The Longest-Running Play in New York City History
Perfect Crime is a thriller about three psychiatrists, a detective, a crazy patient, and at least one dead body. A man is murdered…or is he? Did his wife kill him? The detective investigating the case thinks so — until he starts to fall in love with her and the husband mysteriously reappears. The plot includes Gone Girlish and Agatha Christiesque twists and turns. Audiences member don’t have to navigate them all by themselves, though. There’s an “answer key” for people to review after the show if they’re still trying to figure out what happened and how.
Leading lady Catherine Russell originated the role of Margaret Brent and has played every performance but four since the play opened, a feat which landed her in the Guinness World Records. Initially opening as an Equity Showcase on April 18, 1987, for a four-week limited run at the Courtyard Playhouse, Perfect Crime has since become the longest-running play in the history of New York theater, on or off Broadway.