Perfect Crime is perfectly implausible, but its so entertaining--so watchable--that's one can almost understand how it has come to New York's longest-running non-musical play.

Almost. Perfect Crime is fun, but I don't know how to explain the apparent word-of-mouth (and, presumably, repeat visits) that continue to keep this second-rate thriller afloat after more than a dozen years. The story is full of holes and littered with red herrings; the staging is straightforward but not particularly stylish.

The ace-in-the-hole is Catherine Russell, the show's leading lady and general manager, who has made a career out of playing Margaret Thorne Brent, the show's tough and sexy heroine and numbe[...]