It's good to be a king

"I don't see him as mad," he says staunchly. "Eccentric, yes, but mad? No. And he sure didn't think of himself that way. He just wanted to showcase the beauty in the world, and help everybody else see it, too."

Granted, not many people give much thought to Ludwig (1845-1886), but DaPrile must, for he's playing the monarch in "Val halla." It's Piscataway native Paul Rudnick's 2004 comedy that's now receiving its New Jersey premiere at the Theater Project in Cranford.

Though the slight, brown- haired, blue-eyed actor is only 27, he's 10 years too old for Ludwig at the point when "Valhalla" audiences meet him. Ludwig was a mere 18 when the crown was suddenly thrust upon him. After Bavaria lost a war with Prussia, Lud wig lost interest in military matters and instead turned to beautifying the country.

"He built three monumental castles at great expense -- which was one reason the Bavarian people thought he was crazy," DaPrile says. "Later generations came to appreciate what he built because those castles sure became income- generating tourist attractions. They still are."

DaPrile mentions that he's not alone in assuming that Ludwig wasn't mentally unbalanced. "Once I got the part," he says, "I looked for biographies to read about him. One (by Desmond Chapman-Hus ton) was called 'Ludwig II: The Mad King of Bavaria,' while the other (by Wilfred Blunt) was called 'The Dream King.'" He gives a curt nod as if to say, "See? What did I tell you?"

There is another controversial aspect of Ludwig, DaPrile says. "The rumor back then was that Ludwig was gay, and in the play, he definitely is. His mother the queen mother is trying to get him married and produce an heir, because Ludwig's father is dying. Though they don't find him the greatest candidates, that's not the reason why he isn't interested."

Ludwig becomes enamored of singers who populate Richard Wagner's operas, not to mention the works themselves. "That's a real stretch for me," DaPrile says. "I've never even been to a single opera."

For DaPrile, playing the lead represents another quantum leap with director Mark Spina and The Theater Project. Three years ago, a friend urged DaPrile to investigate the company. He promptly got a role -- "of sorts," he says -- in "Betty's Summer Vacation." "All I was was an offstage Male Voice," he says. "I spent the whole play saying some pretty dirty things."

Two years ago, he had a cameo as a young German girl in "The Lady in Question" -- "right down to the long, blonde, pigtail braids," he says. Last year, he had three roles in the company's "The Skin of Our Teeth."

Not bad for someone who didn't even think about acting until he was well into his high school education. The Woodbridge native (he still resides there) was at St. Joseph's of Metuchen when a bunch of friends thought they'd try out for the drama club. DaPrile went along with the crowd. They didn't stay with it, but he did.

They may come to see him perform.

"Which means they're going to see me run around a lot, yell, and become a true and open free spirit. Ludwig was being himself in a time when people were very strictly regimented. Just because he marched to his own drummer doesn't mean he was mad."

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