Review: Anthony Zerbe Does it With Mirrors

Emmy Award-winning actor, Anthony Zerbe presented “It’s All Done With Mirrors” on Saturday, Nov. 12 in the Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium in Carver hall.

The audience was that of an intimate size, with the stage having only a single chair with a spotlight shining on it. A light with “e.e.” was also visible on one of the curtains, which told the audience why they were there. Zerbe recited lines by the famous poet e.e. cummings.

“I’m thrilled that there are four of you here,” Zerbe said as soon as he saw the audience.

He went on to explain how he got into acting. He said at first he wanted to be a lawyer, “I used to skip school and sit in the court room, but then I saw my first play, Picnic. I walked in there thinking I was going to be a lawyer, and walked out knowing I was going to be an actor.”

Zerbe has no particular favorite poem by e.e. cummings, and cited many of his poems to the audience. These were poems such as “Introduction from New Poems,” “The Twentieth Century,” “Humanity I love you,” and “May I Feel Said He.”

At the end of his reading, an audience member asked Zerbe what made him want to travel and read the poems. His response was “I think feelings are worthwhile. That’s probably why I’m still alive, because I’m excited by all this stuff.”

Another audience member was also curious as to how Zerbe memorized all those poems. His answer was simple, “If you love it, you will remember it.”