The leaves on the trees are changing from green to brilliant red, yellow, and orange, and days are getting shorter, which can only mean one thing...That Meadow Brook Theatre's season is upon us! That's right, the professional theatre in Rochester Hills is readying its stage for its season opener, Catch Me If You Can! This three-act play continues Meadow Brook's tradition of kicking off its season with a mystery, so mysterious that even our interview was shrouded in secrecy! We spoke with two of the cast members, Stephen Blackwell and Timothy C. Goodwin, about what audiences can expect from Catch Me If You Can!
In this exclusive Box Seat Babes, Blackwell and Goodwin discuss (what they can) about the show, making sure not to spoil anything too much about the plot of the play. Both actors explore what stood out to them about Catch Me If You Can and what made them want to audition for the show. Being a three-act play has come with some challenges, but both Blackwell and Goodwin discuss how Meadow Brook Theatre is working to overcome some of those difficulties while still making the show accessible and approachable for audiences.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Thank you so much, Tim and Steven for joining me today.
(00:02):
How are you both doing?
Good, good.
Yeah.
We are stoked to be talking about Meadowbrook Theater's season opener, Catch Me If YouCan.
Stephen, how's the rehearsal process been so far for it?
It's a lot.
In case you don't know, this is a three act play.
while it actually probably won't be that long, we're thinking it'll probably be aroundwith two intermissions, two smaller intermissions, hopefully probably around two hours, 15
(00:28):
minutes, which isn't bad, but I did the math.
I'm on stage for about 93 % of that.
It's a lot, lot.
Thankfully, I knew that I was going to be cast in this role uh kind of towards the end ofJuly.
So I've been just running lines and trying to make sure I have as much prep work as I canbefore we got to rehearsal.
(00:57):
We're in our second week right now and we're clipping along.
It's great.
I didn't think it was possible for you to have more lines and stuff to say than the lastStrangers on a Train.
Yeah, I wonder if it's a challenge for them.
I take it.
It's obviously awesome.
It's wonderful.
I'm not trying to take it for granted, but when I did read the play and saw it, it's like,okay, as soon as I possibly can, I need to start learning these lines for sure.
(01:27):
It's been pretty good.
You know sometimes you get into a rehearsal process, and it just feels like it's war, butlike this has been so so great uh Yeah, Stevens carrying a lot of this show on his back,
and it's really it's really great I've seen Steven in a couple shows and I was in cluewith him uh And I'm just really excited that I get to kind of be on stage with him and
just sort of Get to look in those beautiful eyes of his and have some scenes together
(01:51):
Yeah.
uh
I truly don't know how he has the energy to do half the things that he does on stage, he,I mean, if it's anything like Strangers on a Train, I'm already buckled up and ready for
it.
these things.
You've gotta wonder what happens when he gets home.
How do you dismantle this atomic bomb once you get him home?
You know what I mean?
You know?
(02:11):
Yeah.
That's a good question.
It's a lot of listening to Celine Dion going home and just letting it all out.
Yeah.
oh
So Tim, so what's kind of the story of Catch Me If You Can?
I uh play Inspector Levine, but this is about, you know, it's Labor Day weekend, we're inthe Catskills, and uh we have uh a uh gentleman named Mr.
(02:41):
Corbin who is uh looking for his wife.
His wife is missing, and so this play is about them trying to find Mrs.
Corbin, and she may or may not come back.
The rest of it, you gotta come see.
Is this where I point and then the link comes up to buy the tickets?
No call to actions, right?
(03:03):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm very glad you asked him and not me because there's a lot of, there's a lot thatcould be spoiled.
Well, I mean, I kind of got that from when I first, when they first kind of announcedthis, I was getting like, there's some like, Gone Girl vibes going on here.
There's a lot of that mystery that it seems like they really like to start off the seasonwith a mystery.
(03:24):
So I can only assume that, you know, it is gonna be, you know, a train from start tofinish.
Like you're just gonna get on and get going in lots of twists and turns.
one of the great things that's happening in our rehearsals right now is just like feelingthe pace of it and feeling the energy of it.
It's just, it's full steam ahead.
It really, really feels a lot of fun.
(03:44):
So it's great.
Hopefully people will be on for the ride.
Yeah.
So Stephen, who are you playing and what is kind of their narrative through the show?
I can give you part of that answer.
So, yes, so I play Daniel Corbin, an account executive for an accounting firm.
And when we meet him, he is two weeks into his honeymoon.
(04:06):
He has called the local inspector, played by Timothy here.
And he tells him that I'm on my honeymoon and me and my wife had a fight and she's gone.
She's disappeared.
uh The inspector takes down the note, says, OK, we'll look in it, and then.
(04:27):
This woman shows up and says, Daniel, it's so great to see you.
It's wonderful to be back.
I'm sorry we fought.
It's great.
And then I say, that's not my wife.
I've never seen that woman before in my life.
And that kind of sets off a full chain of events of what the heck is going on.
(04:54):
And there's a...
There's a local priest who shows up to offer some consoling to see if I'm okay.
And then he gets mixed in it.
And then there's bosses and mistresses.
And like I said, it's three acts.
it's Travis, our director actually said today, he's like, people will think they knowwhat's going on.
(05:17):
And as soon as they're like, oh, I got it.
There it is.
It'll be like, no, we are on a different track.
It's completely different.
in the best way possible, that it will constantly keep you guessing.
And uh the ending will be a nice surprise for sure.
It definitely sounds like this is leaning into that psychological horror side of things.
(05:37):
Very much so, very much so.
