Theatre Tricks

"Theatre Tricks"
←	SVU, Episode 13.11	→
Production number: 13011 First aired (US): 11 January 2012 First aired (UK): 20 May 2012 First aired (CAN): 11 January 2012 First aired (AUS): 19 April 2012
	th of 502 produced in SVU
←	th of 502 released in SVU	→
	th of 1271 released in all
Teleplay By Marygrace O'Shea Story By Marygrace O'Shea, Julie Martin & Warren Leight Directed By Constantine Makris

When an actress is raped on stage during a performance, the SVU squad discovers the attacker was set up to commit the crime.

Summary[]

An actress in an interactive theater production is raped on stage, while the audience believes it to be part of the show. The SVU detectives hit a dead end in their investigation when they learn the show's passionate director gave the audience, including the assailant, masks to wear during the performance. Detectives Rollins and Tutuola track down an obsessed fan of the young actress who recorded the assault while stalking her, which leads Detectives Benson and Amaro to a respected judge. With the judge's reputation on the line, the SVU squad explores the underbelly of the New York theater world to uncover who really orchestrated the public attack.

Plot[]

An interactive theater production inspired by Dante's Inferno is staged in New York by Director and Author Ted Scott. The main actress, Meghan Weller, is surrounded by masked men and one of them rapes her on stage, but the rest of the audience don't react believing it was part of the plot.

The SVU investigates the case. All Weller knows about the aggressor is that he was wearing a goat mask, smelled like smoke and had a partner who held her. After hearing Weller's story again, Tutuola and Rollins go interviewing Estelle Roberts, a woman whose credit card bought dozens of tickets for Weller's plays. The woman claims she didn't buy any ticket and that she doesn't own a credit card; however, Rollins finds her son's bedroom Jason Roberts covered with photos of Weller, whom Mrs Roberts claims is Jason's girlfriend. Turns out Jason Roberts is an expert in informatics who, after having been contacted by Weller to design her website, has placed micro cameras all around both his and her apartment. Arrested, he admits having stalked Weller through the micro cameras, although he is not the aggressor, and shared his own video recording of the aggression with the SVU.

Checking Roberts' video recording, the unit identifies the partner in a theatre critic, who turns out to be innocent. However, he informs the SVU that the aggressor was wearing law-themed cufflinks, so he must be someone working in the justice system. One of the suspects is Judge Gerald Crane, who openly admits being the aggressor, although he also claims it was a shared sexual fantasy of his and Weller's, and shows an email exchange between himself and the girl in support of his story.

The SVU checks the website through which Judge Crane contacted Weller and, upon Rollins' suggestion, they check Weller and Roberts again. The former denies the sexual fantasy, having written the emails and having a profile on the website; while the latter turns out having an alibi for the exact moments when the emails were sent (all from the same internet café), thus proving to be a stalker, but not involved in the rape. Re-checking Roberts' video recordings of Meghan apartment, they find out Ted Scott was there frequently in the last months, "rehearsing" the scene, but that Meghan wasn't into him; he also decided to implement the rape scene in a new version of the play, which is already sold out. Researching Scott's past, they also find out that Judge Crane ruled Scott's first divorce, ruining him; and analyzing the emails and Scott's essays, Rollins finds many similarities in style, and also that the safe word established in Weller's fake emails, "Dixie", was also the title of the first play Scott staged in New York. Scott is arrested.

However, Scott declares himself innocent, and rather claims to be the victim, not the aggressor; and Cabot declared the evidences insufficient for prosecuting Scott. The SVU goes back to the website, to search how Scott could have known of Crane's sexual fantasies. Crane is informed of the newest results of the investigations, and that he will be prosecuted for rape (albeit involuntary). He collaborates with the SVU and shares the names of the young women he contacted on the dating website. He admits having contacted a "not so beautiful" young girl, to satisfy a public rape fantasy (his own, not hers).

