Perfect Crime, the longest-running play in New York City history, resumes performances April 17 prior to an official reopening April 18, marking the show's 34th anniversary.
The production, which plays The Anne Bernstein Theatre in The Theater Center, now features a newly updated ventilation system and is the first New York City production using live actors to receive reopening approval from Actors' Equity.
Catherine Russell, who has performed in the show since its first preview in 1987, co-stars with Patrick Ryan Sullivan, David Butler, and Charles Geyer, plus Patrick Robustelli, who appears in a video cameo. Jeffrey Hyatt direcs the production, written by the late Warren Manzi and produced by Armand Michael Hyatt.
The technical team includes Russell's "long-underutilized" understudy, assistant stage manager Andrea Leigh, and production stage manager Louis Crocco.
Russell has been an active proponent of reopening Off-Broadway theatres and other small venues, going so far as to spearhead a lawsuit against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.The show begins its 35th year of performances with numerous safety upgrades, precautions, and policies in place:
- Everyone who works in the building (actors, stage managers, dressers, technicians, treasurers, house managers, and ushers) will be fully vaccinated.
- Everyone entering The Theater Center must wear masks and follow social distancing protocols. The Theater Center has worked with Ticketmaster to create contactless ticketing service as well as contact tracing.
- 10 Atmosair Matterhorn 1002 “Air Scrubbers,” a bi-polar ionization system that will “catch and kill” any contaminants in the air throughout the entire complex.
- Sensedge Air Quality monitors to each floor, so patrons can check the quality of the air throughout the space when they first enter the lobby.
- Upgraded HVAC filters to utilize MERV13 filters.
- The Theater Center’s staff are following all the CDC and NY DOH guidelines for hourly and daily deep disinfection cleaning.
- COVID Compliance Officers to ensure safety protocols are in place and adhered to at all times.
- All audience members will be seated in “pods” with the people they came with. Each pod is socially distanced from the next. Building capacity limits will be posted in plain sight and followed accordingly to state and local guidelines.
Visit Perfect-Crime.com.
