‘The Butler Did It’ Offers Plays Within Plays

By Eva Trieger

POWAY, California — Mah Jongg in America dates back to the 1920s with the influx of Asians to this country.  Shortly thereafter it was adopted by Jewish women, and served as a networking vehicle to a world beyond childrearing and synagogue life.

The National Mah Jongg league was formed in 1937, while embracing intelligence and strategy it allowed for a blurring of cultural and ethnic lines. In the 1950s every bungalow in the Catskills boasted regular mah jongg games, and over time, like so many other practices, acculturation occurred and the game of pretty tiles, cards and specific rules entered into mainstream American society.  Over time a new set of rules were adopted and today the game is ubiquitous.  So it’s no surprise that it surfaced during last night’s production of The Butler Did It at PowPac Theatre in their play-within-a-play-within-a-play whodunit.

Under Dennis Floyd’s direction this fast-paced, silly adventure depicts the return of the once-admired Broadway director, Anthony J. Lefcourt, presenting his newest whodunit–not a thriller!–that features an aging starlet, a dewy-eyed ingenue, a doddering actor who can’t learn his lines, a street kid attempting to pass as a schooled butler, and an out-of-work actor-cum-detective. The script is unfinished and each character is a person of interest in this mysterious murder.  Only Lefcourt knows the way his play will end…or does he?

One of the standouts in this cast is Brian P. Evans as Anthony J. Lefcourt.  His tempo is marvelous and his interaction with each character is credible and seems genuine.  Even when he cajoles each of them with the same line and encourages them not to “brood over it.” His facial expressions and costumes are charming and give him the air of a desperate has-been director. Another superb performance was delivered by Lee Price asDetective Mumford/Sam. When not acting in roles such as Tevye, Price is an AP Physics teacher! Based on his animated and entertaining performance, I’m quite certain his students must enjoy him very much. Geoffrey Graeme as Raymond Butler/Robert returns to PowPac in this entertaining role, after appearing on this stage recently  in Ordinary People and Witness for the Prosecution.

Several cast members debuted in this production, Erin Collins as Angela Butler/Natalie, Jordan Fan as Aldo, Butler /Michael, and Taylor Wiggins as Victoria Butler/Claudia. The energy and synergy among the actors assures me that they had as much fun working on this show as the appreciative audience had watching it.

Whether you play mah jongg, canasta, pickleball or Words With Friends, you’re sure to enjoy the “bam” even if you have a chicken hand while you try to follow this murder-mystery through its many twists and turns.

The Butler Did It runs through June 9, 2024 at boxoffice@powpac.org or by phone 858.679.8085.

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Eva Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.