Columbo – the trench coat-wearing, cigar-smoking, absent-minded detective from the hit TV series, is to have his own Broadway play, it has been announced.
Following glowing reviews and sold-out houses at the International Mystery Writers festival in Owensboro (KY), Columbo Takes The Rap – written by William Link who created the detective in 1960 with writing partner Richard Levinson – will be making its way to a Broadway theatre after a national tour later this year.
Peter Falk, who played the TV Columbo, is now 80 years old and will not be playing him on Broadway. Instead, Norm Bucher, who played the role at the festival will take up the lead.
Columbo Takes The Rap concerns the death of a rap star, killed by his record producer, and a tense game of cat-and-mouse that ensues.
This will be the second time the disheveled detective has appeared on stage, making his first appearance in 1961 when Levinson and Link wrote the play Prescription: Murder, which toured 51 cities with great success.
Once a staple element of the scene, the new play will mark a welcomed return to the thriller/mystery genre that has almost disappeared completely on Broadway.