LIFE IS A CABARET THEATER PRO AND SITCOM SIDEKICK AT HOME IN THE VALLEY.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Writer

In 1999, the woman who aspires to be the ``Meg Ryan of musical theater'' got grungy and had a blast.

``I loved playing Sally Bowles,'' says actress/singer Susan Egan, her eyes alight with the memory of a year-long stint in Broadway's ``Cabaret.'' ``I loved being ugly and wrong and a drug addict and not smart and making bad choices. It's just meatier for an actress.''

That may be, but most of the people who want to put Egan to work seem to want her to be pretty, correct, not drug-addicted, smart, making very good choices and winning the prince at the end.

Egan credits the production's director, Sam Mendes, for taking a chance on a less-recognizable name to replace Jennifer Jason Leigh in the role of hard-living Sally in Studio 54's ``Cabaret,'' and for hiring an actress whose image was more Disney than Dachau.

She dropped out of school at UCLA to star in the national tour of ``Bye Bye Birdie'' with Tommy Tune and has played sweet young heroines in practically every civic light opera in the Southland. Immediately before ``Cabaret,'' she more than held her own opposite Carol Burnett in the Stephen Sondheim revue ``Putting It Together'' at the Mark Taper Forum.

But Egan, who has a pair of live appearances coming up in the next few weeks in L.A., is most closely linked to the character of Belle, whom she played in both the Broadway and Los Angeles companies of ``Disney's Beauty and the Beast.'' That may help you get future employment on the Mouse circuit, but it's not necessarily the star name that will sell tickets on Broadway or get you booked in major motion pictures. < ``I joke that I'm the only nonfamous Sally Bowles,'' says Egan, a Seal Beach native. ``I was not guaranteed to sell tickets, not like Jennifer Jason Leigh, Natasha Richardson or Gina Gershon. I'm the only nonfamous one to do it.

``The rule in New York is that after the first three months, half of the people in the audience speak English. There are a lot of Italians, Japanese and tourists, and if they can see Brooke Shields, they're going to see Brooke Shields and that's great. God bless Brooke for doing it because she's keeping 150 people employed.''

For a while, the much-traveled Egan is home. She'll perform her cabaret act Friday at the Madrid Theater in Canoga Park as a benefit for the Young Actors Company. On Aug. 5, she'll sing the role of Julie in the Hollywood Bowl's live production of ``Show Boat'' with Douglas Sills, Alice Ripley and Dick Van Patten.

At summer's end, she'll head to London to finish her debut CD, ``So Far.'' Then she returns for the second season of the WB show ``Nikki'' where she plays Mary, a Vegas showgirl who gets to appear in some of the more arresting costumes you're likely to see (you can check out the fan page on www.susanegan.net for a sampling). Egan said she took the ``Nikki'' gig as much for job security and money as to boost her profile for future stage work.

``I've gone as far as I can go on Broadway without being a name,'' says the 31-year-old actress. ``So, yes, it gives me kind of a break because it's an easier schedule than doing eight shows a week, but very definitely, part of the decision was so I can go back for these theater producers I've worked with in New York. I want to be able to sell tickets.''

Seated on the terrace of her home with her doting pooch Willa the Wonder Dog at her feet, Egan is open, friendly and very much at home in Hollywood. There

is, she points out, a community of New York Broadway musical stars who came to L.A. to give small- or big-screen life a spin. Kristin Chenoweth (of ``Kristin'') is a good friend, as are Jane Krakowski (``Ally McBeal'') and Malcolm Getz. Megan Mullally sublet Egan's New York apartment when she appeared opposite Matthew Broderick in ``How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.'' This was in 1995, a few years before Mullally would hit it big as Karen Walker on ``Will & Grace.''

``There's a whole campus of us out here,'' Egan says. ``Now that Kristin has got her own show, when she goes back and she does a Broadway play, there's going to be a much wider audience that recognizes her. She'll bring them to the theater for the first time, creating future theater goers.''

``Nikki'' has meant more time for films and TV movies (Egan's done three this year, including the upcoming TV film ``Gotta Kick It Up'' for Disney) and sacrificing at least one plumb of a Broadway role (in the new musical ``Sweet Smell of Success'' opposite John Lithgow.)

But ``Nikki's'' creative team also contains a group of folks with theater backgrounds, including series prop master Joshua Meltzer, who is also the artistic director of the Young Actors Company. The Encino-based nonprofit company, which teaches self-esteem, confidence, respect, cooperation, public speaking through theater training allows kids to act in plays free of charge. Like most nonprofits, YAC is in constant need of finances.

Egan originally had planned to teach a master class with the students - which she may still ultimately do - but figured a quick way to help raise some funds would be to perform her cabaret act as a benefit. Friday, she'll share the stage with several of the YAC members who have an upcoming performance of ``Grease.''

``It's kind of the easiest thing to do,'' said Egan. ``It's just me and my pianist, no rehearsals necessary, just a microphone. Let's bring the kids up to do a preview of 'Grease,' and I'll do my act.''

A grateful Meltzer says that the chance to see Egan perform live is an experience not to be missed.

``She's one of those performers that is so dynamic on stage. She comes across just fine on camera, but she is such a dynamic performer live,'' Meltzer says. ``She's in the middle of putting this show together, in rehearsals for the Hollywood Bowl, traveling back and forth doing other concert dates. She's going above and beyond to help us here.''

Egan developed the cabaret act almost on a dare when someone at the Cinegrill said he'd fill the house if she'd put together an act. After getting over the ``I'm not interested in talking about myself'' jitters, Egan dove right in and assembled a performance that includes a little bit of Disney - complete with backstage ``Beauty'' highlights - a little bit of storytelling and showcasing some new and developing composers as well.

She tested the act as a fund-raiser for her alma mater, the Orange County High School of the Arts, and has since performed at Pepperdine University, the Orange County Performing Arts Center and Citrus College.

``It's the scariest thing to do because I don't think of myself as an entertainer; I think of myself as an actress,'' said Egan. ``I went to see a lot of people's cabarets, and it was when they talked about themselves that I enjoyed it most. I liked getting to know somebody new.''

She'll get back to Broadway, but in what role, Egan isn't entirely sure.

``It probably hasn't been written yet,'' she says. ``I'm finally growing mature enough to play these leading women instead of these ingenues. I've been lucky that I've grown from Belle, which was pretty straightforward, to progressively more complicated characters.''

``SUSAN EGAN BENEFIT FOR YOUNG ACTORS COMPANY''

Where: Madrid Theater, 21622 Sherman Way, Canoga Park.

When: 8 p.m. Friday.

Tickets: $30 to $35. Call [phone]

``SHOW BOAT''

Where: Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Avenue., Hollywood.

When: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 5.

Tickets: $3 to $110. Call [phone].

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Photo:

``I've gone as far as I can go on Broadway without being a name,'' says 31-year-old singer-actress

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer