band in Chicago!” Phong reveals. “My mom thinks I got the performer's bug when I was a little 3-year-old. I used to go with her to dance studios where she was teaching. I would, on occasion, perform after dinner. The neighbors would stop by and cheer me on.”

Despite growing up in a highly creative household, Phong's parents were not supportive of his early artistic career when he started to perform in community theaters and school productions. “I thought I was going to be a surgeon when I grew up. My teacher got me a doctor's kit as a gift when I left pre-school! If I were a surgeon today, my parents probably would have fewer gray hairs. You know what I'm talking about: Asian parents!”

Meeting the soft-spoken and reserved Phong who speaks with a hint of British accent, one might agree with his self-description as “a shy kid growing up.” Lurking underneath, however, is the thoughtful and driven performer—evident as he made the drastic professional leap at age 22. Only a junior at Valdosta State University in Georgia where he was studying opera, Phong was offered his big break in the chorus of the German production of Miss Saigon. He left college and never looked back since.

“My parents thought I was crazy. Even my teachers told me I should finish school first. But I went for it. I had to learn an entire show, in German! It was my first time out of the country and I had to learn to live by myself.”

The gig took him back Stateside and his parents could finally see him in action as he toured with the show. “My parents came and for the first time, they saw me performing in the big league, so to say. They were very supportive since then.”

Like any actors of color in Hollywood, things have not been all rosy for the accomplished triple-threat talent. “In the theater world, there isn't much typecasting nowadays. But the film world is a totally different ball game. I'm still a new-comer to L.A. so I have a lot to show for,” Phong explains.

So when Phong was offered the leading role of Pippin at East West Players less than a week before opening night earlier this summer, he jumped on it. During the show's preview performances, Phong was still holding his script on stage. “To some, it's an actor's nightmare. But I took it as a challenge. It was a chance to prove to myself.” The gamble paid off as he carried the show to critical acclaim and box-office success. The musical became the highest grossing show of the theater's history.

With a full schedule lined up for the rest of the year, Phong is likely to stay very busy and that seems to suit him just fine. He can be seen next in Los Angeles at the East West Players' benefit concert at the end of August and back at the LA Opera in Madame Butterfly this fall.

“Since I haven't grown up yet, I may just do it [become a surgeon] one day,” Phong jokes. “Or at least, play one on TV!”

Le Phong will perform in “One Night Only: Divas vs. Tenors“ at David Henry Hwang Theater, 120 Judge John Aiso St., L.A. on Sat., Aug. 23. Tickets can be purchased at www.EastWestPlayers.org or by calling 213/625-7000, ext. 20.

For more information on Phong, visit www.myspace.com/whatthephong.