Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Catch as Catch Can
Image courtesy of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Gary Cole is an actor, known for his work spanning TV (such as NCIS and The West Wing) and movies (including Office Space, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story).
He's currently taking on the roles of "Roberta Lavecchia/Robbie Lavecchia" in Catch as Catch Can at the Steppenwolf Theatre.
To watch the interview with Gary Cole, click the play button below (or click here to open the video player in a new tab/window).
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To listen to the interview, click the play button below (or click here to open the audio player in a new tab/window).
Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Catch as Catch Can runs through July 12, 2026 at the Steppenwolf Downstairs Theater in Chicago, Ill.
More information about the show, as well as ticketing information, can be found on the Steppenwolf website.
Mike Reflects
This was my first trip to the Steppenwolf.
The building and the theatre company are historic—I really felt the impact of the shows of those people and that place as I took the opportunity to walk around.
More than anything, though, I want to discuss the show that I saw. Unfortunately, the only way to do that is with spoilers, so if you haven't seen the show yet, stop reading here, and come back after.
I need to start by pointing out that I said "the show that I saw". Not "the show", not Catch as Catch Can (though that is the title of the show), but "the show that I saw".
Gary summed it up pretty well in the interview when he said that what one person takes away from the show may not be the same as what anyone else does.
While the show you'd see (or have seen) has the same title, cast, characters, dialogue, and pacing, it may not be the same show that I saw—that I felt. In fact, I'd say it's probably pretty likely that it's not.
But the show I saw is the only one I can tell you about, so that's what I'm going to tell you about.
The show that I saw started by putting me slightly off-kilter and needing to catch my breath.
There were times when I was able to do that, and there were times when I felt I needed to fight to keep my head above water.
The show that I saw was Tim's story.
Maybe it's because I've had my own mental health struggles, making it easier to relate to Tim's. Maybe I just read way too much into it. I don't know.
But when Tim was at his calmest, usually talking to his friends Daniela and Robby, I was able to relax and breathe.
Other times, things felt fast, hectic, and even (sometimes) a bit confusing, leaving me longing for a chance to just stop everything so I could take it all in.
But, like Gary said in the interview, that's not really how life works. It's not how things worked for any character on that stage, including Tim, and it's not how it worked for me, sitting in the audience, feeling the turmoil playing out in front of me.
I don't know that it was intentional, but one of my favorite things about a show like this is that everyone can have their own takeaway from it.
And that was mine.