The play opened on April 18,1987, at The Courtyard Playhouse, 39 Grove Street  (in the heart of  the Village)  as an Actor' s Equity Association (A.E.A.) Showcase production. As a rookie producer, Armand Hyatt sought ways to make the production accessible to New York audiences--long-term.  Hyatt's goal of producing and sustaining affordable, high-quality theatre in New York required that  it be commercially viable, with modest start-up  capital. He formed a new production company and wrote contracts destined to revitalize a lost  theatrical tradition -- that of the Actor-Manager.Recognizing the multi-purpose talents of leading  lady  Catherine Russell   ( who had been introduced    to Hyatt as company manager of The Actors Collective ),  Hyatt entrusted her with the dual-function  of lead actor and general manager.  Undaunted by many  skeptics, new executive producer Hyatt   moved the show forward, converting the  showcase to an Off- Broadway production, which---at first--- remained  at its original home The Courtyard Playhouse for  almost four months, through August 2, 1987. Hyatt  persuaded Manzi to  remain with the production  as an actor, to stay close to the nightly  presentation  of the story. From this intimate vantage point, Manzi as playwright, was able to re-write  and re- work  the play  extensively over seven or eight years,  with fellow actors sometimes getting     rewrites at  intermission, for Act II. Meanwhile, Manzi and  Hyatt had nightly conferences about the script. That  developmental process was balanced by  Russell's diligent focus on every detail in  day-to-day  operations, with brilliant deployment of the  Actor-Manager approach. Hyatt has been  quoted as  having said at one of the show's many

             

* * *   Innovation to sustain affordable theatre:   revitalizing a long-lost tradition * * *        

The play opened on April 18,1987, at The Courtyard Playhouse, 39 Grove Street  (in the heart of  the Village)  as an Actor' s Equity Association (A.E.A.) Showcase production. As a rookie producer, Armand Hyatt sought ways to make the production accessible to New York audiences--long-term.  Hyatt's goal of producing and sustaining affordable, high-quality theatre in New York required that  it be commercially viable, with modest start-up  capital. He formed a new production company and wrote contracts destined to revitalize a lost  theatrical tradition -- that of the Actor-Manager.Recognizing the multi-purpose talents of leading  lady  Catherine Russell   ( who had been introduced    to Hyatt as company manager of The Actors Collective ),  Hyatt entrusted her with the dual-function  of lead actor and general manager.  Undaunted by many  skeptics, new executive producer Hyatt   moved the show forward, converting the  showcase to an Off- Broadway production, which---at first--- remained  at its original home The Courtyard Playhouse for  almost four months, through August 2, 1987. Hyatt  persuaded Manzi to  remain with the production  as an actor, to stay close to the nightly  presentation  of the story. From this intimate vantage point, Manzi as playwright, was able to re-write  and re- work  the play  extensively over seven or eight years,  with fellow actors sometimes getting     rewrites at  intermission, for Act II. Meanwhile, Manzi and  Hyatt had nightly conferences about the script. That  developmental process was balanced by  Russell's diligent focus on every detail in  day-to-day  operations, with brilliant deployment of the  Actor-Manager approach. Hyatt has been  quoted as  having said at one of the show's many
       * * *   From the Village to Broadway. . .the show must go on. . .and on. . .and on . . . * * *  

Throughout PERFECT CRIME's run, the show often found itself in grave danger of being without a home. But, the production team has remained committed to the age-old credo:

 

After debuting downtown, PERFECT CRIME moved uptown (Broadway at 76th St.) to the Second Stage and played there August-October 1987.  The show then moved to the 47th Street Theater (October 1987-December 1987) and then to the now demolished 42 nd Street Theater, Intar (January - April 1988), then to the Harold Clurman Theater, where the play remained from May 1988 through August 1990.    PERFECT CRIME then moved back to the 47 th Street Theater  (August - December 1990) and  then, to Theater Four (now the Julia Miles Theater ) on West 55 th where it played from January 1991 through September 1993. PERFECT CRIME then moved again back to the 47th Street Theater (September 1993 - January 1994) until the show finally found a more permanent, albeit unlikely, home in a third-floor (with lots of steps and no elevator) defunct burlesque house in Times Square   (1553 Broadway, at 46 th ) thanks to another bold management decision.      Catherine Russell had envisioned a major transformation of that third-floor space at 1553 Broadway that seemed logistically impossible. She held up well under exacting cross - examination by her boss, executive producer Armand Hyatt , a seasoned trial attorney as part of his diverse law practice. Intrigued by her resolve, he approved the idea and, again, their joint and separate boldness paid off. Hyatt found the ways and means to make Russell's dream come true.Thus, they became part of  another slice of New York theatre history: the transforming of Times Square, one premises at a time. What once thrived as