Like, you know, under a blood-red sky, you feel like something is gonna be happening toyou or something.
Yeah, Levine is, uh you know, he's part of the Catskills, you know, and I think uh he'sjust sort of trying to navigate this whole thing and this sort of, you know, like, wait a
minute, what do mean this isn't your wife?
And so, you know, uh as someone who's perpetually at the end of the movie going, wait aminute, what do you mean it was that person or that person?
(06:04):
I just highly suggest you start paying attention right off the bat and it's going to be alot of fun.
That way you can tell everybody around you.
I knew it from the beginning what was happening, but it's a lot of fun.
Good, good, good.
Yeah
You know, I pride myself on figuring out like movies and shows way ahead of time.
So that's, that's taken as a challenge here.
(06:25):
Ha ha!
So Stephen, what's kind of your process of developing this character?
um Like, obviously you get the script.
What was it that you really wanted to highlight as you're kind of reading through andseeing who he is?
ah Excellent question.
I am kind of like the everyman for this show.
The audience is kind of going along with me on this ride and what's happening.
(06:50):
oh They are wondering, know, just as I said, as I say, she's not my wife, they'rewondering the same thing.
Okay, she's not his wife.
It's almost songs of innocence that I'm putting out there.
So as we go along, the main...
focus I feel was to make sure I'm giving something honest that the audience can believein.
(07:16):
If that makes any sense.
There's a lot of twists and turns and to make sure that they don't get lost in the curves,they have to make sure it's like, okay, he's grounded.
No matter what's happening with everything else, all this craziness that happens, we aregoing through it with him.
When he doesn't understand what's going on,
We're in the right boat if we don't understand what's going on, if that makes any sense.
(07:40):
I love uh finding out stuff in rehearsal.
That's one of my favorite things to do.
know, sitting at home late at night, just trying to cram lines in, then getting to get onstage.
I like to associate the lines that I get in the character with movement and stuff.
And it kind of comes out through the rehearsal process.
And that's what's been really fun to me.
Because Levine is, you know, Levine's a little bit more cynical.
(08:01):
He sort of comes from the idea, you know, he's one those cops that sort of sings more ofthe songs of experience.
And he kind of knows the ropes.
of the law enforcement world.
And so when Corbin has these issues, he's sort of there like, but wait, but wait, butwait.
And so we get to try and follow Levine's logic of like, no, wait a minute, hold on asecond.
(08:23):
I know how this stuff goes.
This is how it should be.
This is how we got to do it.
And this is what's going to happen.
So that's been a lot of fun, especially because we have such a great cast that's so greatto play with.
I think you find a lot of stuff through play.
and we're able to do that in rehearsals.
So finding the character through those uh moments of play and rehearsal has been very,very,
(08:44):
don't even know.
Geez, is it?
Let me see.
Uh, one, two, three.
And it's also not like a, it's not like a huge cast.
There's what, like six of you getting to kind of bounce off each other as well.
Yeah, we have two more actors who are joining us next week because they have a latercontract.
So we haven't rehearsed with them yet.
But yeah, us main four, five, six, seven.
(09:04):
Yes, very much so because while we can kind of do basic blocking around it and uh thingslike that, you're constantly thinking when you get to October, uh what's it gonna be?
And then we have to make sure that we get their choices.
Yeah, it's everybody.
Again, it's, Brian, this is one of the toughest ones to talk about and I want to talkabout it afterwards because you'll come up to me like, how did you have that interview
(09:33):
when you couldn't talk about ABCD, you know, everything else?
uh But yes, it was different, but their choices will make it better when we get them next
our other two actors in too.
I can only imagine how hard it is the two of you are dancing right now.
Sorry, Tim, you were saying.
I think that also, I think it's exciting too because, know, Travis, he's directs prettymuch everything, but he is phenomenal and he finds those little moments and those pieces
(09:59):
with people and knows exactly how, you know, what he, what the vision is, but knows how tolet you guys do it.
So I'm sure that he's also kind of helping with those two people not there to find those,those moments and help you sing.
Oh yeah, 100%.
And we do have interns as well.
uh And they're definitely stepping up and stepping in.
(10:20):
And so we can actually block it and see how it's gonna feel like until we get the realactors there and the full choices they're gonna
I kidnapped several of the staff members of Meadowbrook Theatre.
I sent a ransom note just to kind of let them know I kind of got the vibe of the show.
And boy, they really, they really, they really thought that was great.
(10:43):
And here I am.
process I guess with Meadowbrook.
Okay.
I love murder mysteries.
Murder mysteries are so, so popular and there's a great reason why.
We always want to play the armchair detective that figures things out in the end, youknow?
And that's always been something that's very fun to me.
And when you can have that moment where you're watching a movie or a TV show or, you know,some kind of murder mystery and suddenly pop.
(11:13):
You get it, you understand it.
Maybe even before they explain it on stage, that's one of the greatest moments.
So I'm hoping that we can give that to some audience members with this show.
Yeah.
How about for you, Steven, what stood out?
Like when you were reading this script, what stood out to you and you're like, I have tobe in the show.
Um, it's...
Speaking broadly, it's like you're in the zoo.
(11:34):
You rope a dope and you're moving over here and you got this going on over here andit's...
When you finish the script, you almost want to reread the script again because now that Iknow that this, this, this, this, now I want to see how I can read it again.
In fact, there are several times in rehearsal where...
(11:57):
We'll just, you before the scene, we're like, okay, let's talk about this scene and notjust the word, let's talk about what does every character know what's about what's going
on right now?
And a lot of discoveries are being made that way.
