‘Butler’ is solid despite ending spoilers

At first glance the ending seems a bit of a cheat, but there is no denying the solid entertainment value in Diamond Head Theatre’s current production of "The Butler Did It."

This play-within-a-play story of potentially murderous activities during rehearsals has a few insider jokes about directors and actors and Actors Equity, but no prior knowledge of such things is necessary to enjoy the broadly written characters.

Set in a crumbling off-Broadway theater, the play’s premise is simple: A down-on-his-luck director is seeking to recoup his fortunes and return to the Broadway "A-list" by producing and directing an original "classic whodunit" in which all the characters are either butlers or people named Butler.

The actors he casts include a busty and naive young woman playing her first off-Broadway show, a stolid leading man who can’t remember his lines, a young Italian-American trying to play an English butler, and an aggressive 50- or 60-something fading star who relieves her sexual tension with the young Italian.

Timothy Jeffryes stars as the playwright/director/producer Anthony J. Lefcourt. The other members of the DHT cast play dual roles as actors playing characters in Jeffryes’ show.

The show is a superb platform for DHT regular Lisa Konove. Konove has a small role as Angela Butler and a major role as the aging actress, acerbic and tart-tongued Natalie. Konove nails the character with her skill of shifting from dark menacing drama to broad comedy, making Natalie the foundation and centerpiece of the show.

Britton Adams (Raymond Butler/Robert), Kim Anderson (Victoria Butler/Claudia) and Drew Tandal (Aldo/Michael) fill in other key roles: Adams plays the awkward leading man Natalie condescends to, Anderson the gullible ingenue she despises, and Tandal the hunky boy toy who is servicing her (little does Natalie know that Michael has been putting the moves on hot young Claudia but has been rebuffed because Claudia has it going on with the director).

Jeffryes is magnificent as the conniving, stressed-out Lefcourt, whose future prospects hang on the success of the show. Jeffryes’ work in the scenes in which Lefcourt attempts to manipulate his actors are particularly good. Jeffryes caps his performance with a scene where the director pushes an actor aside and steps into the role. The improbable "stage English" accent he uses in the lengthy monologue adds to its comic impact.

Allen Cole, seen in recent years mostly playing malevolent types, displays his versatility with a convincing performance in a very different type of role.

To say more would spoil several of the many surprises that the playwrights and director Rob Duval intend for first-timers to experience.

What can be commented on, however, is Cole’s talent as a physical comedian in a scene involving a tray and a pot of poisoned tea.

And as for that "cheat" of an ending, there’s a line early in the show that hints at it and an early scene that reveals the blueprint for its execution.