Friends and Neighbors

“The butler did it” is one of those turns of phrase that has existed as a cliché for so long that it’s impossible to think of a context in which it could be used seriously. Jeffrey Hatcher’s new play The Butler Did It, having its world premiere at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul, is indeed a thriller where the butler did it, but that is only the start of the story and it’s a story told with wit and energy to spare.

The show is set in a San Francisco school for butlers run by Portman (Steve Hendrickson) a veteran butler who doesn’t much like to talk about his past. Also there are his second in command Merriman (Pearce Bunting) and their students, the overachieving Lane (Peter Christian Hansen), his girlfriend Emma (Anna Beth Baker) and the hapless Tony (Neal Beckman). A murder occurs on the night of Lane’s final exam, and the ensuing investigation reveals secrets about the school and those who attend that could threaten to ruin everything.

I’m going to do my best to avoid any specific plot details, as for a show like this seeing things unfold is half the fun. Suffice it to say, however, this is not a conventional whodunit. Jeffrey Hatcher’s author’s note mentions the story was originally conceived as an episode of Columbo, and it plays in much the way you’d expect from that – a murderer who thinks they’re smarter than everyone else commits what they believe is the perfect crime, then spends the rest of the show trying to ensure they get away with it, usually encountering and dispatching with an unexpected obstacle or two along the way. Hatcher and director David Ira Goldstein (long-time collaborators at Park Square, having last worked together on the brilliant Holmes/Poirot in 2024) know they’re working with well-worn tropes, but are also skilled enough to find ways to add additional twists, turns, and double-crosses even when we think we’ve figured out where things are going.

Another similarity this play has with Columbo is in its detective character: Inspector Denise is an affable, enthusiastic sort whose friendly exterior hides a shrewd mind that is able to identify even the smallest inconsistency in a story. Allison Vincent plays the Inspector and she’s a total delight, positively vibrating with energy as the character embarks on her first case. There are plenty of laughs to be had in her interactions with the snooty butler school, but she never lets the culture clash get to her. She’s just there to do her job, after all but who says she can’t enjoy herself along the way? This is the first of five new plays Jeffrey Hatcher plans to write for Park Square, and while I don’t know if he has any more plans for Inspector Denise specifically, I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to seeing her on stage in further adventures.

The entire cast around Vincent is very well-balanced, with even the actors who only have one or two scenes making an impact. The set by Benjamin Olsen, a single room in a mansion, is well designed and decorated and filled with the sorts of little details and surprises you’d expect from a story like this. The script and performances are filled with little details, too – many of which come back and show their significance in unexpected ways. I’d love to come back and see it again Z I’m sure there are even more details that I missed. That’s the mark of a good thriller – even if it is working from conventional tropes, and even if you already know what is going to happen, there will always be a thrill that comes from witnessing it all come together.

THE BUTLER DID IT plays at Park Square Theatre through August 16th