Review: Dial M for Murder is murder mystery with a twist

From L to R: Rita Broderick, Stacy Riley, Rob Kramer in
Vintage Theatre's Dial M For Murder
Photo by: Ellen Nelson

Part of the fun of going to see a murder mystery is getting to play along with the cast. The audience gets to play detective and try to figure out who did it, hopefully before the true killer is revealed on stage. This is why playwrights like Agatha Christie have such a huge following. There is a  core audience that will seek out these types of shows. Watching for clues, figuring out where the red herrings are, and picking out the culprit can be great fun indeed. However, what happens when you put a twist on the traditional murder mystery and let the audience in on the killer from the very beginning? Now the audience gets to watch as the inspector pieces everything together, knowing all the while as she gets warmer or colder. Dial M For Murder is a classic example of this. Written by Frederick Knott and directed by Bernie Cardell, Dial M for Murder is getting the Vintage Theatre Production treatment and is now playing.

Dial M is the story of ex-tennis great Tony Wendice. He has married his wife Margot for her money and plans to murder her before she leaves him for another man.  Unfortunately, the man he hired to kill her gets murdered himself and Margot survives. Tony must then act quickly to have Margot convicted of his murder before a Scotland Yard detective pieces everything together.

Fans of murder mystery will love this production. It has the same chills, thrills, and creepy moments that make the 1954 movie such a beloved favorite. Rob Kramer as Tony Wendice is simply fantastic. He takes delight in casting all the necessary evil glances and menacing looks, while making the character a joy to hate. Kramer is the perfect mix of smarmy and ominous, and he is 100% committed and believable in the role.

He takes delight in casting all the necessary evil glances and menacing looks."

Stacy Riley takes on the role of Margot Wendice, and unfortunately she doesn’t quite rise up to the high bar set by Kramer. She appears stiff and uncomfortable in the role, certainly something that can be chalked up to opening night nerves, but she didn’t commit to the character, and left a meager impression. Of course she is trying to live up to a role played on film by the incomparable Grace Kelly, a job that any actress would find difficult. Riley is stunningly beautiful, and physically a good comparison to Grace Kelly, however I was hoping for a bit more from her.

A Vintage favorite, Andy Lacerte, plays Max Halliday – the “other man” that Margot is seeing. For the most part Lacerte does a strong job, however he didn’t take the chance to really raise the stakes for his character as the stakes were raised in the show. Here is a man whose true love is about to be hanged for murder that she didn’t commit and he’s trying desperately to save her, yet the performance itself didn’t have the urgency that the moment demanded.

Rita Broderick’s portrayal of Inspector Hubbard, a role that is normally given to a male, gave a very interesting and detailed performance. As the wheels turned in the inspector’s head, Broderick was deliberate and calculating with her every move. That is, when her costumes allowed her to move. The costumes, designed by Glenda Mostek, in some cases were very ill-fitting and prohibited the actress from being able to move at all. Such is the case with the first dress that Stacy Riley appears in onstage as well. The dress barely allowed Riley to walk, and whenever she did walk all that the audience could hear was the very loud “swoosh-swoosh-swoosh” of the dress. Mostek is new to costume design and shows great promise. These examples can be chalked up to “lesson learned.”

gave a very interesting and detailed performance."

Finally, I cannot review this show without paying special mention to the set, designed by Colin Roybal, and the lighting, designed by Jen Orf. Roybal’s set is one of the most impressive and beautiful sets I’ve seen on the small Vintage stage. His design completely transported the audience into the show and the small details really made the set pop. Orf’s lighting design was not as strong, however, which is surprising given the number of shows Orf has done and that I’ve loved. Orf kept the show very dim - which for the most part worked well, except that during a fight scene - which was very carefully choreographed by Luke Terry, the audience couldn’t see it at all. Lighting should be used to punctuate an emotion on stage, but not to force it.

one of the most impressive and beautiful sets I’ve seen on the small Vintage stage."

The small complaints aside, Dial M For Murder is still a very enjoyable evening of theatre and a show worthy of your attention. Fans of the mystery genre will delight in watching Broderick piece together the mystery and watching Kramer carefully avoid getting caught. Vintage Theatre has a huge following for a reason. They provide an enjoyable evening of theatre in a comfortable setting filled with warm people that love what they do. This is no exception.
 

For more info: 
Vintage Theatre presents
Dial M for Murder
This classic of suspense will give you the chills
Aug. 21 – Sept. 20
Fri/Sat at 7:30 p.m. & Sun at 2:30 p.m.
2119 E 17th Ave in Denver.
Tickets are $22 at the door, $17 in advance
303-839-1361 or online