The scene is the set where Anthony J. Lefcourt, writer and director, is rehearsing his new play, a “classic whodunit” (in which all the characters are named Butler) with which he hopes to regain the success that has eluded him in recent seasons. Desperately eager to stimulate his cast to their best efforts, he has deliberately withheld the final scene of the play from them, but his patience is worn thin by the petty jealousies and romantic rivalries that detract from their concentration. In an effort to spur them on he “stages” the murder of one of the actresses, after which the plot begins to twist and turn with such dazzling ingenuity—and hilarity—that soon actors and audience alike have lost track of what is real and what is make-believe—until a surprise ending sets matters straight in a most bizarre and ironic way.

THE BUTLER DID IT is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing
the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)

Drama critic Mortimer Brewster’s engagement announcement is upended when he discovers a corpse in his elderly aunts’ window seat. Mortimer rushes to tell Abby and Martha before they stumble upon the body themselves, only to learn that the two old women aren’t just aware of the dead man in their parlor, they killed him! Between his aunts’ penchant for poisoning wine, a brother who thinks he’s Teddy Roosevelt, and another brother using plastic surgery to hide from the police—not to mention Mortimer’s own hesitancy about marriage—it’ll be a miracle if Mortimer makes it to his wedding. Arsenic and Old Lace is a classic black comedy about the only thing more deadly than poison: family.

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ARSENIC AND OLD LACE is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing
the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)

In this lightning-quick farce, four women travel to Dot’s Northwoods cabin to consume copious amounts of wine, laugh at their lives, trade stories and chat about their book club’s latest selection. However, after the third case of wine comes through the door, it becomes clear there will be more stewing than reviewing.

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An unhappy game of romantic follow-the-leader explodes into murder one weekend at The Hollow, home of Sir Henry and Lucy Angkatell, arguably Christie’s finest comic grande dame. Dr. Cristow, the Harley Street lothario, is at the center of the trouble when, assembled in one place, we find his dull but devoted wife, Gerda, his mistress and prominent sculptor, Henrietta and his former lover and Hollywood film star, Veronica. Also visiting are Edward and Midge, whose romantic assertions are likewise thrown into the mix. As the list of romantic associations grows so does the list of potential suspects when Cristow is shot dead. Nearly everyone has a motive, but only one of them did the deed.​

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Accusations, mistaken identities, and romances run wild in this traditional, laugh-out-loud farce. Two nuns at the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing have been secretly making wine to keep the convent's doors open, but Paul and Sally, reporters and former fiancees, are hot on their trail. They go undercover as a nun and priest, but their presence, combined with the addition of a new nun, spurs paranoia throughout the convent that spies have been sent from Rome to shut them down. Wine and secrets are inevitably spilled as everyone tries to preserve the convent and reconnect with lost loves.

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It's Dad's turn to tell his three rambunctious kids their bedtime stories, but when he gets fuzzy on the details, the classics get creative: a prince with a snoring problem spices up The Princess and The Pea, The Boy Who Cried Wolf cries dinosaur instead, and Rumpelstiltskin helps turn all that pesky gold into straw. You may think you know your fairy tales, but not the way Dad tells them.

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