Stage Review - Dial “M” for Murder (Village Theatre)
Stage Review - Dial “M” for Murder
Presented By: Village Theatre - Issaquah, WA
Show Run: January 21 - February 23, 2025 (March 1 - March 23 in Everett)
Date Reviewed: Saturday, January 25, 2025 (Opening Weekend)
Run Time: 2 Hours, 10 minutes (including a 15 minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
There’s something about a good thriller. Not to be confused with something like a horror film, but I mean an edge of your seat, hold your breath, grab your armrest thriller. For me, the best thing about a thriller is that, even more than a lot of other genres, it’s a complete escape. A good one makes time virtually disappear, the story grabbing the viewer’s interest and not letting go, through the crescendo and up to the climax. To make this happen, especially in film, it takes a bit of magic. Sure, there’s the importance of the story itself, the twists and turns, the protagonist development, and so forth, but there’s also the lighting, the camera angles, the editing, all things that contribute to the suspense, and of course the pacing, that which keeps the story moving, the audience’s heart racing, and the tension that builds until that climactic ending. Alfred Hitchcock was a master at this in film, and he was able to deliver consistently, but what about the stage? Sure, Hitchcock never directed for the stage, but his work was so good on screen that it makes sense that some of it would find its way there. That’s not a question, really. What is, though, is how do you take a story like Dial “M” for Murder, which Hitchcock directed in 1954, bring it to the stage and capture all of the intrigue, tension, and suspense that the film does, without all of that Hollywood filmmaking magic. If you ask Adam Immerwahr, Village Theatre’s Artistic Director and the director of the theatre’s production of the stage version of the Hitchcock classic, which runs on stage in Issaquah through February 23, he might say it’s simple. First, start with a play that was written by the same person who wrote the screenplay for the film, English playwright Frederick Knott. Next, put together the best ensemble you can, one with a surreal amount of talent and chemistry, able to deliver the dialogue and story with the pace and precision a thriller demands, and finally add a creative team that knows how to produce the kind of magic that’s normally only found on the silver screen and present it in three dimensions, in a way that keeps the audience on the edge of their collective seats from the first line of dialogue to the last. Put all of that together and the result is the blueprint for a successful thriller.
The set for the Village production of Dial “M” for Murder is beautifully designed, albeit relatively unassuming. Designed by Paige Hathaway, the set resembles the standard fare for ensemble focused plays, specifically those found in murder mysteries or farces. All of the pieces are there, the couch, chair, and coffee table as the focal point of a large drawing, or living, room, a fireplace to one side of the stage, in this case to stage left, a desk set back from the other furniture, a small bar, because, after all, the play is set in 1952 London in the flat of the wealthy husband and wife Tony and Margot Wendice, and a library on the on the side opposite from the fireplace. There are also the requisite doors to handle the timely entrances and exits that a show relying on precise timing for suspense needs, it’s all there, but more than that, every corner of the set is beautifully appointed and with a color palette that isn’t just easy on the eyes, it’s coordinated with Ivania Stack’s exquisite costume design for the show.
All of the creative components surely contribute to how wonderfully good this play is at capturing that magic that I was hoping to find in the stage version of what is a brilliant film. Connie Yun’s lighting and Meghan Roche’s sound come together to provide the right amount of mood and suspense, especially in what seems like a requirement for stories like this, the dreaded thunderstorm scene. Meghan’s work is extremely good in capturing the essence of that scene, the wind and the rain providing that feeling of underlying uneasiness, but perhaps her best work is during a radio interview, in which Margot’s ex-lover, and crime author, Maxine, and husband Tony, who happens to work for Maxine’s publisher, are out promoting a new novel while Margot herself stays home in her flat to listen. As Margot stands in the living room, the audio from the interview fills that room, and the Village Theatre auditorium, but as Tony’s wife walks past the fireplace and opens to door to walk into the bedroom to where the television is located, the sound seems magically to follow her, almost as if it’s being sucked into the room, it’s quite uncanny and brilliant. Connie’s lighting is never a disappointment, and her work here shows how someone who understands not just how timing can make a show, but also how subtle lighting changes can direct the audience’s emotional attention. There’s so much more to Connie’s work than just light and dark, and while not all of it is evident tho those in attendance, they’re all impacted by it.
Where the real magic happens, though, is within this cast. It’s true, I love to see amazing individual performances, but for my money, there’s nothing better than an ensemble that is so natural together that they seem as if they were made for these particular parts in this particular show. I just can’t say enough about the quality of this group, their mastery of the individual characters, their work together, the pace of their delivery, and their ability to communicate completely, through facial expressions, changes in posture, or gestures. The cast consists of Betsy Mugavero, making her Seattle debut, as Margot Wendice, the wealthy wife of Tony, played by Richard Nguyen Sloniker, Angela DiMarco as Maxine, American mystery author and ex-lover of Margot, Calder Jameson Shilling as Captain Lesgate, and old college acquaintance of Tony’s, and R. Hamilton Wright as Inspector Hubbard.
