He's not Doogie Howser, the kid doctor, anymore. Neil Patrick Harris has been signed to play the lead in the West Coast run of the Broadway hit "Rent"

Variety reports that he'll play Mark, the filmmaer who narrates the show. Harris wil start in "Rent" in July at the La Jolla Playhouse and then take it to Los Angeles in September.

Harris, who was just a kid when he starred in "Doogie Howser, M.D." recently finished a couple of movies called "Shakespeare's Sister" and "Starship Troopers."

Variety 5/13/97