He has dazzled theatre and film audiences with his portrayals of Latin men and women, including Latin men dressed as women. Now, writer/actor John Leguizamo, whose previous one-man shows include the hits Spic O-Rama and Mambo Mouth, premiered his newest, Freak, at San Francisco's Theatre on the Square in May, and the show was rumored to be reaching Broadway in the fall.

The latest news, however, has the show -- which changes somewhat every night -- still in the workshop phase and hoping to get more fine tuning in front of smaller audiences. Freak will play Sept. 16 to Oct. 19 at the Atlantic Theatre (on New York's West 20th St.). (The show must leave by mid-October to make way for an Atlantic production). Broadway plans for Freak will depend on the reception of the upcoming engagement.

The Off-Off-Broadway space P.S. 122 recently workshopped the show for seven performances (through Aug. 27). An earlier version was workshopped there in April.

Producer Gregory Mosher told Playbill On-Line (Aug. 19) that a Broadway Freak is, indeed, "in the works, but the nuts and bolts stuff of scheduling and contracts is still being worked out. John is hot, and the show is incredible, and we'd be thrilled to bring it to [Broadway] for a limited run, but the details just aren't there yet." Mosher praised Leguizamo as one of the few performers who bounce regularly between high-paying film work and live theatre. That said, Leguizamo will likely do a movie after the (presumed) commercial run of Freak, rather than a tour.

Leguizamo subtitles Freak a "A Semi-Demi-Quasi-Pseudo Autobiography (His Most Dangerous Work Yet)." In traditional Leguizamo style, the show, co-created and directed by David Bar Katz, reveals a slew of ethnic characters, including Italians, Irish, Germans, Koreans, Jews, Latinos, and West Coast "white dudes." Film audiences may recognize Leguizamo mostly for his Golden Globe Award nominated performance in Too Wong Foo. . .Julie Newmar. He mostly recently appeared in Romeo and Juliet opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes, and in his film The Pest, which he co created with David Bar Katz, who directs Freaks. Leguizamo appears in the films Spawn and Body Count.

For tickets ($30-$45) and information on the Off-Broadway workshop of Freak, call TeleCharge at (212) 239-6200. Tickets are expected to go on sale by the end of the week (Sept. 12). A production of Edward The Second by the whatmanwhatcar company slated for the Atlantic in the same time period has been cancelled.