← BroadwayRadio
BroadwayRadio
Special Episode: Cost n’ Mayor on taking their unseriousness seriously in ’11 to Midnight’
00:24:04
Loading summary
Transcript78 lines
- [00:07]
Matt Tamnini
Hi and welcome to a special interview episode of Broadway Radio. My name is Matt Tamnini. On today's episode, I'm in conversation with two of the biggest social media stars in the world, Austin and Meredith Tolenko. While you might not know them by their names, there's a pretty good shot that you know them by their online handle, Cost and Mayor, which is kind of a semi spoonerism of their names. But they are a married dancer and choreographer that have become one of the biggest sensations on social media with their silly but still super impressive dance moves. They've amassed over 7 and a half million followers on TikTok and then another 2.6 million on Instagram alone, not to mention other social media platforms including YouTube. But the reason I'm talking to them today is because they are the creators, choreographers and stars of the new off Broadway show 11 to midnight. Now, this is a dance show. There is music, but it is not a musical. As we discuss in the interview. There is no singing, there is no book, there is no dialogue. Everything that you find out in the story is told through the dancing. The story of 11 to midnight takes place during one unforgettable hour from 11 to midnight at a New Year's Eve apartment party somewhere in the city where the music's loud, the lights are soft, and time feels like it's had a glass of champagne, resolutions are made and some forgotten feelings pop up out of nowhere in the future. Well, let's see what happens this time next year. I have been a Costa Mayer fan for many, many years at this point, so it was delightful to talk to Austin and Meredith and to pick their brains about dance as a genre, their process in creating, and specifically about everything. 11 to midnight. The show is playing at the Orpheum Theater down in the Village and is currently on sale through April 19th. But based off of the reviews that I've heard from friends, I would not be surprised if the word of mouth is so good that this continues to extend throughout later months of the spring and into the summer. Of course, I'll have information on where you can learn more about 11 to midnight as well as where you can purchase tickets in the show notes. Alright, with all of that out of the way, here is my conversation with Austin and Meredith Tolinko, better known as Costin Mayer. So not only did you two co create the show, you choreographed it, you're starring in it. You've dealt with multiple winter storms during the course of this. How are you faring during the first few weeks? The first month of eleven to midnight.
- [02:39]
Austin Tolenko
I feel like pretty good.
- [02:40]
Meredith Tolenko
Yeah. I mean, it's against all odds of weather. It's been absolutely magical. I am so thankful to every person who has traversed the cold and the fate special. Shout out inches of snow to come see the show. I mean, if you would have told us that we were gonna have a triple decker winter storm in November before we opened this show, I would have been terrified. But it really, it's been amazing to see people come out and support us and it has touched our hearts like, immensely.
- [03:10]
Austin Tolenko
Truly.
- [03:11]
Matt Tamnini
This is obviously a little different from New York, at least in the theatrical space. Obviously there's tons of dance in New York, but to have a true dance show, they're a little fewer and far between from the theatrical space. When you went into kind of like creating this, how much from the theater world did you guys try to bring in? How much from the dance world did you try to bring in? What's the kind of the amalgamation of all of the different influences that you have that landed on stage at the Orpheum?
- [03:38]
Meredith Tolenko
Oh, that's such a good question.
- [03:39]
Matt Tamnini
That is.
- [03:40]
Meredith Tolenko
You know, there's also a lot of circus influence too. Lindsay and Josh, who are producers, they have a company called Hideaway Circus and they produce primarily dance and circus. And our associate director, Spencer Novick, he is like an award winning clown. And so he also helped us develop. He helped us develop a lot of like pantomime technique and like bits that we do during the. We have. It's very interactive with the audience at times too. And so we pull a lot from circus arts as well. But, you know, we didn't go into it prioritizing the mix of any of these things. We just, we knew the story we wanted to tell and we sort of just naturally selected what best fit the story as we went along.
- [04:30]
Austin Tolenko
Yeah. And I mean, we both have like theater background. So theater is always like a love and a passion for us. So I think going into it, again, like she said, we didn't set out to be like, well, we want this much of it to be theater. Like, I feel like we always kind of knew how much theater was just going to go into it naturally, just because of how much we love it.
