About the Play:

Red Herring is a full-length comedy by Michael Hollinger. Maggie's a tough, Boston cop, trying to get her finger on the one man who gave her the slip: a sly crime boss who worked his way into her heart. As she deals with murder, mystery, and intrigue in Boston Harbor, she also has to deal with Frank, an FBI gumshoe with a proposal more dangerous than commie spies, murderous mobs, and McCarthyism combined: marriage. Red Herring is a zany look at love and cold war politics.

Red Herring is a spoof of the film noir spy movies of the thirties and forties. Three love stories, a murder mystery, and a nuclear espionage plot converge in this noir comedy about marriage and other explosive devices. It's 1952: America is about to test the H-bomb, Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon are on the campaign trail, and I Love Lucy is the most popular TV series. Meanwhile, Senator Joe McCarthy's daughter just got engaged to a Soviet spy, and Boston detective Maggie Pelletier has to find out who dumped the dead guy in Boston Harbor – or else lose out on a honeymoon in Havana. Red Herring is a blunt-nosed, sharp-eyed look at love and tying (and untying, and retying) the knot.

Red Herring premiered in 2000 at Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia. Since then the play has enjoyed widespread acceptance among leading regional theatres, and has become a popular choice for school and community theatre productions.

Cast: 3 women, 3 men

What people say:

"Exceedingly funny. A genuinely human comedy about six people in search of love in a mixed-up world. A thoroughly engaging piece of theatre." — Philadelphia Inquirer

"Hilarious. A valentine celebrating love and marriage. A fun, engaging, farcical romp with a cleverly complex plot and a loving heart." — Main Line Times

"It's a knock-out—a surprising, clever comedy that keeps you laughing and even thinking all the way." — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Very funny and perceptive…sharp, witty, and entertaining." — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

About the Playwright:

Michael Hollinger is an American playwright who is the author of two dozen plays, including comedies, dramas, musicals, translation/adaptation, and plays for children. He is currently an associate professor of Theatre at Villanova University.