At the time Stephen Michael Langton thought it would be cool to sign up to act in his middle school’s production of “The King and I.”

He was already in the choir, and had been dancing since age 8 at his mom’s studio in Southlake, so why not try something new?

“Little did we know it could take us all over the world,” he said.

And now his career as a professional entertainer is bringing him back to Fort Worth as part of the ensemble and an understudy in “Some Like It Hot” at Bass Performance Hall April 14-19. It’s the latest in the Performing Arts Fort Worth Broadway at the Bass Series.

“My mother’s very excited to see me at Bass Hall!” Langton exclaimed. “It’s the first place I saw a professional show — ‘Cats.’”

Langton, 35, graduated from Keller High School in 2009. He did a lot of work in Grapevine at Oh Look Performing Arts Center (now New Look). It was there he was told something profound that he said changed his life.

“It was a small black box, but it led me to some more open doors,” he said. “The director of Oh Look, Jill Lord, told me, ‘This is what you can do with your life.’”

And so he is.

Following graduation, he attended and graduated from Pace University in New York. He performed in various circles, including on a Disney cruise ship, where he said he learned to appreciate his craft like never before.

“That’s a job I think everyone in theater should do. You work seven days, you work your butt off performing eight times a week,” he said. “That ship gave me a leg up on what an artist should do to get a leg up.

“Plus, I was 23 years old, and I was on a cruise ship and seeing some cool places. Being on a national theater tour is very similar.”

He also came across some pretty interesting people, such as the time he recalled meeting actor Harvey Fierstein (“Mrs. Doubtfire”).

“He just came up to me and we started talking. All of a sudden I’m rubbing elbows with famous people who know who I am,” Langton said. “He was so casual, like he wasn’t a legend. I hope I can carry myself like that.”

In 2015 Langton got the biggest break of his career when he was cast in the role Davey in the North American Tour of “Newsies,” a major role he played through 2016.

“They had already played Fort Worth, so I missed that, which makes me even more excited now,” he said. “I’d never played to houses even half the size of what we got on that tour. But also, everyone in the cast was so young. It was such a new level for all of us.

“I’m so excited to have that at Bass Hall.”

Following his time on tour, Langton also participated in a “Newsies” cast reunion concert at Feinstein’s/54 Below in New York City in 2017.

On the road

Langton is a gaming enthusiast and takes all of his games on the road with him.

“I have a close group of friends I’ve known since I was about age 7 and we’re all over the world now,” he said. “It allows me to live in hotel rooms and still feel like I’m coming home to family each night.”

Langton was an athlete when he was younger, playing baseball and hockey, along with trying football.

“Baseball was all right, but I’d be dancing in the outfield,” he said with a laugh.

He still considers himself and his cast mates in “Some Like It Hot” as athletes.

“We’re athletes and this show is athletic,” he said. “There’s a lot of moving, dancing and jumping. It can be really difficult, but there’s nothing like it.

“I didn’t even dance like this in ‘Newsies.’ We use all of our muscles.”

After his run in ‘Newsies,’ Langton performed in regional theater for a while before COVID hit in 2020. Then he tried a different career as an optician.

“I thought I was pretty much done with theater. I ended up stranded at my parents’ house in Houston (they live in Denver now),” he said. “My partner at the time, she wanted to move to LA. I did not like LA.”

He has hinted that he is interested in some more film/TV work. He did some TV work at the old Las Colinas Movie Studios when he was a youth.

But he couldn’t walk away from theater. Then, in 2024, he found himself cast in “Some Like It Hot.”

“It was very humbling, being in that room,” he said of starting rehearsals. “I knew it was theater boot camp, but I was so glad to be back.

“I just want to give it all so much more than ever before. I might be the sweatiest guy on stage at the end of the night.”

Langton said the current version of “Some Like It Hot” follows the same premise as the 1959 movie that starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. Two struggling male musicians witness a mob murder and flee by disguising themselves as women in an all-female jazz band.

“Our characters are literally the same, but our show introduces many of the social aspects of the world we live in today,” Langton said. “It definitely handles relationships between men and women without just being a classic punch line. It’s not discussing gender identities just to be current, it’s genuinely talking about love.

“It’s a timeless message and people tell us all the time they’re moved by the piece.”

For Langton, it’s the longest run he’s had in a show, and he’s not ready to see it end.

“By the time we get to Fort Worth we’ll be close to 600 performances,” he said. “I’d love to do 600 more if they let me.”