Review: Dial M for Murder at the Alley Theater

Jeffrey Hatcher’s 2022 adaptation of Frederick Knott’s 1952 thriller, Dial M for Murderplaying at the Alley as a taster of their Summer Chills, is a tasty treat for murder mystery aficionados.

Tense and clever, with plenty of twists and turns to keep us guessing what’s going to happen next, Knott’s most cautious inspiration was to expose the murderer from the second scene. We know exactly who it is and who he hires to carry out his nefarious plan to murder his womanizing wife. It’s a bit of an arabesque twist on Agatha Christie’s The murder of Roger Ackroyd. There, the trusted doctor who tells the story turns out to be the murderer; here we know it’s Tony (Brandon Hearnsberger) who blackmails an old school acquaintance, the temperamental Lesgate (Dylan Godwin), into killing Tony’s wealthy wife Margot (Teresa Zimmermann).

It’s not about who did it, but how is it going to be done. How can this perfect murder be foiled?

What Hatcher changed about Knott was updating the sexual triangle. Margot is still having an affair, but now with a woman, Maxine (Geena Quintos), an aspiring crime writer who is on the brink of fame with her latest novel, but whose success depends on how publicist Tony pushes. Except Tony knows everything about this affair, which is why he wants Margot to ride with the wind. He wants his money.

This modern thrill doesn’t detract from the basic story, but it doesn’t add much to the tension already present in the original. He stands there, saying, look how wired we are. Oh, a lesbian subplot, aren’t we modern. A Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf playing gay would be subversive, a lesbian Dial M for Murder is a bit of a yawn.

The room itself is not the problem. The production is.

Director Tatiana Pandiani can’t decide what this drama is supposed to be about. Should it be played as a thriller, as was the case with Hitchcock’s film adaptation (1954), or should there be light comedy bits interspersed with the expressionism of the lighting effects and that gigantic marquee flashing red, MURDER, which enters and leaves the proscenium like The Phantom’s Chandelier? The tone is wrong. Yes, I know, it’s not Shakespeare or Albee, it’s a crowd pleaser, and we’re in the game being played. Sit back and enjoy the tips. But there are tips and then there are tricks.

The set, designed by Marcelo Martínez García, is close to 1950s Danish modern with upholstered metal chairs, an upholstered sofa and a bulky turntable. But what London flat, or any flat at all, would have gigantic windows to the side of the front door? The actors are careful not to look into the living room when they enter through the hallway.

The game must be airtight, any divergence in logic destroys the illusion. And this room is just an illusion, we shouldn’t have to worry about such oddities. And despite all the opening and closing of the front door – and how heavily it figures into the basic plot mechanics – why is it so weak? The entire wall shakes when someone enters or exits. My middle school plays had more solid sets. You are known for your opulence, Alley Theater, why skimp on some wooden reinforcements and screws? Don’t be cheap with us.

Rodrigo Muñoz’s costumes aren’t cheap; they’re grand: chinchilla wraps and deep-V buttress tops straight out of Balenciaga; diamond brooches pinned to the waist; silky pantsuits with a flared leg; worsted tweed for men. Luxurious and full of character.

Hearnsberger is a perfect Tony – smug, oily, ophidian. He gets angry when he doesn’t get what he wants and purrs when he does. When Margot is taken to prison for Lesgate’s murder, Tony practically coos as he perches on the desk, self-satisfied in the extreme.

Zimmermann is more of a problem, but that may not be his fault. Since no one has seen the stage version since 1952, the only comparison we have is to Grace Kelly under Hitchcock. Who could match its luminescence? Zimmermann is stuck between frenzied and neat, and neither seems believable.

In the final scene, in which Tony will doom himself if he unlocks the front door with the key hidden under the staircase rug, she throws herself at the door like a Victorian girl in a DW Griffith melodrama. This is inappropriate and completely irrelevant at this point. She’s fully aware that Tony tried to have her murdered, and yet she stands up for him? That does not make sense.

Quintos becomes completely villainous as Maxine, and it’s never clear why Margot would fall for her. She is only feathers. With her Cruella de Vil white streak in her hair, she plays the spiky villain. Harshness seems like a charade. Again, it’s the tone.

Godwin is as good as Lesgate, caught in a web he did not weave. He, Hearnsberger and, in particular, Todd Waite as Scotland Yard Inspector Hubbard, who of course, like all the archetypes before him, knows a lot more than he lets on, have fun in these roles and beat their characters like cat toys.

Aisle Dial does not gel completely. Yes, it’s an ancient and talky play, but it has great strengths as a mystery thriller, one of the best in the genre.

For a comparison, and perhaps why this version falls somewhat flat, see Hitchcock’s more austere version at MFAH June 9 at 5 p.m. Originally filmed in 3D, as the play finished its run and the Warner Bros. film. , the fashion had passed. The new process was so tedious during filming and projection – and those cardboard glasses never worked properly – that the “stereoscopic” system was doomed to failure. The dial was released primarily in standard 35mm. Even though it’s flat, the film has more depth than the Alley scene.

Dial M for Murder continues until June 30 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday; 7 p.m. Sunday; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at the Alley Theater, 615 Texas. For more information, call 713-220-5700 or visit alleytheatre.org. $29 to $81.