Shakespeare fest calls up suspense with ‘Dial M for Murder’
Does anyone actually “dial” anymore?
Shouldn’t this classic’s title now be “Input M for Murder”?
Tech advances aside, “Dial M for Murder” and its timeless suspense plot are next up onstage in Cedar City as part of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s fall season, being staged at the Randall L. Jones Theatre today through Oct. 22.
The play was penned by Frederick Knott, who did not amass a huge resume because, as his wife told The New York Times in 2002, “he hated writing, he wrote only for the money.”
Cemented in cinema lore in 1954 when Alfred Hitchcock adapted the play for the screen, the plot takes us to London in 1952, where wealthy Margot Wendice convinces Tony, her tennis pro hubby, to give up the court to spend more time with her. However, Tony discovers that Margie’s been a bad girl, having had a fling with American murder mystery writer Max Halliday while Tony was on a U.S. tour.
Thirsting for revenge almost as much as for her money, Tony carefully maps out Margie’s murder, using Max’s arrival in London as the time to execute it. Blackmailing an ex-schoolmate and convicted criminal to help him, he believes he’s hatched the perfect scheme.
He hasn’t. When Margot refuses to play victim, everything goes topsy-turvy.
Though older moviegoers might recall the Hitchcock version, others may remember the plot in its contemporary remake, 1998’s “A Perfect Murder,” starring Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen.
Either way, murder most foul goes afoul of expectations in “Dial M for Murder.”
Tickets are $26-$62; call 800-752-9849 or visit www.bard.org for information.
Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.