- [04:48]
Meredith Tolenko
And we were always very interested in making a primarily like nonverbal told through movement dance show, which it is first and foremost. And then like a sprinkle of theater, a sprinkle of acting, a sprinkle of this, sprinkle of that throughout.
- [05:03]
Matt Tamnini
You guys have obviously worked in theater and choreographed theater. You guys did Waitress out of Gonquit. But like, is there a different type of storytelling that exists in that type of like legitimate musical theater and dance specific theater?
- [05:18]
Meredith Tolenko
For sure. I mean when you, when you aren't relying on. We have no script that says this person says this here, this person sings this line here. So we really are relying fully on movement and visuals to tell our story. And it's, it's so special because I think the audience really like when you're watching a non verbal show, you're locked in in such a different way because you know that every inch of movement matters. And so I do feel like it, it gives us a very engaged audience who's like watching very analytically all of the movement, all of the visuals, which is really fun. I feel like when you're. It's just a different approach. Like you have to be so careful about every single inch of movement you make in a non verbal show because that's your language. Like everyone is watching like a hawk.
- [06:14]
Austin Tolenko
Yeah.
- [06:15]
Matt Tamnini
So talking about storytelling, we get a little bit of a description as to what this story is about from all the press notes and everything. Without spoiling or giving away too much, what is happening during 11 to midnight?
- [06:29]
Austin Tolenko
I mean it's. So we play the like host of the party, the husband and wife. And we are hosting this New Year's Eve party at our apartment for five of our closest friends. And it's just really all about that magic in the very last hour on New Year's Eve where possibilities are endless. You can pick up a new habit, you can drop old ones, you can reconnect with your loved one and just really remember why you fell in love in the first place. Despite all of the, you know, the differences and all the things that marriage brings up when you, you know, really get into it. But yeah, and it's, it's just a party. It's just like such a fun party. We keep saying that it's the most fun party in the East Village and we want everyone to come join us.
- [07:12]
Meredith Tolenko
But yeah, it's definitely an interesting show that. Because it's, it is street styles and it's so high energy and fun. You, you can sort of. But it also includes this sort of secondary plot about the couple and the different seasons of their life and marriage that you see in flashbacks. And then, you know, in this last hour on the current New Year's Eve. And so people can really take away what they need from it. What did I call it the other day? The Room of Requirement from Harry Potter where it's like it gives you whatever you're looking for. So if you're looking for a really fun party, you can see that in the show. And if you want to just have like a Woohoo night, then great, you can go to 11 midnight and have a Woohoo night. But if you're, if you can relate to the depth and the story that we're telling, you can also get such a heartfelt narrative from it. And I think people really see what they need to see from it.
- [08:02]
Austin Tolenko
I also think that kind of goes back to, like, how why movement is so important and it's such a great storytelling device is that you can come into this show and really place yourself into all these different characters and all these different scenarios and. And take away what you want to take away from it, which is so cool.
- [08:20]
Meredith Tolenko
Yeah.
- [08:22]
Matt Tamnini
First off, I've never heard the term having a Woohoo night, so that is definitely going into my rotation now. So I love that. But you talk about the different styles and there being so many different things in there. And as I was looking at the cast announcement that was made before the show started, like, it is a really good mix of people who are primarily theater dancers, but then also people who are, you know, have been on tour with like, huge, you know, recording artists and stuff like that. Are you finding, as when you were putting all these people in the room, and I think a lot of them were involved with the developmental process as well, that those different backgrounds brought something to how they performed or how they approached the development of their. Of their. Of their parts and everything. What were you finding with that different specific alchemy of dancers when you got them together?
- [09:08]
Meredith Tolenko
Yeah, that's a fantastic question. It is such a. Our cast is such a mosaic of people with different backgrounds and different training, training styles. It's so cool to see them all come together. We, you know, dance is such a funny thing because you. We were just talking about this yesterday with the cast that, like, your face is a muscle, just like your arm is a muscle. And so dancers are more trained to act than you think. It's sort of in the muscle memory of dance to emote. And so you, whether you're a theater trained dancer or a commercial trained dancer there, it almost doesn't dictate your level of acting ability. Almost like there's a lot of maybe trained actors that dance that are less emotive than like tour dancers who are used to performing for 30,000 people every night. It almost doesn't dictate, like, when it comes to the Acting of our show almost. Who's going to like Excel the easiest but. Or the most quickly. But it is a very interesting like it is. You can tell who sort of has which background in a good way.
