“The Matchmaker” is the latest production from Missed the Boat Theatre, and it’s all about adventure. Nikelle Morris, who plays Dolly Levi, explained that her character enjoys making life more interesting.
“At some point previous to the play, she received a sign from God that told her that he wanted her to be getting involved in people’s lives and creating life and adventure and appreciation for other people,” Morris told Patrick Conley, producer of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show, for an episode set to air at 9 p.m. June 13 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
Missed the Boat Theatre is a nonprofit theatre company based in St. Paul with a mission to foster “vibrant, Catholic community” through stage productions.
Steve Broszko, who plays Cornelius Hackl, said his character experiences a desire for more adventure, something akin to a midlife crisis.
“He’s kind of at the end of his rope,” Broszko said. “He’s stuck in this little town with his mean boss and then sort of on a whim, he decides we’re going to do something crazy. We’re going to close down the store through very funny means. And we’re going to spend a night in New York and see what happens. And as you can imagine, Patrick, that’s when the chaos ensues.”
People familiar with musical theater may recognize that the musical “Hello Dolly” is based on “The Matchmaker,” Broszko said. The play is written by Thornton Wilder, a writer known for unique twists. Wilder’s focus, Broszko said, is making ordinary moments of life extraordinary.
Morris had never read the play before, nor had she seen the musical “Hello Dolly.”
“(I was) completely unfamiliar with it,” Morris said. “I came in with completely fresh eyes and we read the play, and I’ve never laughed so much in a play reading that we’ve ever done. I couldn’t believe how much I laughed that night.”
Before the auditions, Morris said she purposefully didn’t watch any productions of “Hello Dolly” so that she wouldn’t be influenced by other actors’ interpretations of the characters.
“There’s physical comedy as well,” Morris said. “There’s going to be people popping out of unexpected places. There’s going to be some pratfall-type things, a lot of unexpected things for the characters and the audience. And there’s a lot of little moments that are being put in there that not everybody in the audience is going to get to see. So, you might have to come back more than once if you want to catch all the little nuances of some of the things that are going on in the background.”
To hear more from Morris and Broszko about the production of “The Matchmaker,” tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. June 14 and 2 p.m. June 15.
To purchase tickets to the June 19-28 performances at Helene Houle Auditorium at St. Agnes School in St. Paul, go to https://missedtheboattheatre.com/2025/the-matchmaker.
Also on the program, Archbishop Bernard Hebda dives into the June 7 Archdiocesan Synod Assembly, and members of the assembly recap their experiences from throughout the day.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, “Practicing Catholic” can be heard after it has aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
