Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 19, 1995 TAG: 9508220019
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: HARRIET WINSLOW THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Portraying Mahalia Sanchez, night clerk at the St. Louis bus station where the series is set, Torres is making the most of her outspoken role.
``I love that her honesty is out front,'' said Torres, who believes Mahalia is a feminist without knowing it.
``It's like when I first read Ms. magazine, which tore the top of my head off,'' she said. The actress strongly identified with it. ``It confirms your insanity.''
``Larroquette'' is all over NBC's summer schedule, sometimes twice a night, allowing viewers several chances to catch the witty sitcom. ABC's hugely successful competitor ``Grace Under Fire'' commanded far more viewers during ``Larroquette's'' second season, and while critics have called ``Grace'' light, ``Larroquette'' has been labeled only dark.
But ``Larroquette'' is getting brighter, and for the third season the show will move to Saturday nights.
Executive producer Mitchell Hurwitz described his plan for what he called ``the best ensemble comedy on TV.''
``We'll have a show that is more like `Cheers' but with characters that are not only multi-ethnic but with complicated backgrounds,'' he said.
Indeed, actor John Larroquette's lead has a complicated background. As John Hemingway, he is recovering from years spent in a drunken haze. In the second season, he discovered he has both a daughter and a son, who have never met, and he fell in love with a next-door neighbor, played by Alison LaPlaca.
``We hoped that the addition of Alison LaPlaca - I call her `the great white hope' - would appeal to middle America,'' said Torres.
Also in the second season, ``Larroquette'' drew more viewers by taking Hemingway out of the bus station he manages [at night, no less] and into his sunny apartment to focus on his romantic life.
But that will change in the third season, according to producer Hurwitz.
``We are going to have more of it take place in the bus station and get Catherine, the new girlfriend, into the arena with our considerable talent.''
Which is a good thing, because the supporting cast could use more lines. Torres, Daryl ``Chill'' Mitchell, Gigi Rice, Chi McBride, Lenny Clarke, Elizabeth Berridge and Bill Morey seemed to have had fewer lines by the end of the second season, yet some of the sharpest dialogue occurred among Hemingway, Mahalia and Dexter, played by Mitchell.
``I love the racial confrontation between Chill Mitchell's character and John's,'' Torres said. The two characters question each other's very different perspective through dialogue unusual for television.
Hurwitz admitted that the network would like a little less of an emphasis on racial differences.
As Mahalia, Torres is one of the most appealing characters on the show. The role of an outspoken, middle-aged, heavy-set mother of four was written for her.
``When we were casting the role of Mahalia, it was described as `a Liz Torres type,''' said Hurwitz. ``We read a thousand actresses and finally Liz came in and was great! She's so self-effacing, she kept joking about `when they replace me with another Mahalia.'''
Torres is well-known in Hollywood; ``Larroquette'' is her 13th series.
The actress began her entertainment career in college.
``I had a scholarship to NYU drama school the first year it was in place,'' she said. To work her way through school, ``I used to go-go dance until 4 o'clock in the morning.'' She made good money, but had a ``theory of sound'' class at 8 a.m.
She started singing and performing stand-up comedy. ``I went from opera to musical comedy to jazz,'' although now she sings in public for charity only.
After a long but low-profile career, Torres was pleased to be nominated for an Emmy [her second], a Golden Globe and an American Comedy Award after ``Larroquette's'' first season.
Hurwitz said he plans to utilize Torres as much as possible next season.
``We haven't seen enough of her,'' he said. ``She's just really good. And heartbreaking and funny. What we're hoping to do this year is find out more about Mahalia and how she's juggling these four kids she has and running this bus station. She is a complete pragmatist, whereas John is the dreamer. But being a complete pragmatist, the smaller victories in life are big victories for her.''
by CNB