And at the same time of saying, you know, just as a simple example of like, okay, if youknow this, how much can you show the audience?
(12:23):
oh
uh I just sort of found two lines myself that really helped me develop my character andhow I'm shading the play.
Because of course, you know, when you have like, you know, folks are gonna come see thisand there's a lot of boom and bam and rattle and hum, but it really kind of comes down to
this one thing that somebody said.
(12:44):
gladly shake their hand.
I'd be very impressed.
really for folks that love murder mysteries, for folks that love these kind of detectivestories, I'm a huge fan of the Thin Man films from way, way, way back in the 30s.
I love that stuff.
This is gonna be a trip for them.
They're gonna love it.
Yeah, and that's some of the things that we're having fun with are finding those linesthat's kind of like, you know, we don't want to, you know, we don't want to make this into
(13:09):
like a Star Wars thing where you got to read a book to know the movie to understand thecomic book.
But we do understand that some folks might be like, you know, hey, I want to go back andsee if I can figure out and see the things we've So we're definitely coloring some of our,
just a little bit, just a soup song of things for those folks who want to have repeatviews.
should give a discount.
(13:30):
Second time, half off.
Third time, 75 % off.
Right.
It's sort of like, you know, it's...
Oh, sorry.
Yeah.
Yes.
But that speaks to also the quality of the story because if you can do that and it can bevisible but hidden at the same time, like, I mean, that's a good detective story, you
know, when you don't see it coming and then you go back and you start just like, how didthese pieces go together?
(13:54):
Like, you know, where was this?
Where were the motivations and stuff?
you pick up when the protagonist or the antagonist, whoever the person is, there are allthese little things that you can't leave behind that they slip up.
They sit at one thing that they should have forgotten about, and that's the slip up, andthat's the moment.
And I'm just so excited to get those moments because I know that with this piece.
(14:16):
that word.
Now that I know, he's giving the whole thing away just on that one word.
So yeah, I love it too.
audience.
Tim, you were saying?
Yeah.
Hmm.
And I think that is what's so cool about this genre as well.
just like there is, it's always the little moments that you can piece together, you know?
And it's not every genre of storytelling can do what a, like a murder mystery detectivestory, know, noir.
(14:41):
Like there's something special about that.
And that's what I do love about stories such as like Catch Me If You Can.
The cool thing, and I don't know if you found this in your research, but Alfred Hitchcockactually had, uh he had the rights to this in the early 60s.
He was actually going, when this was still on stage in France, he was going to make thismovie right after Psycho.
(15:08):
But for whatever reason, I think maybe the play was doing too well and they didn't wannaclose that down, but for whatever reason it fell through, but you can look.
yeah.
No, didn't he do Attack of the Clones after that?
Sorry, I forget which one was the.
know, obtained the rights to Catch Me If You Can.
Plan to see that being filmed in wherever and they would attach some names.
(15:28):
Obviously it never got made, but just knowing that like, not just Hitchcock, but peakHitchcock, you know, that he was interested in that, like that's pretty darn sweet.
way for me to make an excuse that I'm still trying to cram a couple of them in.
It's always one of those things.
(15:49):
Folks are always like, I can never act.
How are you gonna know all those lines?
How are gonna remember those lines?
And I'm the type of person, and I've actually never talked to you, Steven, about this, butI record the whole show so that I can listen to it like a song.
He did Joshua Tree.
uh
the rest of it's just cake.
(16:11):
It's just fun.
Being able to play with folks on stage and being able to pretend to be someone else for alittle while.
That's all the good stuff.
The hard thing is just the basics of it.
It's just remembering the lines.
What's your process, Steve?
Steven?
Steve.
What are we, friends?
(16:32):
Ha
Hey!
Yes.
You're fine.
It wouldn't be great if I turned the camera, you're sitting right next to me.
What are you doing?
So for this one and for Strangers on a Train, where I feel like the lines have been waymore lines than I normally have, I've been doing an app.
(16:58):
There's an app.
It's called Run Lines with Me.
believe that's what it's called.
ah But basically, you record an entire scene, you read your lines and the next person'slines, and you hold down a button when it's your lines.
It remembers this, and then you can play it back, and it will just play the other person'slines, and then leave a pause for you to say your lines.
(17:23):
that's cool.
And then, I mean, there's different ways that you can set it up, but I do it that way.
So it's, I hear my cue line, there's a little bit of pause, and then it'll play the actualline, me saying the actual line.
So if it's the other character says, hi Bob, I'll say, hi John.
Then I'll hear myself say, hi John.
And then it goes to the next line.
(17:43):
end up in a situation like this, know, everybody at Meadowbrook is so great.
There's no one that's like, there's no dictatorship at Meadowbrook.
No one comes out on stage and is like, ah, thong baby.
You know, they're like, get, you know, they're just very, very welcoming, very, veryhelpful.
And so that leeway is given.
So I know that they're, you could, I think they're doing come from away auditions, Brian.
(18:06):
I think you just get the app.
Tim, I have to say that I always say this, like, I'm not an actor and I don't know how youguys do lines.
So the fact that there's an app to make it easier, I would probably freeze up on stage thefirst time I ever tried because the idea of having to memorize a whole show feels daunting
at times.
There we go.
That would involve singing and nobody wants to hear that.
(18:26):
Yeah.
oh But Stephen, how about for you?
Has the most challenging part been just the sheer amount of lines for the show?
Uh, that's, that's been the main idea, the main problem.
