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Tony Shalhoub, star and executive producer of the USA hit "Monk," has a guest-starring role at an Atlanta benefit next week. He'll be at the Theatrical Outfit's April 5th gala, "ATLexis 2008," on April 5. The reception starts at 6 p.m. at the Rialto Center, with a performance following at 7:30 p.m. at the Balzer Theater at Herren's.

Shalhoub, a three-time Emmy winner, and his wife, actress Brooke Adams, will join a cast of notable Atlantans reading selected excerpts from Southern literature. Shalhoub's sister, local actress Susan Shalhoub Larkin, also will be a featured reader during the performance, along with Brenda Bynum, recording artist Kate Campbell, Mayor Shirley Franklin, Tom Key, Dr. Carl V. Patton, Monica Pearson, author Ferrol A. Sams and WSB-AM's Scott Slade.

CHRIS CARLSON/STF (ENLARGE)
Actor Tony Shalhoub will be at the Theatrical Outfit's April 5th gala in Atlanta.
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A Monk-tastic auction package will be on the block during the fundraiser. The high bidder wins a tour of the "Monk" set, lunch in Los Angeles with Shalhoub and a slew of signed Monk memorabilia.

Tickets to the black-tie optional event are $110 each. Call 678-528-1511 or email samantha.benitez@theatricaloutfit.org.

We caught up with Shalhoub just as he was about to board a flight from New York to Los Angeles. (Unlike his paranoid character, he apparently isn't terrified of flying).

Q: How did you get involved with this event?

A: My sister Susan has worked in the Atlanta theater for years. She contacted me. I just loved the idea of this theater. I love the whole idea of this place and what they're about. It reminds me of a theater that I worked in, in Portland, Maine.

Q: Where does the talent come from in your family? (Shalhoub's nephew, Tony Larkin, also is an Atlanta actor).

A: It's a great question. I think it comes from my mother's side. My mother had an uncle who was a vaudevillian. When we were growing up he was always the kind of guy doing amazing magic tricks. My mother's father had been a singer. My mother, had she not had 10 children and devoted her life to us, she (might have pursued acting).

Q: Do you miss the stage?

A: I do really miss theater. "The Scene" (the off-Broadway show he did last year with "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Patricia Heaton) was fantastic. Prior to that I hadn't done a play for seven or eight years. Living in L.A. and having a family and being involved in television and features, it's a little tricky to slip a play in there. If I'm going to be away from home, be in another city, it has to be the right material. When I did "The Scene" it was a really good fit.

Q: Brooke has done a number of guest turns on "Monk." Do you come up with characters with her in mind, or does she take the roles that appeal?

A: She'll say to me, I'm ready to do another one (and start looking at possible roles in conjunction with the writers)

Q: In the episode where she plays a flight attendant dealing briskly with her neurotic passenger, she seems to really enjoy pushing you around.

A: That does seem to come naturally, doesn't it?

Q: How'd you get Snoop Dogg to agree to star as a rapper accused of murdering another rap star? (In the episode, Snoop's character was set up and Monk's sleuthing frees him).

A: We had to tiptoe around that a little bit. Fortunately Snoop Dogg was, I guess, a fan of the show. He was such a great sport about the whole thing.

Q: Will Monk ever solve the mystery of his wife's murder?

A: Oh yes. The writers swear that they know. They just refuse to tell me. I've bribed them, tried to humiliate them into telling me. I can never help anyone who asks.

Q: Why do viewers love a show about a quirky OCD-plagued detective? Does that say something about our country's collective psyche?

A: It's not surprising, especially in this post 9-11 era. It's this collective anxiety. This block of shows that we're going to be doing, we're going to reach our 100th episode. At the end of season 6, the ratings were our highest ever. The audience has been loyal to the point of being obsessed, which is fitting.

Q: Do you share any of your character's quirks?

A: I never considered myself having those kinds of severe conditions. Since I've been doing this show it's heightened my awareness, fostered another level of idiosyncrasies. I think more about stuff than I used to. That's not necessarily a good thing. I've kind of been infected.

Q: You're a huge Green Bay Packers fan (The Green Bay, Wisc. native holds season tickets). Were you sad to see Brett Favre retire?

A: I would have loved to have seen him go a couple more seasons. I was at the last game. It was a great season. I have to feel good about the fact that he went out on a highlight.