‘Bobby Ewing’ swings in to playful mystery

Tuesday February 8 to Saturday February 19

Real-life couple Patrick Duffy and Linda Purl are performing in an exciting thriller set in the Catskill mountains.

Inspector Levine is called to a house in the remote Catskill mountains to investigate the disappearance of newly married Elizabeth Corban. In a bizarre development a woman arrives at the house claiming to be the missing Elizabeth but, instead of celebrating the reunion, her husband accuses her of being an imposter…

We caught Dallas legend Patrick Duffy (The Man From Atlantis;

Step By Step), Linda Purl (Happy Days; Homeland) and Gray O’Brien (Peak Practice; Coronation Street) heads the cast in this new production of the classic

Broadway thriller.

What can audiences expect when they come to see Catch Me If

You Can?

It’s different from the type of plays I did in school, in college and during my theatrical training. I did all the traditional things. We went through medieval morality plays through Shakespeare and the classics but I’ve never done one of these wonderful Agatha

Christie type whodunnits before, where the plot isn’t solved almost until the curtain comes down. It’s a great new rhythm for me to be in but it’s very similar, interestingly enough, to the sitcom world that I was in for seven years when I did Step by Step with Suzanne Somers because everyone is telling one level of lie to the other person and the plot gets reconciled in the last few minutes. And it’s great fun playing both sides of the character, the villain and the hero until the audience finds out which side is the real one. I’ve never done something like this, especially in front of a British audience, in my life before.

How would you sum up the character of Daniel Corban?

He’s one of the Mad Men. He’s from that era of advertising executives in the 60s, a womaniser, very good at what he does but at the expense of probably every relationship he’s ever been in. He’s Bobby Ewing with no morals.

Does the play present any specific challenges for you?

First of all it’s the rigours of it. I never leave the stage for the entire play and it’s exhausting but in an interesting way. Physically I’m not as exhausted as I am mentally and vocally. So I have to marshal my forces and live like a monk for the duration of the run, but that’s OK because it all serves the play.

The play premiered on Broadway in the 1960s but does it feel timely now?

I’d say it’s more timeless the way that a lot of great plots are. I don’t want to sound pompous but there are only about ten plots in the theatrical world and Shakespeare did all of them. It’s all about nuance; you put it in a different suit of clothes and set it in a different time period.

The play is dated because we’re doing it a la the 60s but it’s not dated in terms of the content and thrust at all. It’s a timeless tale of duplicity and intrigue, and in the midst of it all there’s a comedy element which makes it extremely enjoyable.

Your co star is also your partner Linda Purl [who plays Margaret Corban]. Have you worked together before?

We did a TV movie together last year Doomsday Mom which was after we’d fallen in love and were living with each other. But this is the first time I’ve been on stage with her and it’s frightening because she is such a consummate stage actress. She has such an amazing work ethic and such professionalism so when we got this job together I got cold feet at first.

It’s daunting but also inspiring.