John Rampage has made a career of making others look good for Diamond Head Theatre stage productions.

Since he first appeared in "Music Man" in 1975, 32 of his 35 Po'okela Awards have come for either directing or choreographing. Fact is, the last time he took the stage was 10 years ago, when he acted and directed in DHT's "42nd Street."

"That's when I learned my lesson to never act and direct in the same production," said Rampage, the artistic director for DHT for nearly 14 years. "You always want to be two places at one time, and you never really do the directing or the acting justice. After that, I knew it was going to take a pretty special role to get me back on stage."

A musical fanatic, Rampage was lured — actually, compelled — to return to the stage this weekend after recently watching the Broadway production of "The Drowsy Chaperone" three times in New York.

Also opening in local theaters this week are The Actors' Group's "Night of January 16th," which is running through Oct. 18, and Paliku Theatre's "West Side Story," which runs through Oct. 25. (See box for more details on both.)

For the Tony Award-winning "Chaperone," Rampage plays Man in Chair, the show's narrator who reminisces about musicals as his apartment comes to life with 18 other actors and actresses who sing, dance and act in various roles.

Sometimes, his refrigerator doubles as the front door; sometimes the props magically appear as he looks back in time.

"There's a lot of me in the role," said Rampage, 55. "Man in Chair is a middle-aged man in love with musicals. He's passionate about it, so there are similarities between the two of us. He's a very charming character who never leaves the stage except for a minute and a half, and I believe they only wrote it that way so the man in the chair can visit the restroom or get a drink."

Rampage's role is mostly monologue, "with an enormous amount of dialogue," he said. Remembering all the lines has been a time-consuming challenge.

"I even recite my lines under my breath while on the bus," he said. "At least I haven't been thrown off it yet, so that's a good thing."

Man in Chair is so consuming, Rampage said he's never had a desire to direct or challenge director James Patterson during the production.

"What's great about having James here is that he was with the national tour of the show," Rampage said. "He's basically been a standby for all of the male roles, so he brings incredible knowledge to the show and its characters. The fact I'm being directed by someone who's been Man in Chair is great. He helps bring out the nuances of the character."

Man in Chair has no other name. None is needed. Hints of the character's real life are dropped throughout the show so the audience can identify with him, but the main thing people find with Rampage's character is that musicals are his passion and life.

"The Drowsy Chaperone" is a musical within a musical, transporting audiences back to Broadway theater of 1928. The entire show lasts less than two hours but has every cliche, gag and gimmick from the golden age of musicals.

Rampage loves it.

"When I saw this in New York, a light bulb went off that this is one role I'd come back for," he said. "It even mentions two musicals I've been in or directed: 'Gypsy,' which I directed last year, and 'Music Man,' my first production with the theater when I was 20. I love this role."

TAG, PALIKU THEATRE ALSO OPEN SHOWS TONIGHT

There are two more options for local theater goers that are opening tonight: The Actors' Group's "Night of January 16th," which runs through Oct. 18, and Paliku Theatre's "West Side Story," which runs through Oct. 25.

The shows are completely different from each other.

"West Side Story" is a Tony Award winner sure to offer some of the best song and dance of the local theater season. Tom Holowach, Paliku Theatre manager at Windward Community College, said it came together on a $100,000 budget.

"Night of January 16th," is a smaller-production murder mystery with the outcome hinging on audience participation.

"West Side Story" is directed by Ron Bright, with Marcelo Pacleb of 24-VII Danceforce providing choreography. The play was designed as a modern-day "Romeo and Juliet" and takes place in New York City. It follows two idealistic lovers (Kim Anderson as Maria and Kyle McCraw as Tony) who are caught between warring street gangs. Some of Pacleb's top dancers from his studio — Tori Anguay (Anita), Chris Villasenor (Riff) and Zare Anguay (Bernardo) — are in the cast, as well as Miss Hawaii 2007 Ashley Layfield.

For this Paliku production, Sunday matinees are at 4 p.m. instead of the traditional 2 p.m. so three members of the orchestra can continue to perform with the Royal Hawaiian Band on Sundays.

"Night of January 16th," meanwhile, is unique in that audience members will be asked at the door if they'd like to be a member of the jury. Once the play begins, the court clerk draws from the jury pool (audience) and jury members sit on stage in the jury box. Attorneys who attend can test their jury-reading skills by writing "guilty" or "not guilty" on the back of their business cards and dropping them in a bowl at intermission.

The lawyers who read the jury correctly will have their business cards posted in the theater lobby.

"Night of January 16th" is about an investor who swindles millions, goes bankrupt during the stock market crash and is either murdered or commits suicide by falling from a New York penthouse. The jury must decide if his longtime mistress committed murder. Depending on the jury's findings, the play can have a different ending each night.