Just, just because the sheer amount of them, but once we actually, we got to rehearsalsand we were doing long rehearsals last week, I don't know if you know this, but we, we
(18:51):
usually had to do eight hours or six hours and last, all last week we did eight hourrehearsals, six days a week.
And it's just.
You know, talking with Travis and feeling out the set and, you know, all the littlechoices that you make, figuring it out.
uh It's coming together very well.
There haven't been any real uh roadblocks.
(19:13):
Tomorrow we have uh Anthony Guest coming in, who is going to be our fight choreographer.
So we're going to learn all of the different fights.
Spoiler, there's fights and whatnot.
So there, yeah, there will be some...
fights, some stage business, some falls, uh a gun might be pulled out in Act 1 and thenwe'll see what happens by Act 3.
(19:38):
I don't know, Brian.
I don't know.
I can't.
I'm not Chekov.
Okay?
I can't tell you what's gonna happen, but you know.
bullets over there, trying not to say too much.
Otherwise Travis is going to send him an email and like, what did you talk about?
uh
interested though.
That's the trick.
How do you, you know, how do you sell the cow?
(20:00):
How do you sell the milk without selling the cow?
Is that it?
Is that the phrase?
Yeah.
for sure.
You had mentioned that this was a three act play.
When you guys started that rehearsal process, was the idea to still keep it three acts orwas it already the idea that you were gonna shorten it down?
In the past, when there have been three act plays, usually they try to cut time where theycan.
(20:22):
The last one that I did at Meadowbrook was Noises Off.
And we did keep the three act structure, but the intermissions were only 10 minutes, whichsaves some time.
With this one, we were curious if we were even going to have some of the scene breaks orsome of the act breaks, because some of them
(20:45):
you know, between the scene break, the next scene will start and it's like, well, it'sbeen 10 minutes and so and so hasn't happened.
You know, it's like, do we need a real scene break?
Nothing has changed with the scenery or the outfits or anything.
We're literally in the same places.
And so we're like, why did the author want it that way?
So we mean, we are respecting that.
(21:06):
We are having the breaks when they are.
But even with that, when we ran it.
It's only 110 pages.
So it's not super long to begin with.
And like I said, with our initial runs, we're getting it like kind of two hours 10, twohours 15.
And that's with the two 10 minute intermissions.
(21:30):
So.
That adds an extra half hour.
day in your life.
Um, so it's just trying to, it sounds like you're kind of, you're condensing where it'ssupposed, like where there can be done.
I was first going to say, you know, I think it's great because I get to have a little bitmore water and a snack between things, but I already do.
(21:51):
It's Stephen is the one who's just like, I'd like to, I think what we should do is weshould have a weigh in.
And what we do is we weigh Stephen at the start of the run and then a month later to seehow much weight he's lost from being on stage, under the lights, in those costumes.
that's not bad.
And hopefully you're entertained at some point in there.
Yeah.
(22:12):
I mean, I've seen a lot of shows in about two and a half to two hours and 45 minutes.
It's pretty standard nowadays for like Broadway show.
Yeah, absolutely.
um With that structure, Tim, how do you feel about that?
Do you like having the three-act structure with the two breaks?
I'm sure it helps to maybe take a little break for yourself in between.
m
Yeah, and I am running around I was about to say.
(22:36):
Has there ever been a show though you're not running around?
Like I think like every show I see you on you are from one end of the stage to the otherjust doing laps.
would love to do a Beckett where I'm just sitting there listening to a tape or something,you know, just that'd be amazing.
I think even when I saw Sheer Madness at the very beginning, my friend turned to me andwas just like, wow, he's not running around yet.
(22:56):
And then by the middle of act one, you started running and were like, there you go.
So final question for both of you.
And Stephen, I'll start with you.
It's just, are you hoping audiences take away from this production of Catch Me If You Can?
at me at the end of the, at the end.
I just want them to be in love.
I mean, I think I, I, I agree with Steven.
(23:18):
Like, you know, you know, I just think it's going to be great to hear those audiences.
You know, I kind of got a little bit of a, I have a little bit of a unforgettable fire inmy heart for, uh for Blythe Spirit, which I was in a couple of years ago here at
Meadowbrook.
And that was such a great experience.
And
And when you're doing, when the audience is with you and you're doing good work,
just feels like a little bit more.
(23:39):
And I'm kind of hoping that this, just, I don't know.
I don't even hope.
I don't even have to hope.
I just know that this, I'm to come away from this experience being really happy.
I think this is a really special thing that we got.
I think the cast is fantastic.
I'm so lucky to be on stage with Steven and finally like looking him in those eyes.
Like I said earlier, and a lot of other folks that people are going to be very familiarwith at Meadowbrook.
Tyrick, uh isn't Tyrick Wiltz Jones this year.
(24:02):
uh
Ashley Wicket is in the show Phil Jones.
Did I say that right?
Wow.
I've just known him as Phil.
Phil Powers.
See, for all of this time, all I've just known him as is Phil.
Because it's Phil.
It's Phil.
But I'm just excited about it.
yeah.
eh
You
Bill Powers.
Thanks, Brian.
(24:23):
Powers.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, I've seen Phil in quite a few shows and now forevermore he's always gonna beScrooge in my head.
So like, he's stuck as the perfect Scrooge, you know?
Though he's such a sweet guy in real life, so.
Yeah, he'll be back for Scrooge this year.
As he should, he's fantastic.
Um, but yeah, there's a lot of great names.
I was, when I saw the announcement on Instagram and I was like, I've seen multiple people.
(24:48):
know Tyra Key directed Footloose, um, but everybody else has been on the stage sometimelast season, or the last couple of seasons.