The girl is Holly Schneider, Meghan Weller's roommate. She opened a profile on the dating website originally because he needed money for the rent; there she met both Crane and Scott. However, Schneider became increasingly envious of Weller, of her beauty in the first place, and of her wealthy family. On top of having sex with him, Schneider did an audition for Scott's play, but Scott chose Weller instead - who didn't even sign up for it and only was there to support Schneider - because she was prettier than Schneider. So she staged Weller's rape out of envy.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

• Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson
• Danny Pino as Detective Nick Amaro
• Kelli Giddish as Detective Amanda Rollins
• Richard Belzer as Sergeant John Munch (credit only)
• Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola
• Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen

Recurring cast[]

• Stephanie March as A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot
• Gilbert Gottfried as T.A.R.U. Technician Leo Gerber
• Jacqueline Hendy as Defense Attorney Sofia Crane

Guest cast[]

• Jenn Proske as Meghan Weller
• Grant Shaud as Critic
• Gayle Rankin as Holly Schneider
• Adam Driver as Jason Roberts
• Angela Pietropinto as Estelle Roberts
• Fisher Stevens as Director Ted Scott
• Kevin Pollak as Judge Gerald Crane
• Coco Nicole Austin as Venus
• Larisa Bond as Young Woman #4
• Gabra Zackman as Defense Attorney Debra Wagner
• Molly Montgomery as Eve
• Micah Stock as Goat Mask Actor
• Mark David Watson as Paolo
• Shane Geraghty as Double Judge Crane

Reference[]

• Elliot Stabler
• Dante's Inferno
• Sugar Babyz

Quotes[]

Benson: Rape kit's in. There's no trauma, except for wrist abrasions. No DNA.

Amaro: It was their opening night. Any chance it was all for publicity?

Benson: This girl Meghan, she just moved here from Hennepin, Minnesota six months ago. She's pretty shaken up.

Amaro: Well, she is an actress.
[There's a long pause as everyone looks around]

Cragen: Point taken. [to Amaro] See if her story has changed overnight.

[after what Amaro said about Meghan]

Rollins: What was that about? What, she's an actress, she's on stage, she dressed provocatively, that means she's automatically lying?

Benson: No, they don't think that.

Rollins: Well, something else was going on. I also know you heard it too. I keep wanting to think that things have changed.

Benson: They have changed. Compared to the way it used to be? They've changed.

Estelle Roberts: I live in hell. I don't need to see a play about it.

Jason Roberts: If I was gonna set up Meghan, I've got images that are a lot hotter. See?
[shows the detectives the images]

Rollins: Really? Jason, you just made bail on a surveillance charge.

Rollins: Amanda Rollins: Jeez. The director, the I.T. guy, the judge. Just pick your pervert.

Benson: [referring to Meghan] Well, a pretty girl new to New York City. Every guy she met saw her as easy prey.

Rollins: Can I ask you something? How long have you worked SVU?

Benson: Don't ask.

Rollins: No, it's just... how do you trust any man ever after working this job day in, day out?

Benson: I trusted my partner.

Rollins: Yeah, okay.

Benson: I haven't given up hope. There are good guys still out there.

Rollins: [to Holly] You know, I'm from a small town too. I come up here to the city, I think things are gonna be different, my life's gonna change.

Holly Schneider: You don't get it! You're like Meghan. How long have you been in New York? And you're already a detective? You're just like her. Everything just handed to you. Guys jumping up to help you, nice apartments, upgrades to first-class. All you have to do is show up...

Amaro: And you get the part.

Meghan Weller: Holly, I thought you were my friend. You had someone rape me!

Holly Schneider: It's about time something bad happened in your life.

Rollins: I didn't see or hear a shred of remorse. With all the abusive men in her life and Meghan's betrayed by a woman. Didn't see it coming.

Benson: Yeah, it's hard enough out there. You'd like to think that we could look out for each other. [gives Rollins a knowing look] Good night.

Rollins: Get home safe.

Background information and Notes[]

• Actor Ice-T's wife, Coco, has a cameo in this episode as an actress in the theatre production show in the open.
• The victim is being introduced as coming from Hennepin, Minnesota and Hennepin is presented as a town. However Hennepin is in fact a county in Minnesota; Minneapolis is in Hennepin County.

Episode scene cards[]