David Butler Concludes Historic Run in PERFECT CRIME Off-Broadway
David Butler marks over 8,000 performances in his final bow from PERFECT CRIME.
By: Stephi Wild Jan. 21, 2026
On January 4, 2026, David Butler, long-time star of the Off-Broadway thriller Perfect Crime, played his final performance as W. Harrison Brent in the Anne L. Bernstein Theater at The Theater Center Off-Broadway (210 West 50th Street, 4th Floor). The audience was packed with fans, friends, and family. Butler played the role more than 8,000 times over Perfect Crime's nearly 39-year run.
David Butler first joined the company of Perfect Crime in the fall of 1993. Over the next 30+ years, he performed several multi-year runs in the role, lasting between three and ten years each. In the meantime, he also performed across film, TV, and other stage works – but always returned to his “Perfect Crime Home.”
His theater productions include Criminal Hearts at Stamford Theatre Works; American Buffalo, Talk Radio, Glengarry Glen Ross and Fool for Love at The New City Theater; Burn This, Speed the Plow and Habitation of Dragons, written and directed by Horton Foote, at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, among many others. He has also helped develop a variety of new and original works, including The Woodsman at The Actors Studio Theater; Dead Father's Club at the Performing Garage; and The Einstein Project at Theatre of the First Amendment in Washington DC.
Television credits include Law and Order, America's Most Wanted, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Third Watch, and National Lampoon's Seven Deadly Sins: Thy Neighbor's Wife, directed by Denis Leary.
David made memorable appearances in The Professional, Cop Land, New Jersey Drive, Night and the City, Silence of the Lambs; Night of the Living Dead, The Dark Half, and the original Dawn of the Dead – all directed by George Romero.
In Perfect Crime, Butler plays the brilliant, mysterious and very savage psychiatrist W. Harrison Brent – who may or may not be a murder victim, or a murderer. Perfect Crime executive producer Armand Hyatt and playwright Warren Manzi both agreed David was the finest actor to ever play the role.
After his final performance on January 4, Catherine Russell – who appeared with Butler in all of his 8,000 performances of Perfect Crime – said, “I agree with Armand and Warren. David was the best ever in the role – but David is also the actor I have most loved being onstage with over the past three decades. He is an actor's actor – always happy to be doing a show, always prepared and surprising onstage, and he's the person you want to be onstage with when something goes wrong. Working with him made me a much better actor. I will miss him so much!”
Butler departs the show to move home to Pittsburgh with his wife, actress Ana Veronica Munoz. There, they will each pursue stage and film roles.
However, David has agreed to return for a few guest appearances in Perfect Crime whenever needed – so stay tuned.
The perfect show for CSI and Law & Order fans, Perfect Crime tells the story of brilliant but money-hungry psychiatrist and suspected cold-blooded killer Margaret Brent, her wealthy husband, deranged patient, and the handsome detective who's falling in love with her while trying to solve the crime. The production, written by the late Warren Manzi and produced by Armand Michael Hyatt, has the distinction of being the only show (on or Off-Broadway) that has run in New York City during the 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, and now the 20s. The ‘urban legend' has managed to withstand the test of time – evolving with the changing styles, technology, culture, audiences, and various crises around it. Perfect Crime features Catherine Russell, who has performed in the show since its first performance and has never taken a sick day or a vacation day in the past 39 years! It's a feat that has landed her in the Guinness Book of World Records.
