Two venerable actors put poetry in motion

Scott Dickensheets

Friday, Jan. 10, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

That voice! It's deep and resonant, it's cultivated, it's on Line 1.

"Roscoe Lee Browne," it identified itself -- unnecessarily, of course, for, from the first syllable, it could be no one else. You've heard it on TV, the movies, TV movies, "Barney Miller," "The Cosby Show."

He was calling from Los Angeles to press-release about this weekend's presentation of "Behind the Broken Words" with his pal Anthony Zerbe at UNLV.

Browne's is a voice made to recite poetry, which is fortunate in terms of this show: "Behind the Broken Words" is a compilation of 20th century poetry and verse drama. Poems by Auden, Yeats, Cummings and Eliot are matched with scenes from plays. "It's a celebration of ideas and language," Browne says.

Play or poetry reading? We're still a bit unclear here. Perhaps a bit more explanation is needed, something else -- rrrriiing! Why, it's Line 2, a few hours later.

"Anthony Zerbe," the voice says, again unnecessarily; who doesn't remember it from his role as Lt. Trench on "Harry O"? He's calling with his own description of the show, and, perhaps moved by the subject, he's waxing a bit poetic.

"It's about ideas, beautifully expressed," Zerbe says. "That's what poets do, they express things we all feel, beautifully."

Let's get this straight: It's not exactly a play -- there's no plot, no deep characterization, and the language, not the actors, are center stage -- but it's not exactly a couple of guys declaiming poetry, either. "It's different from any poetry reading you'd go to," Browne says. "It is theater."

Theatrical poetry? Poetic theater? Color us confused. Help us out, Mr. Browne! "We don't act these scenes, and we don't not act them," he says cryptically.

Mr. Zerbe? "I don't know what it is. It's an unusual experience."

Actors!

Browne and Zerbe devised "Behind the Broken Words" themselves more than a decade ago. Both were involved in a program that sent actors to read poetry in Los Angeles schools. The guy in charge saw that Browne and Zerbe -- who'd never met before the program -- got along well.

"He said, 'Why don't you two do a show?'" Browne recalls. "We looked at each other and said, 'OK.'"

The two pasted together their favorite poems and verse-play selections. "As we put one piece next to another -- aha! -- themes were developing," Browne says.

"It moves along thematically," Zerbe says. "There's a romantic section, a war section, an anti-war section, a lyric section ... it's hard to put a label on it. It meanders its way through modern verse."

"There are many moods in this evening," Browne amplifies. "It's moving in parts, it's quite hilarious in parts."

"In this MTV age, everything doesn't have to be linear," Zerbe says. "You can go back and forth, which this thing does."

This thing was well-received in its New York City run 12 years ago, Browne recalls. Particularly gratifying was the comment, repeated in review after review, that Browne and Zerbe -- recent acquaintances, remember -- clearly had been friends for ages and were drawing on that relationship for their stage chemistry.

What wasn't the case then is more than true now. Let's let Browne open this session of the Roscoe-Anthony Mutual Admiration Society.

"He's really sensational, I'm OK," Browne says of Zerbe. Of the show's highlights, he says, "When Anthony does (Yeats') 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree' and says, 'I hear it...' it staggers me, because he really does hear it. He's so good."

"He's a great human being," Zerbe says of Browne. "It's a privilege to spend time with him. Imagine what it's like to be onstage with him."

What binds them so closely? "Divine folly," Browne chuckles. "That's better than saying we're both nuts. (Laughter) Don't say that!

"We both love language, particularly language celebrating ideas," Browne adds. Which is why they expect a smooth performance this weekend even though they haven't performed "Broken Words" in a year and a half.

"We're so secure with each other, we don't mind that we haven't done it," Browne says.

"All I can say is that it's wonderful to do," Zerbe concludes. "It gives me pleasure to do it -- more so than practically anything else I do."

Which is saying a lot from a guy who was in "Harry O."