STRICTLY ON BACKGROUND, PT. 58: "ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING" (SEASON 3, EPISODE 10)

There are some shows I want to work on just because it means a paycheck, and others where it means a paycheck and a likely cool experience. 

Only Murders in the Building was the latter. The problem was the few extras they wanted most of the time tended to be union. An exception was a rainy overnight shoot on the Staten Island ferry in the middle of February, which was a no-go for me. I mean, does that sound appealing to you? Another was a three-day job in April on dry land during daylight hours. I applied, I got, I showed up. 

Thinking it would be shot at one of the Broadway houses, which would make for a convenient 10-minute subway commute, I was surprised to learn we'd be at the United Palace (nee The Lowe's 175th St. Theater, one of the chain's "wonder theaters" back in its glory days), where I worked on an episode of Elementary in 2017. And as with Elementary, I would be an Upscale Audience Member. 

Yes, I consider this upscale.

We were ushered up to the balcony while the crew set up the equipment and the director planned the shots. I had no idea who would be in this scene, so it was a pleasant shock to see Martin Short amble out onstage. The union actors were brought down to the orchestra section while the rest of us nobodies stayed in the cheap seats. As I recall, after a few takes of Short's number, Steve Martin appeared. 

We balcony folks were eventually brought down to the orchestra to watch Martin (as in Steve) do his tongue-twister song. Our applause was genuine. Following his number, Martin squinted at the audience (taking up all of five rows on one side of the orchestra area) and said, "Look, Marty, it's a sold-out house!" Short joked, "You really know how to bring out a crowd. You're a wild and crazy has-been." This was great -- not only were we being paid to watch these guys work, they were also goofing around for us. 

A few minutes later, they did another number from the show with others from the show. In the middle of that piece, an actress unexpectedly appeared from out of nowhere. Wait -- is that... who I think it is?  Yes, it was Meryl Streep. It's times like this that background work becomes kind of special. Hearing her sing a lullaby several times over the next few day was a treat and a half. Who knew Meryl Streep was such a good singer? (The actors sang live for some takes, lip-synched for others.)

Doing an excellent job pretending I don't 
notice one of the stars breezing past.

The director filmed a lot of reaction shots of the audience, so when my episode finally aired, I was expecting great things -- which is often a mistake, as it was this time. Only two of mine were used. In the first, I'm on the left, perusing my playbill, when Jackie Hoffman walks down the aisle to take her seat next to Matthew Broderick (Oh, did I forget to mention him earlier? I'm so sorry!). Even though the playbill was never seen in close-up, the information inside corresponded to that of the musical. Now you know where the budget on these shows go to.

One more seat to the left and it would have been
curtains for me.

In my second appearance, I had magically gone from the third row from the rear on the left to the fourth from the front on the right, when we're reacting to the Streep's lullaby. I'm on the far left looking thoughtful with my fingers to my chin. The director shot three or four reaction shots here, but this was the only one used. 

This will be my next Christmas card.

Only Murders in the Building was one of my favorite background experiences. I even got to pose in front of a poster for the show-within-the-show. It was also my final job before the WGA strike commenced two weeks later. I'm grateful the show wrapped when it did, giving us a chance to see Martin, Short, and Streep strut their stuff. 

But if I had been paying closer attention to a line of dialogue Steve Martin shouted, I would have learned who the killer was. That's what happens when you're busy being starstruck for three days.

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