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Amy Brenneman displays an artistic bent
Bergen Record - May 11, 1999
By VIRGINIA ROHAN, Staff Writer
"Mary Cassatt: American Impressionist," 7 tonight, HBO
There's something about Mary Cassatt -- and Amy Brenneman wanted to capture it on screen.
"I did a lot of reading on her, and it was one of these lovely experiences where the more details I had about
her, the more interesting she became. She was very complex," says Brenneman.
The actress -- probably best known for her Emmy-nominated "NYPD Blue" role as Officer Janice Licalsi --
plays the renowned 19th century American expatriate artist in "Mary Cassatt: American Impressionist," an
hour-long program airing in HBO's "The Artists' Specials" series.
Each production sets out to illuminate a pivotal chapter in the life and work of a great artist, through the
artist's encounter with a young person.
In the case of the unmarried, fiercely independent Cassatt -- famed for her luminous paintings of women and children
-- it's a surprise visit from her brother, his difficult wife, and their three unruly children.
Cassatt, who defied social conventions when she left her Philadelphia home to study in Europe, finds her ordered
life in Paris upended. Ultimately, however, she is inspired to paint the children.
Although there is obviously a lot of compression in the script, the story also has a lot of truth, Brenneman says.
"During that period, she was deeply affected by Degas and the impressionists, but hadn't found her style,"
she says. "Then, she started doing these portraits [of her nieces]. Nobody was painting children then, and if
they did, they were doing it in a stiff format. But there was such a sensual connection that she had."
The set location also added to a feeling of authenticity, Brenneman says. "Filming in Old Montreal helped,
especially living as I do in Los Angeles. You can forget what old stones feel like."
This month, Brenneman can also be seen in a far more modern TV role. On "Frasier," she's reprising her
role as Faye Moskowitz, Frasier's sometimes girlfriend.
"Faye's part of a two-part season finale [May 20], which is sort of like the end of a Shakespeare play,"
Brenneman says. "Everybody's got a girlfriend or boyfriend, but by the second half, everybody is alone. In my
case, Frasier's just too darn neurotic."
Still, their parting may not be permanent. "The writers said, `We love you. We love Faye.' There are very few
compatible partners for Frasier, so we may not have seen the end of Faye yet."
Brenneman, who's in her mid-30s, has one of the most fascinating resumes around.
The daughter of an environmental attorney and a Superior Court judge, she was born in New London, Conn., raised in
the Hartford suburb of Glastonbury, and earned a degree in comparative religions from Harvard.
Her college years included her co-founding of the Cornerstone Theater Company -- a troupe that customizes the
classics and takes them to the back roads of America -- with which she's still affiliated.
She also spent a semester in Nepal, where she studied sacred dances from indigenous priests, and lived in Paris for
seven months, earning her living as an au pair for two autistic children.
The actress -- whose first TV project was the series "Middle Ages" ("I really liked that show,"
she says) -- was playing St. Joan at Yale when she got the call about doing "NYPD Blue."
During the show's terrific first season, her Officer Licalsi was the love interest of Detective John Kelly, played
by the great but reportedly temperamental David Caruso.
"Whatever frustration or madness would come through on the set, it never came towards me," Brenneman says
of Caruso. "I just think he's a real original, and he just has his own rhythm."
As for her untimely departure -- after having rubbed out a mobster and his driver to protect her beloved Kelly --
Brenneman says, "The truth is, they wrote me out of the show, so I didn't really have that much say in it, but
I was very amenable to it. They had sort of finished the story line."
Brenneman has appeared in a number of movies, including "Daylight," and she recently executive-produced
and starred in a pilot, "Shades of Gray," for CBS, inspired by her mother the judge, who did most of her
work in juvenile courts.
"It's an idea that I had and brought them last summer. A drama, with a lot of deprecating, ironic humor,"
Brenneman says. "I play a newly appointed judge to the juvenile court, a newly separated woman living with my
mother, played by Tyne Daly. It's half work, half home, very much kind of a crossroads moment for this woman."
She adds, "I'm sure we'll get compared to `Providence,' and I feel good about that."
At the time of this recent interview, Brenneman and her husband, film director Brad Silberling ("City of
Angels") -- whom she met when he directed her on "NYPD Blue" -- were about to take off for India for
a three-week vacation.
"My husband and I are going to pass in this pilot and then get the hell out of Dodge," she said.
"While we're in India, we'll hear if we get picked up. I do know that it's quite a competitive field for CBS
hours. But I think my peacefulness is that it came out really well."
Copyright © 1999 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.
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