Lithgow enjoys villainous 'sleight of hand' in musical

NEW YORK -- John Lithgow can be forgiven for taking unwholesome glee in being a scoundrel.\nHe said the part of consummate con man in the new musical "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" comes naturally to him.\n"What I do is sleight of hand," he said. "Trying to make people believe something when they know perfectly well it's not true."\nIn Lithgow's case, theatergoers are handing over their wallets for a chance to "get taken," as the show's ads entice. And Lithgow said he is loving every minute of it.\n"I'm in heaven," he said. "We just are really entertaining the audience. You just feel their enjoyment of it."\nLounging in his dressing room during a break in rehearsals, the 6-foot-4-inch actor wears elegance well in a gray beret and black cardigan. There's barely a trace of the familiar goof ball from the long-running sitcom "3rd Rock From the Sun."\nWith a silly putty face that shifts effortlessly from clown to villain, Lithgow has proved to be one of the most versatile actors in the business. On screen and stage, he's been a transsexual football player ("The World According to Garp"), a man duped by a transsexual ("M. Butterfly"), a shy lover ("Terms of Endearment"), an archfiend ("Ricochet"), a ruthless gossip columnist ("Sweet Smell of Success") and a preacher choking in rectitude ("Footloose" and "Kinsey").\n"There's no such thing as a John Lithgow part," said "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" director Jack O'Brien. "There's just the hope that you can get John Lithgow."\nIn his own life, Lithgow is just as versatile. He's a Harvard University graduate and a former Fulbright scholar, the author of six children's books and a regular performer in children's concerts, a job that has given him a chance to win over a whole new audience.\n"(The kids) don't know me from Adam," he said. "I'm a stranger, and I like that. I like starting from scratch. As far as kids are concerned, I'm just this big goofy guy."\nDuring the run of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," which opened March 3 to mixed reviews, Lithgow will turn 60 and become a grandfather. He said he's in the best shape of his life, having lost 10 pounds from all the dancing.\n"What I do keeps me awfully young," he said. "I try to find the reasons to be grateful to be the age I am as a way of not regretting growing old."\nThe reasons abound: His wife of 23 years, his three children and a career that keeps finding new directions. Lithgow even has performed with the New York City Ballet as a female elephant in a huge skirt in "Carnival of the Animals." He eventually wrote a children's book with the same title.\nHe's also had three Grammy Award nominations for his recordings of children's books, has earned two Academy Award nominations and won two Tonys and several Emmys.\nBut Lithgow never attended the ceremonies and prefers to live his life away from the red carpet. He said he thinks of himself as a faculty spouse to his wife, Mary Yeager, who is an economics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.\n"The entertainment industry is kind of a vortex. You can get lost in it," he said. "I love what I do, I love acting, I love going to award shows and things, but I always like to drop in and drop out. I've led a very ordinary life."\nLithgow grew up in the theater, with a father who produced and directed Shakespeare festivals throughout the Midwest. He began acting in grade school and went on to Harvard and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before his Tony Award-winning Broadway debut in "The Changing Room."\nAlthough he's perhaps best known for his television and film roles, Lithgow has appeared in 18 Broadway shows and is happy to return to the stage for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," based on the 1988 Michael Caine and Steve Martin film.\nLithgow's Lawrence Jameson is the picture of sophistication, a suave con man who transforms into a destitute prince of mysterious origin, a vindictive Viennese doctor and the king of Spanish real estate.\nPlaying many things and letting the audience in on the pretense is what Lithgow loves best, he said.\n"I do like to surprise people ... I like to be a completely cold-blooded, chilling villain," he said. "I love turning the tables on the audience. Just when they expect one thing, they get another"