Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, November 4, 1995                   TAG: 9511030019
SECTION: SPECTATOR                    PAGE: S-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LYNN ELBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Medium

DEBBIE ALLEN'S BACK `IN THE HOUSE' AS AN ACTRESS

But starring in the NBC family comedy with rap musician LL Cool J isn't enough for this dynamo, who's also working on - take a deep breath - a stage musical, a ballet and movies.

She's co-writing a musical with singer James Ingram, an adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen play ``Peer Gynt.'' In the spring, she will collaborate with musician Arturo Sandoval on a Kennedy Center ballet.

Allen has two movies in development, one with heartthrob Denzel Washington.

And she's bringing up daughter Vivien Nichole, 8, and son Norman Jr., 11, with husband Norm Nixon, the ex-Lakers and Clippers basketball player.

``I've got a full plate right now,'' she says. ``All I want to do is get a nap.''

Is there anything that she can't handle?

``My weight, honey,'' Allen says. ``Trying to be thin is a problem. Time has gone on and gravity is taking over ... I have been busted in the middle of the night, standing at the refrigerator with the ice cream.''

Getting back in front of the camera has given her motivation to diet as well as ``get my chops back as an actor,'' she says.

Allen stars on ``In the House'' as Jackie Warren, a former socialite making a new life as a working mom after splitting up with her unfaithful lawyer-husband.

LL Cool J co-stars as Marion Hill, an injury-sidelined athlete who is her landlord and temporary nanny. Maia Campbell and Jeffery Wood play the Warren kids in the Monday night series (at 8:30 on WSLS-Channel 10) that debuted last spring.

There's a special guest star this week: Allen's sister, Phylicia Rashad, former co-star of ``The Cosby Show,'' plays her TV sibling.

``My sister and I had the best time,'' said Allen. ``She's my best friend.''

Rashad's character is a glamorous, globe-trotting photographer. ``I'm her dull sister, trying to hold my mark,'' Allen says.

In real life, of course, glamour and achievement haven't escaped the 45-year-old Allen.

She starred in Broadway revivals of ``West Side Story'' and ``Sweet Charity,'' has choreographed the Academy Awards for five years, and won a pair of Emmys for the 1980s TV series ``Fame'' (based on the movie in which Allen also played dance teacher Lydia Grant).

In recent years, her on-screen appearances were limited to cameos on the ``Cosby'' spinoff series ``A Different World,'' which Allen produced and directed. She worked as director on other series and TV movies as well.

Allen says she didn't consciously turn away from acting to work behind the camera.

``It seemed like the right way to go,'' she says. ``Not many women, or people, get that opportunity, and you've got to follow that path as it unwinds itself.''

The nudge back into acting came from musician-producer Quincy Jones, whose production company is involved with ``In the House.''

``You've got to get back out there,'' he told her. ``There's a lot of women and young people who respond to you, and it would be great to see you back in front of the camera.''

Says Allen: ``It's hard to walk away from Quincy Jones, that's for sure.''

Sweetening the proposal was the chance to work again with LL Cool J, she says. She had just finished directing him in a movie, ``Out of Synch'' (coming out on pay TV), when the series was proposed.

``I had really enjoyed him. He's a wonderful person,'' she said, and a talented performer.

``In the House'' is part of an increasingly rare breed, a family oriented comedy. These days, the networks favor racier shows with appeal to young adults and the advertisers trying to reach them.

A show aimed responsibly at children is the only kind for her, Allen says.

``All the shows I've been involved with have had a voice that speaks to young people,'' she says. ``Along with entertainment, you can make a difference.''

With LL Cool J's character, ``In the House'' offers someone who ``articulates a level of intelligence, humor and spirituality that can coexist with young people that are growing up with an edge and on the edge,'' Allen says.

``For my part, I think it's great to see a woman who is out there making it happen, who is not trying to define herself by a man ... She has her own little flock, she is shepherd of her children.

``I think that's a very powerful image,'' she says.