Dial M For Murder - Milwaukee Rep
“Do you really believe in the perfect murder?” Margot asks her lover, a murder mystery author. In Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation of Dial M for Murder, Margot was played unforgettably by Grace Kelly and her lover, Max, by the nervously affable Robert Cummings. In the Milwaukee Rep’s adaptation, Margot is played by Amanda Drinkall and Max becomes Maxine in a performance by Lipica Shah.
Gender switch? The Rep’s Associate Artistic Director Laura Braza explains that the alteration adds yet another layer to the psychologically complex story. Margot’s husband Tony (Ray Milland in the film, Marcus Truschinski at the Rep) is planning the perfect murder—of Margot for her infidelity. But in the Rep’s adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher, “Tony carries a torch for Maxine. The fact that she is involved with his wife—clearly, he married her for money—really rankles him.” Jonathan Wainwright plays the indefatigable Inspector Hubbard.
The Rep’s Dial M for Murder takes place in 1952, the same year as the film. Aside from Max becoming Maxine, Hitchock fans will be familiar with the setting and scenario. “Hitchcock was remarkable for his theatrical sensibility,” Braza says, commenting on how closely he worked with Dial M’s author, playwright Frederick Knott. “The movie was not significantly different from the play, aside from the sort of visual storytelling the stage does not allow,” she continues. “Hitchcock stuck to the script. Bringing some of his visual sensibility to the stage is one of the fun challenges.”
One small tweak to the film version concerns the use of sound. In the new stage adaptation, Margot is listening to a radio interview with Maxine, discussing “the perfect crime,” as she is about to be attacked by Capt. Lesgate (Alex Weisman), blackmailed by Tony into attempting the murder.
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Like most of the movie, the play unfolds inside an apartment. Stage designer Arnold Buesco built much of the furniture to “look appropriate for the period—and give it the air of something creepy. He’s done interesting things with cool angles, very much like Hitchcock’s interest in angularity,” Braza says. She calls costume designer Alex B. Tecoma “the ultimate resource in ‘50s clothing history. He made beautiful, thoughtful costumes that the actors are excited about wearing!”
After the wild romp of Run Bambi Run, Dial M for Murder will go for a quieter, more introspective intensity. Whether Max or Maxine, it’s still a story about a “perfect murder” gone awry where everyone is keeping secrets—but some secrets are guiltier than others.
Milwaukee Rep performs Dial M for Murder Nov. 14-Dec. 17 at Quadracci Powerhouse, 108 E. Wells St. For tickets and more information, visit milwaukeerep.com.
