Two years after "Frasier" ended its 11-season run, David Hyde Pierce says he's in no rush to get back on another TV show — at least while he can still sing and dance.
Pierce has found a new home on stage doing musical theater — something he was only able to dabble in while the hit TV sitcom was on hiatus.
"I love doing this. I don't envisage going back to television any time soon," Pierce told Associated Press Radio in a recent interview.
"But I also know there's going to come a time when I'm not going to have the energy to be able to do musicals," he added.
Pierce performed last year in the hit musical "Monty Python's Spamalot," inspired by the film comedy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
Now, he is starring in "Curtains," a musical comedy by John Kander and Fred Ebb that had its world premier in July at the Ahmanson Theater at the Music Center in Los Angeles. The show's run ends on Sept. 10, but the producers expect to take the play to Broadway with the same cast.
Pierce plays homicide detective Frank Cioffi in "Curtains," which is set in 1950s Boston. His character sets out to investigate the mysterious death of the production's leading lady, even as the rest of the players emerge as suspects or are themselves killed.
"I certainly couldn't be happier than I am right now, and it has to do with the character I get to play, it has to do with the piece that I'm in, and it has especially to do with the people I'm working with," Pierce said.
Pierce spent the last eight years studying voice and dance to prepare himself for the opportunity to do a Broadway musical.
Still, Pierce says the nature of musical theater — performing eight shows a week and the physical demands of dancing — is bound to take its toll.
"I love that now, but eventually my legs will fall off and I'll have to rethink my strategy," Pierce said. "And maybe television will come calling then."