Dan's Papers - March 21, 2008 - When In Manhattan

I know the column is called "When in Manhattan" but even those in Manhattan must head to Brooklyn on occasion to see something interesting. When you hit the other side of the East River you feel like you're traveling through another dimension, a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas, you just crossed over into The Twilight Zone...or Freddy's Bar & Backroom.

Channel 11 has been running "The Twilight Zone" marathons every New Year's Day for as long as I can remember and every year I avoided watching what I thought were stodgy, hokey, black and white tales that would bore me to pieces. That changed this year. Hungover, holed up in Springs with my girlfriend, channel surfing seemed to take too much attention. All the colors flashing, all the action and bells and whistles of today's TV made my brain hurt. That's when I resigned myself to watching "The Twilight Zone." The marathon was a tradition of hers, so with no strength to argue I watched episode after episode. Slowly, I began to understand what she loved about the shows. They're tightly written, creative, and for their time (early '60s) they were groundbreaking.

When I heard that there was a group performing live versions of "The Twilight Zone" I was intrigued. I knew there were other folks who possessed the same nostalgia for Rod Serling with his suit and cigarette as my girlfriend, so here's the scoop. March 21 at 8 p.m. "Number 12 Looks Just Like You," will be performed. Befor "Nip Tuck" and "Dr. 90210," before Cindy Jackson tried to look like Barbie and Michael Jackson tried to look like Diana Ross, there was "Number 12." The episode first aired January 24th, 1964 and depicted a world in the future where everyone received surgery to be beautiful. There were different styles to choose from. It was like ordering Chinese food: No. 12, No. 8, No. 17.

The episode begins in the waiting room of a doctor's office in the year 2000. Yes, eight years ago. Marilyn, an 18-year-old, flips through a family photo album as her stunningly beautiful mother reminisces about when she chose No. 12 - everyone's favorite. Marilyn doesn't want the "transformation," and her mother cannot understand why not. "Darling, what are you talking about? The transformation is the most marvelous thing that could happen to a person," she says, as if it's a rite of passage, like the Bat Mitzvah of the future. The entire show battles back and forth between Marilyn's desire to be herself and society's trend to be beautiful. Poignantly she asks, "Being like everybody, isn't that the same as being like nobody?" It is a bleak view of the future (technically our past), a vapid, superficial world with cups of "Instant Smile" and electric baseball. There is nothing of content, no Shakespeare, no Keats nor Shelley - a la Fahrenheit 451. What happens to Marilyn? Does she rage against the machine or does she complacently slip into life as a beautiful nobody? I'm not about to spoil the end for you.

The company has been performing "Twilight Zone" episodes since September. Reyna Kahan came up with the idea of live episodes after catching Action Movie: The Play in Chicago. She struck up a conversation with director Meredith Kaufman at a yoga class and the two decided they would forge ahead. Over the past seven months they have performed classic episodes like "The Living Doll," "The Night of the Meek" and "The Lonely." They play it straight - don't expect condescending interpretation.

As for Freddy's Bar & Backroom, let's just say it's not the concession stand at Lincoln Center. Okay, so it's a dive bar. But hey, why not? Considered one of the cooler (not in the hip and trendy way) bars around, Freddy's is known for its scrabble games and revolving art shows as much as for its beer. What better place to host the creative genius that is Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone" than a watering hole that isn't just a watering hole, but a portal to another dimension? If you're lucky, maybe Friday you will enter The Twilight Zone. Do-do do-do, do-do do-do.

Freddy's is located at 485 Dean Street, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The corner of Dean Street and 6th Avenue. Visit www.freddysbackroom.com for more information.