And so it was just, I think that fans are, audiences are really in for a treat when itopens.
So thank you both for talking with me.
It's been a pleasure.
Um, and I'm super excited to see, uh,
What October holds for Meadowbrook Theatre?
(25:09):
Hey, you too.
Thank you so much for having us.
Really appreciate it.
Of course, absolutely.
um So Catch Me If You Can opens at Meadowbrook Theatre October 8th and runs throughNovember 2nd.
So get your tickets now and we'll see you there.
Thank you so much, Tim and Steven for joining me today.
(00:02):
How are you both doing?
Good, good.
Yeah.
We are stoked to be talking about Meadowbrook Theater's season opener, Catch Me If YouCan.
Stephen, how's the rehearsal process been so far for it?
It's a lot.
In case you don't know, this is a three act play.
while it actually probably won't be that long, we're thinking it'll probably be aroundwith two intermissions, two smaller intermissions, hopefully probably around two hours, 15
(00:28):
minutes, which isn't bad, but I did the math.
I'm on stage for about 93 % of that.
It's a lot, lot.
Thankfully, I knew that I was going to be cast in this role uh kind of towards the end ofJuly.
So I've been just running lines and trying to make sure I have as much prep work as I canbefore we got to rehearsal.
(00:57):
We're in our second week right now and we're clipping along.
It's great.
I didn't think it was possible for you to have more lines and stuff to say than the lastStrangers on a Train.
Yeah, I wonder if it's a challenge for them.
I take it.
It's obviously awesome.
It's wonderful.
I'm not trying to take it for granted, but when I did read the play and saw it, it's like,okay, as soon as I possibly can, I need to start learning these lines for sure.
(01:27):
It's been pretty good.
You know sometimes you get into a rehearsal process, and it just feels like it's war, butlike this has been so so great uh Yeah, Stevens carrying a lot of this show on his back,
and it's really it's really great I've seen Steven in a couple shows and I was in cluewith him uh And I'm just really excited that I get to kind of be on stage with him and
just sort of Get to look in those beautiful eyes of his and have some scenes together
(01:51):
Yeah.
uh
I truly don't know how he has the energy to do half the things that he does on stage, he,I mean, if it's anything like Strangers on a Train, I'm already buckled up and ready for
it.
these things.
You've gotta wonder what happens when he gets home.
How do you dismantle this atomic bomb once you get him home?
You know what I mean?
You know?
(02:11):
Yeah.
That's a good question.
It's a lot of listening to Celine Dion going home and just letting it all out.
Yeah.
oh
So Tim, so what's kind of the story of Catch Me If You Can?
I uh play Inspector Levine, but this is about, you know, it's Labor Day weekend, we're inthe Catskills, and uh we have uh a uh gentleman named Mr.
(02:41):
Corbin who is uh looking for his wife.
His wife is missing, and so this play is about them trying to find Mrs.
Corbin, and she may or may not come back.
The rest of it, you gotta come see.
Is this where I point and then the link comes up to buy the tickets?
No call to actions, right?
(03:03):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm very glad you asked him and not me because there's a lot of, there's a lot thatcould be spoiled.
Well, I mean, I kind of got that from when I first, when they first kind of announcedthis, I was getting like, there's some like, Gone Girl vibes going on here.
There's a lot of that mystery that it seems like they really like to start off the seasonwith a mystery.
(03:24):
So I can only assume that, you know, it is gonna be, you know, a train from start tofinish.
Like you're just gonna get on and get going in lots of twists and turns.
one of the great things that's happening in our rehearsals right now is just like feelingthe pace of it and feeling the energy of it.
It's just, it's full steam ahead.
It really, really feels a lot of fun.
(03:44):
So it's great.
Hopefully people will be on for the ride.
Yeah.
So Stephen, who are you playing and what is kind of their narrative through the show?
I can give you part of that answer.
So, yes, so I play Daniel Corbin, an account executive for an accounting firm.
And when we meet him, he is two weeks into his honeymoon.
(04:06):
He has called the local inspector, played by Timothy here.
And he tells him that I'm on my honeymoon and me and my wife had a fight and she's gone.
She's disappeared.
uh The inspector takes down the note, says, OK, we'll look in it, and then.
(04:27):
This woman shows up and says, Daniel, it's so great to see you.
It's wonderful to be back.
I'm sorry we fought.
It's great.
And then I say, that's not my wife.
I've never seen that woman before in my life.
And that kind of sets off a full chain of events of what the heck is going on.
(04:54):
And there's a...
There's a local priest who shows up to offer some consoling to see if I'm okay.
And then he gets mixed in it.
And then there's bosses and mistresses.
And like I said, it's three acts.
it's Travis, our director actually said today, he's like, people will think they knowwhat's going on.
(05:17):
And as soon as they're like, oh, I got it.
There it is.
It'll be like, no, we are on a different track.
It's completely different.
in the best way possible, that it will constantly keep you guessing.
And uh the ending will be a nice surprise for sure.
It definitely sounds like this is leaning into that psychological horror side of things.
(05:37):
Very much so, very much so.
Like, you know, under a blood-red sky, you feel like something is gonna be happening toyou or something.
Yeah, Levine is, uh you know, he's part of the Catskills, you know, and I think uh he'sjust sort of trying to navigate this whole thing and this sort of, you know, like, wait a
minute, what do mean this isn't your wife?
And so, you know, uh as someone who's perpetually at the end of the movie going, wait aminute, what do you mean it was that person or that person?
(06:04):
I just highly suggest you start paying attention right off the bat and it's going to be alot of fun.