- [10:22]
Austin Tolenko
Yeah.
- [10:23]
Matt Tamnini
Now for your background, I'm interested because I think a lot of people either who are listening to this or maybe even coming to the show found you both on social media for the first time. How is doing a choreographed piece for TikTok or Instagram that's maybe 30 seconds to a minute, two minutes, three minutes different than doing a full, what is it, 70 minute show as they're putting this together, what type of dancing and choreographic muscles does that rely on that might be different from one from the other, if at all? Maybe. Maybe it's the same thing. I don't know.
- [10:56]
Meredith Tolenko
You know, it's more the same thing than you think it would be. Yeah, I think that we also, we take our unseriousness very seriously. So even when we're making very serious, silly things online, we do it with a lot of thought into like character and comedy and, and the physicality of it. And I mean, we spend hours on a single video that we post on the Internet and it's, it's, it's more similar than you think. Making the show didn't feel extremely dissimilar from the same way we get up and would make a video every day. But the stamina is very different.
- [11:31]
Austin Tolenko
Stamina is the most different. I always.
- [11:33]
Meredith Tolenko
Stamina is crazy.
- [11:35]
Austin Tolenko
I think back to a few months ago when we were on social media. We were making this like nostalgic sound series and we were choreographing to all these nostalgic theme songs and things like that. And I specifically remember a moment when we were choreographing to the Rugrats theme song and I think you were like, oh, well, I envisioned us being like the toys that the babies play with. And I was like, oh, that's interesting. I was envisioning us actually being the Rugrats and it's like I had a moment and I was like, we're really discussing this. Like, we are really in deep about how we're choreographing the Rugrats theme song. But it's so true. Like that is so genuine to who we are and it's just exactly what we pour into the show too.
- [12:18]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah, I was a big fan of. Was it the AOL dial up tone?
- [12:22]
Meredith Tolenko
Yes.
- [12:23]
Matt Tamnini
I'm a little older than you guys are, so that one hit especially nostalgic for Me.
- [12:27]
Meredith Tolenko
Oh, good.
- [12:28]
Matt Tamnini
But you said you take the silliness seriously, and I think that translates, and I think that's probably one of the things that a lot of your fans have really attached themselves to. Are you cognizant of that when you are looking in the audience and being like, oh, these people are here for this style, and we want to give them that, but also give them something different that they might not see from a normal cost and Mayer video?
- [12:56]
Meredith Tolenko
Oh, good question. Honestly, I think we're. I feel incapable of doing something that is not authentically myself. And so we just do that when we make videos, and we do that when we make a show. I almost don't ever really think about. I mean, of course, we want our fans and our audiences to have a great experience, but I trust that if they have a great experience watching our videos online, that they'll just absolutely love the show. Because if I'm just so honestly, authentically myself in my videos and I'm honestly, authentically myself in the show and how we've approached creating both, I know that it will continue to satisfy the people that love our work 100%.
- [13:39]
Austin Tolenko
Yeah.
- [13:41]
Matt Tamnini
So this show is set, as you said, an hour before New Year's. Did you guys come into this year with any New Year's resolutions, anything that you either have accomplished or are still hoping to accomplish in the rest of 2026?
- [13:55]
Meredith Tolenko
I definitely think my resolution for this year was to really trust myself more, especially as a choreographer. I think especially when you're making, you know, a long body of work, you're. You get to a point where when you approach a new piece of choreography, you're like, oh, that looks too much like the other piece. Or, oh, I already used this step here. Oh, that's not inventive enough. Or, oh, let me change. You just start overthinking everything. Because you've cranked out such a large amount of work, and we're, you know, we're making the show at the same time. We're still running all of our social media accounts, so we're. We're cranking out, you know, original choreography for both, which is bananas. And it. It makes you a little crazy at a point. And I. I definitely set the intention at the beginning of the year to trust myself more and not question everything that I make. I think that you have to just make the bad thing sometimes. And even if it's not the right choice and it's a terrible idea, you just have to make it badly and let it suck, and then it's Easier to go fix something that's wrong than it is to just sit there with your blank canvas and stare at it and say, no, I shouldn't do that. No, I shouldn't do this.
