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The Butler Didn't Do It

A A A Comments By Mary Templeton Thursday, May 4 2006

In 1967 playwright Joe Orton penned the highly sexual satire What the Butler Saw — shortly before being bludgeoned to death by his lover. Though Orton is gone, his final masterpiece endures. "Orton's legacy was mocking the absurdity of pigeonholing people, when everyone has some kind of pervert in them," says Michelle Britton, who plays Mrs. Prentice in Main Street Theater's reprisal, opening today.

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The comedy of mistaken identities and chaos ensues when Dr. Prentice, a psychiatrist, convinces a prospective secretary that disrobing is part of a job interview. In no time, a parade of people, including Mrs. Prentice, a conman/hotel pageboy, a government inspector and a police sergeant, intrude upon the two with their own dubious motives. Eventually every character is trying to hide indiscretions by concocting lies and donning gender-bending costumes.

There's no actual butler, either. The titular servant is an allusion to a certain point of view. "In English society," explains Britton, "staff like the butler saw things no one else saw…the private shenanigans of people who have a very respectable front." See what else lies behind the prim facade when Butleropens at 7:30 p.m.
Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Starts: May 4. Continues through May 28

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