Actor Brian McKay, who co-stars in an upcoming Broadway musical comedy about con artists, said he's only been scammed one time while walking up Eighth Avenue in New York.
"I saw a guy running the three-card game - he shuffles the card and you've got to spot the ace, and I watched and watched and said, 'That's easy. It's impossible not to spot the ace,'" McKay said. "I lost 20 bucks and it took me a full day to realize what happened. I've been very fortunate. I've never been the victim of any kind of scam, but maybe I have been and I was too stupid to know it, in which case I'm thrilled with my ignorance."
"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," based off the 1988 movie starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine, comes to Popejoy Hall this weekend. It has garnered 11 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical.
The play centers on Lawrence Jameson (McKay), who earns his wealth talking rich women out of their money, and Stephen Patterson (Freddy Benson), who swindles women by making up stories about his ailing grandmother. They decide the French Riviera town isn't big enough for the two of them, so they make a bet that the first one to scam $50,000 out of a certain heiress can stay and the other has to move away. Madness ensues.
"The main difference between Freddy and Lawrence is Lawrence is more accomplished and high-stakes," Patterson said. "Freddy's kind of a small-time crook: 100 bucks here and there. One thousand bucks is a big-time score for ol' Freddy. When he meets Lawrence, he sees there's a larger, grander world out there. He's pleading with Lawrence to show him the ropes.. We're one-upping each other until the end of the show."
McKay was an avid fan of the movie.
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"It was a huge breakthrough role for Steve Martin," he said. "It's wonderfully funny. The audiences laugh from the time it starts to the time it ends. I was thrilled to be asked to do it. I didn't have to think about it at all - I had to clear two projects."
McKay's character is suave and sly, a song-and-dance man who dances soft-shoe. His sidekick is the chief of police.
"He does some investigation and finds out some backgrounds on these wealthy widows and gives me the information, so when I meet them, I have all this background information I can use to find out how to make them respond to my scam," he said. "To a lesser or greater extent, they believe what they're doing is not that bad. We find out that Lawrence in the show is a man of conscience. The first thing he does is take out a roll of banknotes he marks for the local charity. He supports a good deal of infrastructure of this area of the Riviera. I believe when Lawrence dies, God is going to let him into heaven."
Patterson also said his character won't be eternally punished for his behavior.
"You could easily be disgusted by Freddy, but he's a good guy," Patterson said. "That's the challenge - making him a good guy. I tend to go in pretty heartily with my friendships and relationships and give people the benefit of the doubt. If we can trust, we find honesty and create good relationships."
'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'
Friday, 8 p.m.
Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m.
Sunday, 2 and 7:30 p.m.
Popejoy Hall
$30-$55
Tickets available at the Bookstore or by phone at (505) 925-5858
