The Classic Theatre Festival welcomes you to the 2023 Summer Season! Affairs of State (July 7-30, 2023) is Louis Verneuil’s classic, rediscovered post-WW2 comedic gem, a funny and intriguing story about the diplomatic deals and double crosses behind closed doors in Washington featuring a memorable love quadrangle that threatens the appointment of a new Under-Secretary of State. It’s a chance to revisit an age when satirical comedies were sophisticated, smart, sassy, insightful, and fun, with the wit and charm of the best Katharine Hepburn/ Spencer Tracy films. It ran for over two years on Broadway when first produced. It’s a lovely show that evokes the post-war optimism that infuses so many of the era’s stories on stage and screen. And most remarkable of all, Democrats speak civilly with Republicans! Sleuth (August 4-27, 2023) is Anthony Shaffer’s gripping, Tony-Award-winning thriller, an ingenious story of a mystery writer whose obsession with the inventions and deceptions of fiction and his fascination with games and game-playing sets off a very dangerous and deadly chain of events. This rollercoaster of a thriller – equal parts mischievous humour and gripping anticipation – continually puts the dramatic pedal to the metal, drawing audiences to the edge of their seats as they try to keep one step ahead of the increasingly desperate characters’ life-and-death, cat-and-mouse battle of wits. It ran four years on Broadway and became a film starring Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier. The Times of London called it “The most fiendishly clever thriller ever written for the stage.”