That way you can tell everybody around you.
I knew it from the beginning what was happening, but it's a lot of fun.
Good, good, good.
Yeah
You know, I pride myself on figuring out like movies and shows way ahead of time.
So that's, that's taken as a challenge here.
(06:25):
Ha ha!
So Stephen, what's kind of your process of developing this character?
um Like, obviously you get the script.
What was it that you really wanted to highlight as you're kind of reading through andseeing who he is?
ah Excellent question.
I am kind of like the everyman for this show.
The audience is kind of going along with me on this ride and what's happening.
(06:50):
oh They are wondering, know, just as I said, as I say, she's not my wife, they'rewondering the same thing.
Okay, she's not his wife.
It's almost songs of innocence that I'm putting out there.
So as we go along, the main...
focus I feel was to make sure I'm giving something honest that the audience can believein.
(07:16):
If that makes any sense.
There's a lot of twists and turns and to make sure that they don't get lost in the curves,they have to make sure it's like, okay, he's grounded.
No matter what's happening with everything else, all this craziness that happens, we aregoing through it with him.
When he doesn't understand what's going on,
We're in the right boat if we don't understand what's going on, if that makes any sense.
(07:40):
I love uh finding out stuff in rehearsal.
That's one of my favorite things to do.
know, sitting at home late at night, just trying to cram lines in, then getting to get onstage.
I like to associate the lines that I get in the character with movement and stuff.
And it kind of comes out through the rehearsal process.
And that's what's been really fun to me.
Because Levine is, you know, Levine's a little bit more cynical.
(08:01):
He sort of comes from the idea, you know, he's one those cops that sort of sings more ofthe songs of experience.
And he kind of knows the ropes.
of the law enforcement world.
And so when Corbin has these issues, he's sort of there like, but wait, but wait, butwait.
And so we get to try and follow Levine's logic of like, no, wait a minute, hold on asecond.
(08:23):
I know how this stuff goes.
This is how it should be.
This is how we got to do it.
And this is what's going to happen.
So that's been a lot of fun, especially because we have such a great cast that's so greatto play with.
I think you find a lot of stuff through play.
and we're able to do that in rehearsals.
So finding the character through those uh moments of play and rehearsal has been very,very,
(08:44):
don't even know.
Geez, is it?
Let me see.
Uh, one, two, three.
And it's also not like a, it's not like a huge cast.
There's what, like six of you getting to kind of bounce off each other as well.
Yeah, we have two more actors who are joining us next week because they have a latercontract.
So we haven't rehearsed with them yet.
But yeah, us main four, five, six, seven.
(09:04):
Yes, very much so because while we can kind of do basic blocking around it and uh thingslike that, you're constantly thinking when you get to October, uh what's it gonna be?
And then we have to make sure that we get their choices.
Yeah, it's everybody.
Again, it's, Brian, this is one of the toughest ones to talk about and I want to talkabout it afterwards because you'll come up to me like, how did you have that interview
(09:33):
when you couldn't talk about ABCD, you know, everything else?
uh But yes, it was different, but their choices will make it better when we get them next
our other two actors in too.
I can only imagine how hard it is the two of you are dancing right now.
Sorry, Tim, you were saying.
I think that also, I think it's exciting too because, know, Travis, he's directs prettymuch everything, but he is phenomenal and he finds those little moments and those pieces
(09:59):
with people and knows exactly how, you know, what he, what the vision is, but knows how tolet you guys do it.
So I'm sure that he's also kind of helping with those two people not there to find those,those moments and help you sing.
Oh yeah, 100%.
And we do have interns as well.
uh And they're definitely stepping up and stepping in.
(10:20):
And so we can actually block it and see how it's gonna feel like until we get the realactors there and the full choices they're gonna
I kidnapped several of the staff members of Meadowbrook Theatre.
I sent a ransom note just to kind of let them know I kind of got the vibe of the show.
And boy, they really, they really, they really thought that was great.
(10:43):
And here I am.
process I guess with Meadowbrook.
Okay.
I love murder mysteries.
Murder mysteries are so, so popular and there's a great reason why.
We always want to play the armchair detective that figures things out in the end, youknow?
And that's always been something that's very fun to me.
And when you can have that moment where you're watching a movie or a TV show or, you know,some kind of murder mystery and suddenly pop.
(11:13):
You get it, you understand it.
Maybe even before they explain it on stage, that's one of the greatest moments.
So I'm hoping that we can give that to some audience members with this show.
Yeah.
How about for you, Steven, what stood out?
Like when you were reading this script, what stood out to you and you're like, I have tobe in the show.
Um, it's...
Speaking broadly, it's like you're in the zoo.
(11:34):
You rope a dope and you're moving over here and you got this going on over here andit's...
When you finish the script, you almost want to reread the script again because now that Iknow that this, this, this, this, now I want to see how I can read it again.
In fact, there are several times in rehearsal where...
(11:57):
We'll just, you before the scene, we're like, okay, let's talk about this scene and notjust the word, let's talk about what does every character know what's about what's going
on right now?
And a lot of discoveries are being made that way.
And at the same time of saying, you know, just as a simple example of like, okay, if youknow this, how much can you show the audience?
(12:23):
oh
uh I just sort of found two lines myself that really helped me develop my character andhow I'm shading the play.
Because of course, you know, when you have like, you know, folks are gonna come see thisand there's a lot of boom and bam and rattle and hum, but it really kind of comes down to
this one thing that somebody said.
(12:44):
gladly shake their hand.
