Musicals and dramas add up to a well-rounded career for St. Charles actor/musician
Around 2008, as he graduated college, actor/musician Ian Paul Custer — who co-stars in Drury Lane Theatre’s “Dial M for Murder” revival — sought representation from a New York talent agent.
One prospective candidate asked the St. Charles native to name his favorite new play. He responded with “August: Osage County,” the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning family drama by Steppenwolf Theatre’s Tracy Letts. Asked about his favorite actor, Custer named Chicago veteran Michael Shannon, a founding ensemble member of Chicago’s A Red Orchid Theatre.
“They’re all from Chicago,” observed the agent.
“I said ‘Yeah,’” Custer recalled. “He said, ‘Why would you come here?’”
That got Custer thinking.
“If what I love is here,” he reasoned, “why would I want to go anywhere else?”
So Custer remained here, where his career commenced with music. As a child, he took piano lessons. In middle school, he learned to play the saxophone. And after college, he picked up the guitar. These days, if he’s not on stage acting, he’s on stage playing music with his band, The Real Time, which also includes singer/songwriter Briana Bower, guitarist Jack Morsovillo, drummer Lior Shragg and bassist Kelan Smith.
His love of theater dates back almost as long as his love of music. Encouraged by actor/director Donna Steele, founder and former artistic director of St. Charles’ Steel Beam Theatre, he began performing in community theater productions as a youngster. In sixth grade, he appeared in Steel Beam’s youth production of “Our Town.”
At St. Charles High School, he acted and played in the marching and jazz bands. In 2008, he graduated from the Theatre School at DePaul University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In the years that followed, he performed with American Blues Theater and eventually became an ensemble member. He also worked with TimeLine, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Court and Theater Wit theaters. In the suburbs, he performed with Marriott, Writers and Paramount theaters. Recent credits include Writers’ regional premiere of “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812” and Paramount’s regional premiere of “Waitress” earlier this year.
But Custer has never appeared on Drury Lane Theatre’s stage. Until now.
His debut comes in a classic: Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of Frederick Knott’s 1952 suspense thriller “Dial M for Murder,” about a man scheming to kill his wealthy wife. Custer plays Captain Lesgate, the husband’s sketchy childhood friend.
“This is going to be special,” said Custer, whose credits include almost as many plays as musicals. “I've never done a murder thriller before.”
“What a gift it is to be able to do both,” he added.
Custer says he approaches a “complicated” character like Lesgate — or one like Earl, the abusive husband he played in Paramount’s “Waitress” — with empathy, but admits that can pose a challenge.
“I do my best to empathize with them,” he said, “(to determine) why they’re doing things that are unacceptable. Why they’re so desperate.”
“I feel grateful to be able to play as many different roles as I can,” he said, adding, “Next year it might be nice to play somebody who isn’t so complicated.”
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“Dial M for Murder”
When: Previews at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3; 1:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4; 7 p.m. Sept. 5; 3 and 8 p.m. Sept. 6; 2 and 6 p.m. Sept. 7. The show opens Sept. 10
Where: Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, (630) 530-0111, drurylanetheatre.com
Tickets: $75-$150