Carl Andress directs the Manhattan presentation of the play by Tina Benko, Gabrielle Reznek and Sam Turich, which will feature Tina Benko, Tim McGeever, Gabrielle Reznek and Sam Turich, each of them friskily playing multiple roles.

Crush the Infamous Thing "celebrates the bold, breathless, breakneck style of the screwball comedies which exploded onto American movie screens during the 1930s, when films were deliciously sophisticated, dizzy, witty, and just a little bit naughty," according to producers' notes.

It "plays with our passion for celebrities and our obsession with their scandalous behavior. In the play, four of the silver screen's most fabulous stars find themselves framed for the murder of a tyrannical movie mogul. They have no choice but to join forces and use their charm, their sass and their checkered pasts to try and outsmart the police, the press and their adoring yet fickle public. The cast of four brings to life 14 characters that take us on a madcap adventure filled with movies, mayhem, moustaches and many martinis!"

A pre-Broadway run is planned for April at the Brentwood Theater in California, Wreghitt said. A developmental production was seen at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami in 2004.

Wreghitt is one of the producers of Broadway's Little Women (now on tour), and also produced Martin McDonagh's Beauty Queen of Leenane on Broadway. He is shepherding McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore to a commercial New York future, as well. It bows at Off-Broadway's not-for-profit Atlantic Theater Company Feb. 8. Interested members of the industry may contact [email protected] for more information.