Ice Man on Stage

Val Kilmer talks Citizen Twain, legacy and love for Dallas theaters

“I was born modest, but it didn’t last.”

“If you can’t get a compliment any other way, give yourself one.”

“I’m not an American, I’m the American.”

Val Kilmer is laughing while he says these quotes, the folksy Southern drawl of Mark Twain replacing the voice known to many as Jim Morrison, Doc Holliday or Batman. When the actor talks about Twain, a classic American figure he has spent more than 10 years researching, it’s hard for Kilmer not to slip into character.

When he brings his one-man show Citizen Twain to the Wyly Theatre beginning April 18, Kilmer will inhabit more than simply Twain’s voice. It’s a total transformation, complete with a prosthetic nose, bushy beard and full Colonel Sanders suit.

“Two of my favorite theaters in the whole country are there in Dallas — the Kalita Humphreys and the Wyly — so I’m very excited to go there,” Kilmer says.

After first workshopping the show in Los Angeles, Kilmer selected Dallas as the second of only four cities to receive the new work, which in addition to headlining he also wrote and directed. The play is a constantly changing piece of art, he explained over the phone from LA, and Dallas seemed like a place that would be receptive to the give-and-take Kilmer expects from his audiences.

“Theater is all about the audience, and Dallas is just the right combination of intellect and Southern hospitality,” he says. “It felt like the right place to start doing the play and touring around. Two of my favorite theaters in the whole country are there in Dallas — the Kalita Humphreys and the Wyly — so I’m very excited to go there.”

But how did this deep fascination with “America’s narrator” come about? While diving into research for a movie project centering on the intellectual battle between Twain and Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, Kilmer was struck by the famous humorist’s wholly original view of the world.

“He doesn't shy away from our faults and flaws, like dealing with greed and racism,” says Kilmer. “In his book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he probably did as much or more as a private citizen. ... It's really hard to imagine someone who contributed more to coming to grips with such an important, crucial subject as racism. He's very grand, and very petty, and very funny, and mean. He really represents America.”

In addition to exploring Twain’s view on everything from politics to death, love, money, watermelons, God, racism and cats during the solo play, Kilmer also participates in a post-show talk-back while his extensive makeup is being removed. Those, he admits, started out as a happy accident.

“We were running late one night [for a meet-and-greet, the proceeds of which allow Kilmer to donate show tickets to veterans], and I said to my brother, ‘I don't know what to do,’ and he said, ‘Just take your makeup off onstage.’ So it was kind of a lark the first time,” Kilmer explains.

“The play is a lot about identity, because Mark Twain is this pen name for Samuel Clemens, and I am using that as a convenience to talk about the difference between the two personas. This is a guy who loved being famous, but he was also a very devoted family man. So this part about duality ended up being a really fun moment onstage when I — and I haven't thought about how to say this yet — when I ‘unbecome’ Mark Twain,” Kilmer says.

“I love talking to people, I'm always trying to make the play better and improve my craft, so I like asking questions and the talk-backs have just been fantastic.”

Kilmer is also aware of his own public persona. An explosive early career — Top Gun, Real Genius, Willow — gave way to more offbeat and experimental projects as Kilmer searched for the right roles with which to challenge himself. This return to the stage allows him to give back to veterans while exploring the life and thoughts of a man he so obviously holds in high regard.

“My whole reason for doing the play is because I care very much about America, and I care about the legacy that I'll leave my children, and the dialogue that comes out of conversations centered around Mark Twain is really honest. There's a particular attitude Mark Twain has about viewing life positively yet realistically that's very healthy.”

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Citizen Twain plays the Wyly Theatre April 18-21.

Kilmer? Or Twain? Hard to tell.

Photo courtesy of AT&T Performing Arts Center

Kilmer? Or Twain? Hard to tell.

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RIP Albert

Colorful and iconoclastic Dallas artist Albert Scherbarth dies at 70

Courtesy

Dallas artist Albert Scherbarth

Dallas artist Albert Scherbarth, known for his jubilant creativity which he displayed in a wide range of media, died on February 18; he was 70 years old. According to friends, he suffered a heart attack.

Scherbarth's myriad "canvases" ranged from printmaking to furniture to steel and metal working. He was a colorful presence in the Dallas art scene with a shock of thick hair that stood tall, definitive horn-rimmed glasses, and an unfiltered, no-nonsense personal style.

He was also a key figure in The Cedars district: an urban pioneer who settled in the area directly south of downtown Dallas in the early '80s when the neighborhood was a mostly-deserted collection of abandoned warehouses, before it became a major art nexus.

A post by Lee Harvey's, the Cedars District bar, said that "Some people don’t just live in a neighborhood — they leave their mark on it. Albert did exactly that. Through his art, his presence, and his time at our bar, he became part of the story here. We’ll miss him more than we can say. Rest easy Bert."

He was a real character, as well — a stocky physical presence (he played football in high school) who'd fix his stare upon you as if you were a critter to be studied.

One friend said, "I always feel that Albert is going to spring some meta shit on me every time i see him and he rarely disappoints. What a cool cat."

A native of Nebraska, Scherbarth moved to Dallas in 1979 to earn a master's in fine arts at the University of Dallas, Irving. After graduating in 1981, he began teaching in the community college district, including Brookhaven College, Northlake College, University of Texas at Dallas, and the Creative Art Center, as well as at Dallas' Arts Magnet.

Sculpture by Albert Scherbarth which appeared at the State Fair of Texas in 2018.Laura Walters/Facebook

After graduating from art school, he felt the need to do "real" work like his father, and took jobs in construction and woodwork, which helped shape the very physical nature of his art.

He was one of the early and many artists who resided in the Continental Gin Building, where he worked on his designs and commissions, fabricated other artists’ ideas, and helped galleries with installations, crating, and shipping.

Through the years he made furniture, got into fused and cast glass, poured concrete countertops, and painted, including a successful era of doing giant flower paintings. In his latter years, he acquired a welding machine and worked with builders, designers, and architects constructing screens, fences, furniture, and sculptures.

His works around town include a giant wine tree for Fleming Steakhouse in Frisco, and a sculpture named, "Cecil, age 12" up on Henderson Avenue at Capital Street which was was a finalists for the Henderson Art Prize. He also worked on the famed Bowler Hat sculpture in the Cedars.

In an interview with Voyage Dallas, he said, "I’m constantly looking for more meaning and more permanence in the work that I’m doing," and acknowledged that "I’ve been very, very fortunate to get a lot of really great commissions over the years. I’ve sold a lot of work and fallen into great studio situations – large spaces, cheap rent and wonderful landlords. Today, I think my ignorance of all the pitfalls ahead allowed me to storm through life and I have a certain stubbornness, a dogged determination to succeed."

"My grandfathers died before I came of age, my father died, my favorite uncle died so there was not much in the way of male guidance or perspective on how to be a man, so I’ve just kind of made it up on my own, stumbling through, winging it and I’m still alive, amazingly enough."

deaths artists