- [15:12]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah.
- [15:13]
Meredith Tolenko
So I'm just trying to give my permission myself. Permission to let things be terrible.
- [15:17]
Austin Tolenko
Yeah, I would. I would say the same thing. Another kind of branch of that is just being confident in the choices that I want to make. Like, even if the choices are wrong. Like, again, it's kind of like you said, like, let's get through the wrong stuff. Let's get through the, you know, the bad stuff first so that we can, you know, learn and grow from those things. Because I think learning and growing from your failures is just as important as the successes and everything else.
- [15:45]
Matt Tamnini
I'm so interested in dance. As somebody who is not a dancer, I have loved over the past, probably two decades seeing an ebb and flow of a lot of dance on television. And then as the advent of social media really increased, we see not only you, but a lot of dancers and choreographers on there. What is it that for you two as kids and as young people that really drew you to this art form?
- [16:11]
Meredith Tolenko
Oh, good question. You have so many good questions. By the way, you're a fan.
- [16:17]
Matt Tamnini
There you go.
- [16:18]
Meredith Tolenko
Thank you.
- [16:20]
Austin Tolenko
Oh, man.
- [16:20]
Meredith Tolenko
I know. I just, like, was so. I. I didn't start dancing until I was about 14. I played soccer for, like, all of my childhood, and so I was a little bit. That's a little unusual for a dancer. Usually people start when they're really young, but I was always just in front of Infatuated by dance in theater. I just thought it was insane. I remember seeing the tour of Wicked when I was, like, 12 and being like, what is going on? It was just the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life. And I was so just taken by that entire performance that I was like, if I ever could get the opportunity to make someone else feel like the way that this made me feel, then that would be the greatest honor and coolest job in the entire world.
- [17:08]
Austin Tolenko
I was always just so intrigued by the way that, like, there is just an endless amount of possibilities as the way that you can move your body and create choreography. Like, there was, like, I grew up watching the wizard of Oz, as most do, so I was, like, recreating, like, that little, like, tin man dance that he would do, like, on the Yellow Brick Road. But then I would also flow to the other side. And I was obsessed with watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when Dick Van Dyke was doing, like, the bamboo dance and the, like, marionette dance at the end, and I'm like, this is crazy.
- [17:41]
Meredith Tolenko
Like.
- [17:42]
Austin Tolenko
Like, my. Like, I would watch that movie over and over again, and I would learn that choreography, and my mom went out and, like, found me a piece of bamboo so that, like, I could, like, further my craft of learning the bamboo dance. So shout out to my mom. But, like, just like this. He's dancing with bamboo. He's dancing like a doll. But, like, then there's this other tin man who's, like, doing this. It's just, like. It was so interesting to me how everyone is doing, like, the. The dance, like, the one word dance, but then it just trickles down into all these other, like, possibilities, and it's. It's crazy.
- [18:16]
Matt Tamnini
I love that. And I love that you both found some of those roots in the wonderful wizard of Oz. Very different versions of Oz, but there you go. I love that.
- [18:26]
Meredith Tolenko
So affected by the story.
- [18:27]
Austin Tolenko
I know y.
- [18:31]
Matt Tamnini
So obviously, at this point, Cost and Mayer is the brand, but do you envision things solo, Whether that's as a performer or a choreographer? Or is it, like. I mean, obviously ride or die in one sense, but, like, from a professional standpoint, like, is this. Is this it? I mean, do you, I guess, envision the opportunity to go and do things individually as well?
- [18:53]
Austin Tolenko
I don't.
- [18:55]
Meredith Tolenko
I'm like, yeah.
- [18:56]
Austin Tolenko
You're like, maybe. I'm like, no.
- [19:01]
Meredith Tolenko
Well, I. I not. Not complete. I don't think that we would. That we would go off and do separate work. I could see us in the future lean. I think we have very different strength. Let me break this down.
- [19:13]
Austin Tolenko
Oh, okay. I see where you're. I know where you're going.
- [19:15]
Meredith Tolenko
I think that we have very different strengths, like, Austin has. Austin is very much the. The logistics mind, and I am the head in the clouds ideas girl. And I could see us in the future separating our roles more on the same projects. So I don't think we would turn two different directions and do different work separately. But I could see, if we may. I could see us dividing and conquering more on different projects in a different way, where, you know, right now we have the same job, we are both choreographer, and so we work together, and I love working like that. And I think we'll keep doing that.
