Naomi Girson | staff writer
“So how would you murder me?” This playful quip serves as the opening line for the sapphic 2021 Jeffery Hatcher adaptation of “Dial M for Murder.”
Reimagined since its debut in 1952 by Frederick Knott — and later adapted to film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1954 — the play serves as the opening production for Pittsburgh Public Theater’s (PPT) 50th season.
“If you think you are coming to see an Alfred Hitchcock film, you are not,” said associate artistic director Sarah Ashley Cain.
In the original, Cain explained to The Duke that the female cast was written more like props for their male counterparts than true character foils. With the newer adaptation, women are more empowered and add more value.
“I loved it, I thought the adaptation with the queer women couple was really powerful and worked well with the storyline,” said theatergoer Clarise Fearn.
The story takes place in the Wendice apartment in London. Tony Wendice (Josh Innerst) finds out that his wife Margot (Brooke Turner) is having an affair with Maxine (Shannon Arielle Williams), and pays a hitman (Michael Patrick Trimm) to kill his wife’s mistress. The plan goes awry and Inspector Hubbard (Ken Bolden) comes in to sort everything out during the second act.
Bolden brought out the best in the cast. His line delivery was abrupt and added humor as he joyfully walked on and off stage, using a coy demeanor and fooling around with stage props during serious conversations.
“[It’s] fun, exciting, suspenseful — a little period play with a twist,” said Carnegie Mellon graduate student Tatiana Baccari.
To accommodate for the genderswap, the costuming highlighted large flowy slacks and shapeless silhouettes for Maxine, who had been Max in the original 1952 script. Meanwhile, Margot repped the ultimate femme fatale in a glimmering evening gown and a posh floor-length nightgown in the first act.
The whole cast dawned transatlantic accents, giving way to the 1950s setting and high-class golden age set design.
“Women have far more agency [in this version], they kind of take charge,” said assistant director Carlos Martinez.
This story isn’t really about a murder, as the title implies. As the play unfolds, the love triangle between Margot, Tony and Maxine takes center stage.
In this adaptation, Maxine takes on a more masculine persona, being a more outspoken and assertive woman than the 1950s would’ve allowed her to be. With the role played in such a way, Maxine’s character can bring the show back to the present day.
The sound design throughout the show was excellent. During moments of exposition or the reveal of a grand plan, quirky upbeat jazz swing music played. It felt like a secret was about to be whispered, and everyone had to lean in to hear it.
Opposite the smoother sounds were moments of pseudo-terror, when striking music would come in – more reminiscent of Hitchcock’s sound design.
“I thought it was a riveting, classic murder mystery,” said theatergoer Christina Greathouse. “Anyone who likes Hitchcock, this is a show to see.”
In a gesture of goodwill, PPT regularly invites its staff to attend opening performances with one guest ticket. Accounts payable associate Anna Skeels said that they were able to attend a cast meet-and-greet to hear a story pitch and learn more about the show before production rehearsals intensified.
“I [had] all the concepts and things and now I get to see all the parts come together,” Skeels said.
After the show on Saturday, PPT held an after-party to celebrate their quinquennial season. Longtime members J.W. Schobyr and Bruce McClellan spoke highly of all that PPT has done since they joined in 1975.
The two have been members for 49 seasons — almost a decade longer than their marriage — and they were very satisfied with the show, as well as PPT’s presence in the Pittsburgh art scene as a whole.
McClellan explained how the PPT has given him lifelong friends, and has many memories of his times in the theater scene, both as a patron and during the ’80s, when he worked for the company building sets.
The legacy of the theater is evident to newcomers as well.
Sabrina Rosenhagen and her twin daughters heard about the show through a friend. Although Rosenhagen had seen the 1954 Hitchcock film long before, she had never been to the O’Reilly Theater before. For her daughters, it was their first live theater experience.
“It wasn’t too scary and it wasn’t too cheesy, it was a perfect balance,” Rosenhagen said.
“Dial M for Murder” will continue to run at the O’Reilly Theater until Sept. 29. The show runs approximately 2 hours with one 15-minute intermission. Tickets start at $85 and can be purchased online.