First, I want to tackle my personal elephant in the room, Richard and Calder, late of Happy Christmas, Jeeves, and previously together in Jeeves Takes a Bow, Calder as the entitled and somewhat spoiled Bertie Wooster and Richard as his far more intelligent, extremely competent valet. All you have to do to understand my opinion of them as a pair is simply read either of my review for those two Jeeves plays, which ran at Taproot Theatre over the past two seasons. So, of course, I was intrigued when I saw them on the cast list for Dial “M” for Murder, but here, the tables are turned. In this play, Richard is Tony, wealthy by marriage and living the high life, while Calder is an old acquaintance from university, but most certainly not a friend. Lesgate, it turns out, isn’t exactly who he says he is, an ex-convict, he’s willing to do almost anything for money, which is how he comes into contact with Richard’s Tony. There’s a moment, though, when they first meet, and the two look at each other, that the fan in me wanted them to say something, or do something, to acknowledge their long standing relationship on stage, and I’ll just say that the pair made my night. They’re also very good in these roles, Richard is just brilliant as the aloof Englishman, his posture, mannerisms, and diction aren’t a far cry from his work as Jeeves, he’s just a little more complicated here, as is his new relationship with Calder’s Lesgate. Lesgate is more blue collar, his wardrobe, as opposed to Tony’s more formal wear, designed by costumer Ivania Stack reflects that, as does his accent, and his character is more nervous, more unsure of himself, and Calder takes to this just as naturally it seems as he does to any other role I’ve seen him in. And the chemistry between the two, frankly I’d watch the two of them paired in any roles together.
The play itself begins with Tony’s wife Margot talking to Maxine about a number of things, the conversation seeming to start as small talk and then moving on to things of a more serious nature. It’s clear pretty quickly that the two were once in a relationship together, and that while Maxine remains a close friend, and ostensibly works for Tony, as he is helping Max to market her new crime novel, neither believe that Tony knows that they were once lovers. Someone does, though, as it seems a few months prior, when Margot had her handbag stolen, a pretty racy letter from Maxine that had been in it previously was missing when the purse was eventually returned. Subsequently, whoever had taken the purse proceeded to blackmail Margot, lest her husband find out about the affair. Margot pays the blackmail, but never receives the letter back, and what follows is a practically perfect and utterly suspenseful thriller, complete with an attempted murder gone wrong, a handful of lies and deception, a plethora of people trying to blackmail one another, and so many twists and turns that it isn’t until the very last moment of the play until it all makes sense.
As I’ve said before, it’s the whole cast that delivers. Betsy, as the lead, though I still claim this is more of an ensemble piece, makes the most of her Seattle debut as Margot. She’s excellent from start to finish, strong, but at the same time naive, perfectly portraying the nervousness of telling Maxine about the blackmail, fortitude during the perpetration of a crime, and the franticness afterwards. She clearly understands how important timing and pace is to making a suspenseful thriller work, as does Angela DiMarco as Maxine. Angela’s performance is strong as well, and what I love about her’s is the nuance, the way she looks up from her martini while listening to Margot speak, or her posture when she’s being challenged by Margot or Tony, it’s little differentiators such as those that make these performances stand out. And together, there’s an energy between the two, a tension that the audience can feel, and something more, clearly still a strong attraction. Impressive how these two can portray this, without doing anything outwardly physical.
Rounding out the cast is R. Hamilton Wright as Inspector Hubbard. The audience only sees Hubbard in Act 2, but while R. Hamilton isn’t on stage as much as the others, his work in the second half of the show proves he fits right in with this ensemble. His Hubbard is a sort of counter to the quick pace and franticness of the other characters, he’s level headed and steady, clearly intelligent though a bit eccentric. There’s a certain Columbo-like quality to him, it seems like he’s always bumbling a bit, or a little too agreeable, but he’ll always ask that one last question that proves he’s actually paying attention.
It’s rare that a theatre can put up a show and successfully present it as the formula for producing in a particular genre, but that’s exactly what Director Adam Immerwahr and Village Theatre have done with their version of the Hitchcock classic Dial “M” for Murder. It’s a textbook suspenseful thriller, with all of the ingredients, from a strong story with it’s fair share of twists and turns, quick pacing, and enough tension to keep its audiences sitting on the edge of their seats and guessing until the very end. Adam’s talented creative team supports an exceptional cast in the telling of this whodunit that needs to be on everyone’s theatre calendar this season.
Dial “M” for Murder runs on stage at Village Theatre in Issaquah through February 23 before moving to its Everett location for a run starting on March 1. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://villagetheatre.org/.
Photo credit: Auston James
