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witt

From her L.A. home, the former whiz kid who lit up Cybill with her red hair and dry humor looks out on the city that can make her a star

It could be said that Alicia Witt-best known for her role as Zoey, the droll Gen-Xer on Cybill--got her first house for a song. "This is a great piano house. The arched ceilings make for really good acoustics, and the big windows help bounce the sound off," says Witt as she walks past her baby grand, the piece de resistance of her airy one-bedroom home overlooking the San Fernando Valley. "And the built in wall speakers came with the house. I can hear music in every room."

A classically trained pianist who performed for President Clinton at the Kennedy Center, Witt won national competitions. But after receiving her high school diploma (when she was only 14 years old), she decided to pursue acting. Witt was a true whiz kid. She could recite Shakespeare as a toddler, and says she caught the acting bug at age 4 when she recited the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet on the TV show "That's Incredible!" That appearance led to a role in the film Dune, convincing the little girl from Worcester, Massachusetts, that she wanted to grow up to be a Hollywood star rather than a classical musician.

Still, the music training came in handy. She supported herself by playing piano at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel until acting parts started rolling in And roll in they did: Twin Peaks, Four Rooms, Mr. Holland's Opus and the CBS drama Passion's Way. In her current film, Urban Legend, she plays a college student turned sleuth.

Witt, 23, takes her work home with her, practicing for auditions and fine-tuning roles in her spacious living room. "[It] gives you an open feeling. It's a great place to work on material," she says. "I didn't rush out and buy a whole bunch of furniture when I got this place." She enjoys the minimally furnished rooms. "I only want to have things I really like." A piano was the first priority: She knew she wanted a Steinway and tested a number of different ones before she settled on the baby grand from Steinway Hall in Los Angeles. "They all have different textures," she explains.

Witt was just as exacting when looking for a sofa. She had a specific image in mind and wound up hiring L.A. furniture-maker Larry Nova to custom-build a seven-foot one, with down cushions in olive crushed-velvet fabric and burgundy accent pillows. "I want it to be the most comfortable couch in the world, the kind you can just sink right into," she says, anxiously awaiting its delivery so she can curl up on it in front of the living room fireplace.

Witt likes her home's hardwood floors--"I love to hear my heels clack." But she also appreciates the carpeting in the small room that serves as her office. "It's good to have one room with carpet so you can lie down on the floor when you want to." And with views of the city from every room, she feels she has everything she and her boyfriend, actor Peter Krause, need. Except enough closet space. Splitting the one closet between them has proven to be no small feat, especially with her Cybill wardrobe, which was given to the actress as a gift when the series wrapped up.

When she's not working, Witt usually spends most of her time at home reading books or playing board games. "I know, it's very nerdy," she says. But don't be fooled by her sweet demeanor-when it comes to backgammon, she's ruthless. "Backgammon is really a gambling game, so you want to make money-at least to give to charity. At the end of the season for Cybill I was owed $400," she says with a laugh, remembering the game sessions on the set. "Actually, I'm still waiting to collect."

Whether or not she collects, her experience on Cybill has paid off in spades. There's a hot young redhead in town, and she's warming up to be a player. -Samantha Dunn

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