THEATER : First ‘Star Search’ Celebrity Shines on His Own

Sam Harris had to laugh at the question, but his response was more than a little wry.

So, does Ed McMahon still call?

Harris, you might remember, in 1984 was the first instant celebrity to emerge from “Star Search,” the schmaltzy but popular “amateur hour” TV show hosted by Ed McMahon.

With his muscular, StairMaster singing that seemed to climb notes faster than you could count them, Harris won the big money and became, as he puts it, “the ‘Star Search’ poster boy.”

These days, he’s trying to move away from that tired image by releasing a double-CD of standards and Broadway tunes (“Standard Time/Different Stages”) and starring in musicals such as “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” which arrives at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa on Tuesday for a two-week run.

But first, back to McMahon.

“Oh sure, we have a nice friendship even now,” Harris said in a phone interview from Dallas, where the touring production had settled before coming to the center.

“I see him probably once a year, and he makes it to some of my shows. He came and saw me in ‘Grease’ [when Harris appeared with comedian Rosie O’Donnell at the center in March of last year]. I think Ed liked it.”

Harris looks back on his “Star Search” experience, when he became a fan favorite by winning the male vocalist category, with a mixture of satisfaction and regret. It clearly propelled his career, but Harris does get weary of the association.

“ ‘Star Search’ caught on so fast in the beginning, and I was its first real star,” he explained. “You knew the formula [of the often over-the-top, audience-massaging performances that tended to succeed]. You just gave it everything you had--you’d go out there and slit your wrists and bleed.

“I did it all the way, and that’s what most people remember. But my singing has really changed since then.”

Harris, 33, said that his gymnastic style is now more mature and controlled. He still enjoys showing off his vocal chops, but he picks the moments more carefully.

“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned you don’t just do something because you can. . . . Just because you can do back-flips, that doesn’t mean you have to enter a room that way.”

The family-oriented “Joseph,” one of the earliest collaborations of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, does provide Harris with the opportunity to let his voice soar. But the acting demands of this lightweight musical appeal to him at least as much.

Based on the Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers, the show features various musical styles, including rhythm and blues, folk, rock and calypso. Harris plays Joseph, who ages more than 20 years and evolves from a brash, know-it-all kid to a wise man.

“He’s kind of arrogant and cocky early on, but it’s with an innocence,” Harris said. “He’s been told he’s God’s gift, and he means well but is still just too full of himself.

“It’s easy to play him as an omniscient, blessed soul, but I’ve decided to play him as quirky, with quite a bit of physical comedy.”

Harris added that he was eager to return to Orange County, although he wonders in hindsight if the center was the best venue for “Grease.”

“It’s a weird theater to play ‘Grease’ because it’s a small-framed musical, and the theater is nothing like that; it’s so large and vacuous, the performances may have been lost.

“But I don’t have that worry this time. [‘Joseph’] should fly there. It may not be an epic musical like ‘Phantom,’ but it’s a show that can be seen from any distance, any seat.”

* What: “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” starring Sam Harris.

* When: Tuesday through July 30. Performances Tuesday through Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 2 and 7:30 p.m.

* Where: The Orange County Performing Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.

* Whereabouts: Take the San Diego (405) Freeway to Bristol Street and head north, then turn right on Town Center Drive.

* Wherewithal: $19 to $47.

* Where to call: (714) 556-2787.