- [19:57]
Austin Tolenko
Yeah.
- [19:58]
Meredith Tolenko
For a long time. But I could see us sort of.
- [20:01]
Austin Tolenko
That's true.
- [20:02]
Meredith Tolenko
Dividing and conquering more as we lean in more to our. Our strengths.
- [20:05]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah.
- [20:06]
Austin Tolenko
And that's not news to me. We've talked about that.
- [20:10]
Matt Tamnini
Austin's like, yeah, he's hurt and he's crushed over here. He's. Tears running down his face. Okay, I have to ask because, like, your sweatshirts are coming in and out of frame, but is that official 11 to midnight merch for both of you?
- [20:21]
Austin Tolenko
It is. As we puff out our chest. Sure is. Yeah.
- [20:24]
Meredith Tolenko
We didn't even do that on purpose.
- [20:25]
Austin Tolenko
I just put it on.
- [20:26]
Meredith Tolenko
We just have actually really cool merch.
- [20:28]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah, it is. No. Okay, So, I mean, this is audio, but Austin has a. Has like the little digital 11:59 on the clock, and Meredith has the logo for that. And then, like, it looks like fake post it notes on there. I love that. So that is very good.
- [20:42]
Meredith Tolenko
So the Easter egg about the merch is that it's all my handwriting. This 11 to midnight is my handwriting from that I wrote on a sticky note from the very, very beginning of even creating the show. And, like, all of the little things that are on the sticky notes are my handwriting too. I think you drew the clock.
- [20:59]
Austin Tolenko
I drew the clock. That's my claim to fame.
- [21:02]
Matt Tamnini
An artist as well. Visual artist, as well as a dancer and choreographer. All right, so I will wrap it up here. Audiences are loving this show. But if people who either are theatrically minded and aren't familiar with your work before or are only familiar with your work and really aren't theater people, what do you hope that they get out of coming and seeing the show? I know, Meredith, you said that depending on what you're looking for, you can get it. But, like, what's the vibe that you hope they take walking out of the Orpheum down in the Village?
- [21:33]
Meredith Tolenko
I. You know, we did a bit of a pre pro run of this show in Aspen, and there was this girl who came who left the show and was like, you know what? I've decided that I'm gonna go back to school and actually pursue the job that I'm. That I. That's my dream.
- [21:53]
Matt Tamnini
Wow.
- [21:53]
Meredith Tolenko
And this show inspired me to do it. And we were. We were like, you know what? That's the whole point. That. That itself is the whole. We have this number at the beginning of the show called what if It's Not Too Late? Where the five characters sort of. You kind of get to check in on where they're at in their season of life and what they want. And it really is so much a show about asking yourself, what if it's not too late? Obviously, the couple is asking, what if it's not too late to reconnect with my partner and save my marriage. And everyone else is asking themselves the question of what if it's not too late for each individual thing that they're going through. And I think, especially as people that are. Austin is 30. I'll be entering my 30s in the coming years. And I think that it's like, late 20s, early 30s is such a time where you've sort of settled into maybe the career path you chose, and you're thinking, like, is this. Is this just like my setup for the neck for the rest of my life? Like, can I still reinvent myself? Like, what if it isn't too late? I think there's so many seasons of life where you. You ask yourself these questions. And, I mean, the truth is that you can literally decide, what if it's not too late every single day. Not just on the last hour of New Year's Eve, maybe that's when it's most celebrated, but every single day you can say, what if it's not too late to change my life? And it's available to you always.
- [23:17]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah, I love that. And as somebody who loves dance and loves you guys, I am just thrilled by how successful this has been and how it's going. I. I live in Orlando, as Maggie knows, as she's listening. I live in Orlando, so I'm excited to be in town here in a few weeks and. And check out the show. So thank you both for this continued success, and I'm excited to see what you guys do, obviously together, since you aren't, you know, going to go off and do your own project separately. So excited to see what's next for cost and mayor moving forward.
- [23:46]
Meredith Tolenko
A thank you so much.
- [23:47]
Austin Tolenko
I know. Thank you.