Background
The play has been called "an urban legend" by New York Times critic Jason Zinoman because of its long and storied history. Perfect Crime was originally optioned for Broadway in 1980, just after author Manzi graduated from the Yale School of Drama. At age 25, Manzi, then starring as Mozart in Amadeus on Broadway, was the youngest American author ever to have a play optioned for Broadway. After producer Morton Gottlieb, (Deathtrap), wanted to change the play's title to "Guilty Hands" Manzi lost interest and went to Hollywood to write screenplays, including one of the many versions of the film Clue. The play ultimately began its life several years later in 1987, in the heart of Greenwich Village at the Courtyard Playhouse on Grove Street, produced by the Actors Collective, a not-for-profit theater company whose artistic director was Warren Manzi. Commercial producer Armand Hyatt moved the show immediately after its four-week limited run to an Off-Broadway venue.
After opening on April 18, 1987, Perfect Crime has since played over 10,000 performances. It played in several theaters during its early years: the 47th Street Theater, The Harold Clurman Theater, Theatre Four, the McGinn-Cazale Theater and Intar before settling into a long run at the Duffy Theater at 46th Street and Broadway, in a renovated burlesque house above the Times Square landmark, the Howard Johnson's. After that property was sold in 2005, Perfect Crime found a permanent home at the brand new Snapple Theater Center located at the corner of 50th Street and Broadway in NYC's Times Square.
Read more about this topic: Perfect Crime (play)
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