Jeff Kilgore played coy while talking about “The Butler Did It”.

“It’s a play upon a mystery play, but there’s a mystery in the play,” he said. “That’s about all I can say. Well, I can tell you the butler did it.”

Kilgore, a veteran actor, is part of the six-member cast of ‘The Butler Did It’, which opens this weekend at the Mansfield Playhouse.

“You would think the title would give it away, but it doesn’t,” said director Doug Wertz.

Written by Walter Marks and Peter Marks, the play tells the story of Anthony J. Lefcourt, screenwriter and director, who rehearses his new play, a “classic thriller” (in which all the characters are called Butler).

Kilgore plays Lefcourt.

“He’s pretty driven and he has a vision of what he wants to do with the play he’s directing,” Kilgore said. “He won’t let anyone stop him from rising to the top of the food chain.”

Director in search of return

Desperate to stimulate his actors to their best efforts, Lefcourt has deliberately hidden the play’s final scene from them, but his patience is worn down by petty jealousies and love rivalries that strain their concentration.

In an effort to spur them on, he “stages” the murder of one of the actresses, after which the plot begins to twist with such dazzling ingenuity and hilarity that actors and audience soon lose track. of what is real and what is imaginary.

“He just doesn’t get out of his cast what he needs,” Wertz said. “He wants his actors, through an acting method, to feel what it would be like to witness a real murder. He convinces one of his actors to play dead.”

Lefcourt manipulates his actors when he learns that they have problems with each other.

“It’s getting darker and darker,” Wertz said of the comedic thriller.

Three members are from the Butler family, while another character is a butler.

“There’s a house full of butlers, but we don’t know which one did it, or did someone do it?” said Wertz.

The cast has ‘great chemistry’

Also artistic director of the Mansfield Playhouse, Wertz said the cast had “great chemistry” and were a mix of veterans such as Kilgore, Carla Eighinger and Scott Stoops and new faces like Jacob Hunsinger, McKenna Stoffer and Thales Keffalas.

Hunsinger hasn’t made a play for 40 years. He plays Raymond Butler.

He grew up in Mansfield and attended what is now North Central State College, where he performed in three plays.

“I had a great time,” Hunsinger said.

He said his cousin had starred in a Playhouse production last year, so he figured he’d try out for “The Butler Did It.”

Hunsinger said the game came back to him right away.

“You have to learn your lines, your blocking. It’s a process that you go through,” he said.

To prepare, Hunsinger said he converted his basement into a mini-version of the set and did the whole room.

“I can recite all the lines,” he said.

Hunsinger said his Playhouse experience was “great”.

“The actors are all great people to work with,” he said. “I truly appreciate it.”

The game features several new faces

Stoffer, at 19, is the youngest cast member. She hasn’t appeared on a show in about five years.

“I’ve never done a straight play. I’ve always done musicals,” Stoffer said.

She appreciates the opportunity.

“It’s definitely different,” Stoffer said. “You can devote all your time to playing.”

Stoffer plays Victoria Butler.

Like Hunsinger, she fell in love with her fellow cast members.

“These people are amazing,” Stoffer said. “It’s really nice to work with a small cast. You get closer very quickly.

“Within a week, we were like family.”

Stoffer said the public must be ready for anything.

“It keeps you on your toes,” she said of the piece.

[email protected]

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MNJCaudill

If you are going to

What: “The Butler Did It”

Or: Mansfield Playhouse, 95 E.Third St.

When: 8 p.m. on March 11, 12, 18 and 19; 2:30 p.m. March 20

Tickets: $13 for general admission, $12 for seniors (62 and over), $8 for students (12 and over).

More information: Visit mansfieldplayhouse.com or call 419-522-2883. The ticket office is open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. from Wednesday to Friday and one hour before the shows.