NEW YORK — First off, it’s pro- nounced “ee-PAY-thuh.” S. Epatha Merkerson’s name may be unusual, but it’s familiar to “Law & Order” fans. She’s played Lt. Anita Van Buren on the juggernaut series for 14 seasons.
A Michigan native and graduate of Wayne State University, Merkerson debuted on TV as Reba the mail lady in 1987 on the quirky children’s show “Pee-wee’s Playhouse.” She’s popped up in films (including “She’s Gotta Have It” and “Terminator 2”), but it was her first starring role, in the 2005 TV movie “Lackawanna Blues,” that blew away critics and earned her Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards.
She was also nominated for Tony and Drama Desk awards for her work in August Wilson’s Pulitzer-Prize winning play, “The Piano Lesson.” Recently divorced, Merkerson lives in Harlem and is starring in the Broadway revival of “Come Back, Little Sheba.” The limited run ends March 16, just in time to resume shooting “L&O.”
Q:You’ve got quite a hefty role in “Sheba.” As Lola, you’re onstage almost every minute, costume changes and all. She’s haunted by her past, timid, shy — don’t you wanna scream by curtain call?A: I’m usually typecast as strong, authoritative, so to find that kind of vulnerability is a real challenge. But Lola is not so far from me, either. I was married, and I understand how to be lonely in a marriage. I believe she’s in menopause. And that alone, hormonally, can send a woman into a tailspin. . . . But she’s muuuch stronger than she thinks.
Q: She’s a far cry from Lt. Anita Van Buren. I understand you and Anita made TV history.A: I’ve done over 300 episodes and am the longest-running African-American character on television.
Q:Van Buren doesn’t get a lot of screen time. Why do you think viewers so connect with her?A: She’s trustworthy. She accepts responsibility for whatever happens in her precinct. And she’s a mother — you see her nurturing victims, detectives. You see a full woman who doesn’t suffer fools. People appreciate that.
Q:Is Epatha a family name? An African name?A: From the New Testament. My dad said he had a teacher named Epatha who was influential in keeping him in school. But my mother said it was an old girlfriend of his. So that’s why she stuck in the Sharon Epatha. That’s what the “S” stands for.
Q:So you felt you were more an Epatha than a Sharon?A: My family always called me Epatha. That’s all I ever knew, really.
Q:So why keep the initial?A: Y’know why . . . when I was coming up, G. Gordon Liddy — I thought that was the coolest name. Now he was probably not the coolest person in our history, but there was something about it. I said, Yeah, S. Epatha Merkerson. I like that.
