Meryl Streep in handcuffs is a spicy image you don’t often see, but the actor embraced such a sordid scene as Loretta Durkin in the third season of the delightful whodunit “Only Murders in the Building.” The bombshell plot point in the series starring the magnetic trio of Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez takes place during a rehearsal of Oliver’s (Short) Broadway musical when Loretta confesses mid-song to a murder she didn’t actually commit — all in the name of protecting her son. Add in Oliver collapsing to the floor from the stress, and the drama of the “Sitzprobe” episode ends on a wild cliffhanger. For cinematographer Kyle Wullschleger, creating a realistic theatrical atmosphere was crucial to the visual storytelling. “The theater was such a central character of the entire season,” he says. “We worked with a Broadway lighting director to pre-light the stage to make it feel authentic and look naturalistic.” Using theater fixtures, the location was drenched in a cool blue hue hinting at a “backstage feel.” For Streep’s heart-stirring performance, Wullschleger notes, “It’s not something we prerecorded. Her dialogue becomes part of the song and so do her emotions in that moment. She did that all for real.”
