Margot Wendice has cheated on her husband Tony and so he wants her dead. Movie buffs might remember the popular 1954 Alfred Hitchcock film starring Ray Milland as Tony and Grace Kelly as Margot. Tony wants her money; he just doesn’t want her anymore.
Now playwright Jeffrey Hatcher has adapted the story by playwright Frederick Knott, updating it and cutting out some of the more convoluted parts. Alley Theatre is putting this adaptation of Dial M For Murder onstage — and has already extended its run through June 30 because of popular demand.
Brandon Hearnsberger (A Christmas Carol, Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd) plays Tony, who doesn’t have too many redeeming qualities. He forces Lesgate (played by Alley Resident Company Member Dylan Godwin) who has spent time in prison, to undertake the murder of Margot, played by Teresa Zimmermann (Amerikin)
Rounding out the case are Resident Company Member Todd Waite as Inspector Hubbard and Geena Quintos (Cambodian Rock Band) as Maxine Hadley. Tatiana Pandiani (Torera) directs.
In a change from the original, Tony is no longer a retired tennis player. Asked to describe his character, Hearnsberger says:. “It’s his great talent. charming people,” says Hearnsberger. “But I also feel slighted by the affair my wife is having. I think that in a lot of way the play is the portrait of a sociopath.”
Asked how to play charming without coming off as smarmy, Hearnsberger says: “It’s a knife’s edge thing. A lot of it has to do when you know about the person. When I’m first introduced all we know is my wife has just said: ‘He’s trying to be a good husband. He gave up his dream and got a job and he’s just trying to do the right thing.’
“And I come in and I’m all charming and charming and It’s not until about halfway through the next big scene that you realize that I’m not as charming. So everything I do after that becomes a certain kind of smarminess. But again the play is so brilliant in the way things happen and the fact that not anyone in this thing is good except for the inspector. I feel it’s my job to continue to charm the audience in a way so they kind of reluctantly stay on my side.”
Still as Hearnsberger acknowledges, “Very few people in this story can cast any stones. Even the inspector gets a little crafty for justice.”
Asked why Tony just doesn’t file for divorce, Hearnsberger explains that “At that time in England it was very difficult to get a divorce. It was kind of shameful.”
Those expecting a murder mystery along the lines of Agatha Christie need to readjust their sights to latter in the summer, Hearnsberger say, adding with a laugh”
“This is not a whodunit. This is a thriller, not a mystery.”
Performances are scheduled for May 31 through June 30 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 7 p.m. Sundays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at Alley Theatre, 615 Texas. For more information, call 713-220-5700 or visit alleytheatre.org. $29-$81.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
