MANSFIELD — It’s been more than two decades since Scott Woodlee appeared on stage.
In a post-pandemic world, the pastor at Mohicanville Community Church in Loudonville is happy for the opportunity at a return to normalcy.
Even if that normalcy is the imagined world created by community theater.
A New York native, the 42-year-old Woodlee makes his Mansfield Playhouse debut on Friday night in the psychological thriller/murder mystery “Catch Me If You Can.”
“For 15 years, I lived in Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. So when my wife (Christine) and I moved here right before COVID, then COVID happened … and then after COVID I was looking for something to do to kind of de-stress and enjoy life,” Woodlee said.
The show itself is certainly not stress-free — for the seven-member cast or the audience.
The former Broadway show has action from beginning to end.
Scott Woodlee, the pastor at Mohicanville Community Church in Loudonville, recalled “The Clown’s Prayer” when asked why he considered a return to live, community theater.
The original author of this poem is unknown and there are several variations. It commonly includes the following four verses:
“As I stumble through this life,
help me to create more laughter than tears,
dispense more happiness than gloom,
spread more cheer than despair.
Never let me become so indifferent,
that I will fail to see the wonders in the eyes of a child,
or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged.
Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people,
make them happy, and forget momentarily,
all the unpleasantness in their lives.
And in my final moment,
may I hear You whisper:
“When you made My people smile,
you made Me smile.”
— The Clown’s Prayer, author unknown
It’s about an advertising man who has brought his bride to the boss’ mountain lodge for a honeymoon. He calls local police to investigate her sudden disappearance after a disagreement.
A priest also shows up and brings a woman who insists over the man’s protests that she is the missing wife. A funny little man who owns a delicatessen enters and before you know it there are two murders at the isolated lodge.
Woodlee attended his first show at the Playhouse last fall, “Wrong Window,” a far-different kind of murder mystery. It clicked a reminder button in his head that live theater is fun.
“I just wanted an opportunity to make a fool of myself so that they would feel better about themselves. … Kidding,” Woodlee said with a laugh.
The non-denominational pastor plays the Jewish deli owner named Sidney in the show. But it’s not an overtly religious role.
“I say a lot of Yiddish words, so we gotta have a little fun,” he said. “I haven’t done (theater) in so long, I just want to make sure whatever I do helps the rest of the team shine and not mess them up.”
Woodlee credits director Doug Wertz and veteran Playhouse veterans like Eric and Johnna Gustafson and Jeff Dowdy for smoothing the way.
“They’ve done well to get me on board on how things go here, so it’s nice. It’s been an easy transition … from zero to 60,” he said.
The Cast
Eric Gustafson — Daniel Corban
Johnna Gustafson — Elizabeth Corban
Doug Wertz — Father Kelleher
Jeff Dowdy — Inspector Levine
Scott Woodlee — Sidney
Kaitlyn King — Mrs. Parker
Gregg Ashbrook II — Everett Parker
Show information
April 21, 22, 28, 29 at 8:00 p.m.
April 30 at 2:30 pm
Tickets and Reservations: 419-522-2883
Box Office Hours: Wednesday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. and one hour prior to all performances
Order online anytime at https://www.tix.com/ticket-sales/playhouse/3818
Ticket prices:
Adult $13, Senior $12*, Student $8*
* Student: 12 and under — Senior: 62 and over
Wertz, who also plays the role of Father Kelleher, said the show offers “a lot of neat twists and turns” the audience will need to focus to stay up with.
“It’s a great psychological thriller with a very interesting twist at the end,” he said. “It’s not necessarily a comedy, but there are a lot of comedic moments.
“It’s a very well-written script and I think the audience is going to be enthralled because there is not a quiet moment. It just goes and goes and goes,” he said.
Eric and Johnna Gustafson play the “newlyweds,” Daniel and Elizabeth Corban.
“The fact they are married has helped them work out the roles,” Wertz said. “They already have that chemistry. They can play opposites and negatives and all of the other stuff, too.”
For Eric Gustafson, who has been doing Playhouse shows for more than a decade, the show offers something unusual for him.
“I haven’t done anything but comedies during my entire time here. This is the first psychological thriller that I’ve been involved in and it just was too good to pass up,” he said.
There are similarities in what he has done before.
“It’s all about timing. You learn that doing comedy. Dramatic acting is the same thing. It’s finding those moments and delivering your lines to get the best reaction out of the audience,” he said.
Since he normally is listening for laughs from the audience, what is he hoping for with reactions to his lines in this show?
“Silence. I want stunned silence,” he said with a smile. “It’s going to be different for me.”
He is happy to be working with his wife.
“It’s made it a lot easier knowing that she was there. She’s had my back the whole time. She’s doing a real good job, too. This is the kind of thing that she likes to do.”
Dowdy, who began in the youth theater at the Playhouse, plays Inspector Levine, tasked with helping to unravel the mysteries.
It’s his first time back on stage since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“The Playhouse did this show back in 1999, I think, and I helped run tech for it. I really liked the show.
“I didn’t remember a whole lot of it, but certain parts here and there just stuck with me and I really enjoyed it. I saw they were going to do it again and I was like, ‘Well, time to get out of my little hermit home and explore the world again,” he said.
It’s been a hectic return with a full-time job and lots of lines to memorize.
“I’ve only done one or two other shows where I had this many lines out of all the years I’ve been doing theater,” Dowdy said.
“So getting back into that and learning them and learning how to take the (director’s) notes given and adjust along the way. Normally I’m on stage for a little bit here and there, a little comedic scene,” Dowdy said.
“But playing a detective, you have to present yourself in a mature manner. So that’s been a little difficult for me,” he said with a laugh.