I'd be very impressed.
really for folks that love murder mysteries, for folks that love these kind of detectivestories, I'm a huge fan of the Thin Man films from way, way, way back in the 30s.
I love that stuff.
This is gonna be a trip for them.
They're gonna love it.
Yeah, and that's some of the things that we're having fun with are finding those linesthat's kind of like, you know, we don't want to, you know, we don't want to make this into
(13:09):
like a Star Wars thing where you got to read a book to know the movie to understand thecomic book.
But we do understand that some folks might be like, you know, hey, I want to go back andsee if I can figure out and see the things we've So we're definitely coloring some of our,
just a little bit, just a soup song of things for those folks who want to have repeatviews.
should give a discount.
(13:30):
Second time, half off.
Third time, 75 % off.
Right.
It's sort of like, you know, it's...
Oh, sorry.
Yeah.
Yes.
But that speaks to also the quality of the story because if you can do that and it can bevisible but hidden at the same time, like, I mean, that's a good detective story, you
know, when you don't see it coming and then you go back and you start just like, how didthese pieces go together?
(13:54):
Like, you know, where was this?
Where were the motivations and stuff?
you pick up when the protagonist or the antagonist, whoever the person is, there are allthese little things that you can't leave behind that they slip up.
They sit at one thing that they should have forgotten about, and that's the slip up, andthat's the moment.
And I'm just so excited to get those moments because I know that with this piece.
(14:16):
that word.
Now that I know, he's giving the whole thing away just on that one word.
So yeah, I love it too.
audience.
Tim, you were saying?
Yeah.
Hmm.
And I think that is what's so cool about this genre as well.
just like there is, it's always the little moments that you can piece together, you know?
And it's not every genre of storytelling can do what a, like a murder mystery detectivestory, know, noir.
(14:41):
Like there's something special about that.
And that's what I do love about stories such as like Catch Me If You Can.
The cool thing, and I don't know if you found this in your research, but Alfred Hitchcockactually had, uh he had the rights to this in the early 60s.
He was actually going, when this was still on stage in France, he was going to make thismovie right after Psycho.
(15:08):
But for whatever reason, I think maybe the play was doing too well and they didn't wannaclose that down, but for whatever reason it fell through, but you can look.
yeah.
No, didn't he do Attack of the Clones after that?
Sorry, I forget which one was the.
know, obtained the rights to Catch Me If You Can.
Plan to see that being filmed in wherever and they would attach some names.
(15:28):
Obviously it never got made, but just knowing that like, not just Hitchcock, but peakHitchcock, you know, that he was interested in that, like that's pretty darn sweet.
way for me to make an excuse that I'm still trying to cram a couple of them in.
It's always one of those things.
(15:49):
Folks are always like, I can never act.
How are you gonna know all those lines?
How are gonna remember those lines?
And I'm the type of person, and I've actually never talked to you, Steven, about this, butI record the whole show so that I can listen to it like a song.
He did Joshua Tree.
uh
the rest of it's just cake.
(16:11):
It's just fun.
Being able to play with folks on stage and being able to pretend to be someone else for alittle while.
That's all the good stuff.
The hard thing is just the basics of it.
It's just remembering the lines.
What's your process, Steve?
Steven?
Steve.
What are we, friends?
(16:32):
Ha
Hey!
Yes.
You're fine.
It wouldn't be great if I turned the camera, you're sitting right next to me.
What are you doing?
So for this one and for Strangers on a Train, where I feel like the lines have been waymore lines than I normally have, I've been doing an app.
(16:58):
There's an app.
It's called Run Lines with Me.
believe that's what it's called.
ah But basically, you record an entire scene, you read your lines and the next person'slines, and you hold down a button when it's your lines.
It remembers this, and then you can play it back, and it will just play the other person'slines, and then leave a pause for you to say your lines.
(17:23):
that's cool.
And then, I mean, there's different ways that you can set it up, but I do it that way.
So it's, I hear my cue line, there's a little bit of pause, and then it'll play the actualline, me saying the actual line.
So if it's the other character says, hi Bob, I'll say, hi John.
Then I'll hear myself say, hi John.
And then it goes to the next line.
(17:43):
end up in a situation like this, know, everybody at Meadowbrook is so great.
There's no one that's like, there's no dictatorship at Meadowbrook.
No one comes out on stage and is like, ah, thong baby.
You know, they're like, get, you know, they're just very, very welcoming, very, veryhelpful.
And so that leeway is given.
So I know that they're, you could, I think they're doing come from away auditions, Brian.
(18:06):
I think you just get the app.
Tim, I have to say that I always say this, like, I'm not an actor and I don't know how youguys do lines.
So the fact that there's an app to make it easier, I would probably freeze up on stage thefirst time I ever tried because the idea of having to memorize a whole show feels daunting
at times.
There we go.
That would involve singing and nobody wants to hear that.
(18:26):
Yeah.
oh But Stephen, how about for you?
Has the most challenging part been just the sheer amount of lines for the show?
Uh, that's, that's been the main idea, the main problem.
Just, just because the sheer amount of them, but once we actually, we got to rehearsalsand we were doing long rehearsals last week, I don't know if you know this, but we, we
(18:51):
usually had to do eight hours or six hours and last, all last week we did eight hourrehearsals, six days a week.
And it's just.
You know, talking with Travis and feeling out the set and, you know, all the littlechoices that you make, figuring it out.
uh It's coming together very well.
There haven't been any real uh roadblocks.
(19:13):
Tomorrow we have uh Anthony Guest coming in, who is going to be our fight choreographer.
So we're going to learn all of the different fights.
