“Timing is everything.”
In the Alley Theatre’s current production of “Dial M for Murder,” this seems a judicious observation for the plotter of a complex murder to make. And as the play unfolds, the murder plot proceeds through most of Act I like a well-oiled train: the timing goes according to plan—a key to play. For its story is no murder mystery in the who-dun-it tradition. Audiences know early who is planning what; the surprise is not the killer’s identity but how his plan goes awry and how the hunter becomes the prey. Without giving anything away, the fly in the ointment is another mystery cliché: there’s no such thing as a perfect murder. A hiccup in the timing is crucial.
It turns out this is also true – consciously or not – of this production as a whole.
Like the plot, “Dial M” has potential to be a perfect suspense drama. Indeed, Frederick Knott’s piece survived three moves during the decade of its creation in the 1950s, beginning as a TV play for the BBC in 1952 before jumping to the London and New York stages the same year, and becoming an Alfred Hitchcock film starring Grace Kelly in 1954 — a triple crown of drama. But this adaptation and updating by Jeffrey Hatcher tries to keep the original’s suspense while turning at least three central characters into campy versions of the original: comical wink-wink, nudge-nudge figures who dissolve tautness with laughter.
To be fair, the audience when I saw the production didn’t seem to mind this twist. The packed Alley audience simply wanted to be amused, and their wish was granted. As the would-be victim, a wealthy but brainless wife, and her struggling writer lover, Teresa Zimmermann and Geena Quintos exude a passion as believable as a calorie-free hot fudge sundae.
Todd Waite, as the intrepid Inspector Hubbard who descends from Scotland Yard and ferrets out the truth, handles the verbal dexterity needed to unfold the plot, but his character never shows the depth to solve a Monday crossword much less a complex murder scheme. Moreover, the campy characterizations jar beside those of Brandon Hearnsberger as Tony, the plotting husband, and Dylan Godwin as Lesgate, the hired assassin. Both play their roles with verve that never makes them cartoon villains. Instead, Hearnsberger’s constant smile always suggests his hidden depths, while Godwin’s nervous mannerisms make Lesgate a man cornered. Individually, all five performances are strong, but they don’t mesh, leaving the audience unsure about the tone the play is trying to set.
It’s an inconsistency that cloys and needs either a better script or a director who steers the actors in one direction.
Nevertheless, the production’s qualities of set and lighting are top-notch. Designer Marcelo Martínez Garcia has created a timeless art deco London apartment for the well-heeled Margot and Tony Wendice — a place full of niches, corners, and distorting glass walls that are ideal for murder and cover up. Yuki Nakase Link’s lighting moves from bright to dim as events require and ends with a sly wink of a blackout that befits the play’s comic aspects and happy, maybe, ending.
In short, “Dial M for Murder”’s line has some static, but the call goes through. For the start of summer entertainment, it’s worth giving the Alley a ring.
“Dial M for Murder” is on the Alley Theatre’s main stage through June 30.
Robert Donahoo is a professor at Sam Houston State University and writes theater reviews for The Courier.
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