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Dulé (Du-LAY) Hill, who appeared on Broadway in The Tap Dance Kid, Black and Blue, and Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk, makes his dramatic stage debut as Clay in the revival (Jan. 16-Feb. 10) of Dutchman, by Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), at Off-Broadway's Cherry Lane, the same theatre where the original premiered in 1964. (The first production featured Robert Hooks and Jennifer West; the 1967 film version co-starred Al Freeman, Jr. and Shirley Knight.)

"I've been aware of the play for about ten years," says Hill. "Last March, I was asked if I'd be interested in doing a piece of the play at the grand-reopening gala of the Cherry Lane. I said, 'Sure.' I did the monologue at the end. In September, they called and said they were going to put [the play] up, and I agreed to do it."

Set on a New York subway in the 1960s, the hour-long play details "the seduction of a young black man by a white woman [Lula, played by Jennifer Mudge]. Most of the play is two characters. Paul Benjamin plays a conductor, and another character comes on at the end of the play."

Best known as Charlie Young, aide to President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) on the NBC-TV drama "West Wing" (1999-2006), Hill was nominated for a 2002 Emmy and shared two SAG Awards for Best Ensemble. He's recognized "a lot of times when I travel, but it's nothing fanatical."

Observes Hill, "It was a great learning experience. I was educated by great actors. I was grateful for [the income], but it was priceless just being able to wail with these cats for an extended period of time."

Come April, Hill will start shooting a second season as Burton "Gus" Guster on the USA cable series "Psych." He notes, "I have a good time. It's a comedy, a nice change of pace after seven years of drama." He plays "the best friend slash partner in crime-solving" of Shawn Spencer (James Roddy), "a fake-psychic detective. The fact that he's lying is only known to his father (Corbin Bernsen) and me."

Born in Orange, New Jersey, Karim Dulé Hill is the younger of two sons. "My aunt liked the name of [actor] Keir Dullea, and the family's always called me Dulé. My dad's in the financial market; mom's an educator." He started dancing at three, and made his Broadway debut as understudy to Savion Glover in The Tap Dance Kid, later playing the lead role on the national tour, "with Harold Nicholas, Hinton Battle, and Ben Harney, who was later replaced by Chuck Cooper."

Besides Nicholas, a "great influence" in Hill's life was the late Gregory Hines. "I met Greg when I was rehearsing for the tour of Tap Dance Kid. He came to the Minskoff rehearsal studios to see Hinton. Greg inspired me. I was 10; he passed away three years ago. For 20 years, we were close, close, close. He and Harold Nicholas were all-around talents, which are hard to find these days."

Next came Black and Blue, in which Hill was a replacement understudy. That was followed by Noise/Funk, "first at the Public, then on Broadway." He also appeared in Shenandoah at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse and The Little Rascals at Connecticut's Goodspeed Opera House. Other credits include a Saturday morning TV show, "City Kids."

"Sugar Hill" (1994) marked Hill's movie debut, playing Wesley Snipes' character at 17. "I got to shoot a guy, and say, 'Good night, Sal.' Some people still remember that [scene]." Upcoming are two films: "Remarkable Power" ("a dark comedy about a talk-show host who tries to fake his own death") and "Whisper" ("a suspense thriller about a little boy kidnapped in New England").

While he was appearing in Noise/Funk in 1997, Hill met actress Nicole Lyn, also of Jamaican descent. "Our paths crossed again in L.A. a couple of years later, and we'll be married three years in July." Like her husband, the Ontario-born Lyn started acting as a youngster.

As for the future, Dulé Hill reveals an actor's strong sense of security: "We'll see what comes. Hopefully, I'll keep working." He adds, "I'd like to bring my tap dancing to a play; I've never been a big fan of musicals."

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