Spoiler, there's fights and whatnot.
So there, yeah, there will be some...
fights, some stage business, some falls, uh a gun might be pulled out in Act 1 and thenwe'll see what happens by Act 3.
(19:38):
I don't know, Brian.
I don't know.
I can't.
I'm not Chekov.
Okay?
I can't tell you what's gonna happen, but you know.
bullets over there, trying not to say too much.
Otherwise Travis is going to send him an email and like, what did you talk about?
uh
interested though.
That's the trick.
How do you, you know, how do you sell the cow?
(20:00):
How do you sell the milk without selling the cow?
Is that it?
Is that the phrase?
Yeah.
for sure.
You had mentioned that this was a three act play.
When you guys started that rehearsal process, was the idea to still keep it three acts orwas it already the idea that you were gonna shorten it down?
In the past, when there have been three act plays, usually they try to cut time where theycan.
(20:22):
The last one that I did at Meadowbrook was Noises Off.
And we did keep the three act structure, but the intermissions were only 10 minutes, whichsaves some time.
With this one, we were curious if we were even going to have some of the scene breaks orsome of the act breaks, because some of them
(20:45):
you know, between the scene break, the next scene will start and it's like, well, it'sbeen 10 minutes and so and so hasn't happened.
You know, it's like, do we need a real scene break?
Nothing has changed with the scenery or the outfits or anything.
We're literally in the same places.
And so we're like, why did the author want it that way?
So we mean, we are respecting that.
(21:06):
We are having the breaks when they are.
But even with that, when we ran it.
It's only 110 pages.
So it's not super long to begin with.
And like I said, with our initial runs, we're getting it like kind of two hours 10, twohours 15.
And that's with the two 10 minute intermissions.
(21:30):
So.
That adds an extra half hour.
day in your life.
Um, so it's just trying to, it sounds like you're kind of, you're condensing where it'ssupposed, like where there can be done.
I was first going to say, you know, I think it's great because I get to have a little bitmore water and a snack between things, but I already do.
(21:51):
It's Stephen is the one who's just like, I'd like to, I think what we should do is weshould have a weigh in.
And what we do is we weigh Stephen at the start of the run and then a month later to seehow much weight he's lost from being on stage, under the lights, in those costumes.
that's not bad.
And hopefully you're entertained at some point in there.
Yeah.
(22:12):
I mean, I've seen a lot of shows in about two and a half to two hours and 45 minutes.
It's pretty standard nowadays for like Broadway show.
Yeah, absolutely.
um With that structure, Tim, how do you feel about that?
Do you like having the three-act structure with the two breaks?
I'm sure it helps to maybe take a little break for yourself in between.
m
Yeah, and I am running around I was about to say.
(22:36):
Has there ever been a show though you're not running around?
Like I think like every show I see you on you are from one end of the stage to the otherjust doing laps.
would love to do a Beckett where I'm just sitting there listening to a tape or something,you know, just that'd be amazing.
I think even when I saw Sheer Madness at the very beginning, my friend turned to me andwas just like, wow, he's not running around yet.
(22:56):
And then by the middle of act one, you started running and were like, there you go.
So final question for both of you.
And Stephen, I'll start with you.
It's just, are you hoping audiences take away from this production of Catch Me If You Can?
at me at the end of the, at the end.
I just want them to be in love.
I mean, I think I, I, I agree with Steven.
(23:18):
Like, you know, you know, I just think it's going to be great to hear those audiences.
You know, I kind of got a little bit of a, I have a little bit of a unforgettable fire inmy heart for, uh for Blythe Spirit, which I was in a couple of years ago here at
Meadowbrook.
And that was such a great experience.
And
And when you're doing, when the audience is with you and you're doing good work,
just feels like a little bit more.
(23:39):
And I'm kind of hoping that this, just, I don't know.
I don't even hope.
I don't even have to hope.
I just know that this, I'm to come away from this experience being really happy.
I think this is a really special thing that we got.
I think the cast is fantastic.
I'm so lucky to be on stage with Steven and finally like looking him in those eyes.
Like I said earlier, and a lot of other folks that people are going to be very familiarwith at Meadowbrook.
Tyrick, uh isn't Tyrick Wiltz Jones this year.
(24:02):
uh
Ashley Wicket is in the show Phil Jones.
Did I say that right?
Wow.
I've just known him as Phil.
Phil Powers.
See, for all of this time, all I've just known him as is Phil.
Because it's Phil.
It's Phil.
But I'm just excited about it.
yeah.
eh
You
Bill Powers.
Thanks, Brian.
(24:23):
Powers.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, I've seen Phil in quite a few shows and now forevermore he's always gonna beScrooge in my head.
So like, he's stuck as the perfect Scrooge, you know?
Though he's such a sweet guy in real life, so.
Yeah, he'll be back for Scrooge this year.
As he should, he's fantastic.
Um, but yeah, there's a lot of great names.
I was, when I saw the announcement on Instagram and I was like, I've seen multiple people.
(24:48):
know Tyra Key directed Footloose, um, but everybody else has been on the stage sometimelast season, or the last couple of seasons.
And so it was just, I think that fans are, audiences are really in for a treat when itopens.
So thank you both for talking with me.
It's been a pleasure.
Um, and I'm super excited to see, uh,
What October holds for Meadowbrook Theatre?
(25:09):
Hey, you too.
Thank you so much for having us.
Really appreciate it.
Of course, absolutely.
um So Catch Me If You Can opens at Meadowbrook Theatre October 8th and runs throughNovember 2nd.
So get your tickets now and we'll see you there.
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