T. CHARLES ERICKSON
Olivia Gilliatt, left, and Jasmin Walker co-star in “Dial M for Murder” at Two River Theater in Red Bank.
“Dial M for Murder” was a play before it was made into a film, by Alfred Hitchcock, in 1954. But the script that Two River Theater in Red Bank is using for its current production is not Frederick Knott’s original version. It is Jeffrey Hatcher’s 2022 adaptation. Hatcher makes some significant changes, including, most notably, making the affair that is a crucial part of the plot a lesbian one. The original play’s Max Halliday (renamed Mark Halliday in the film) is now Maxine Hadley.
The play is set in London, in the stodgy mid-1950s, and the three characters in its love triangle are rich sophisticates. In this world, would the fact that the two lovers are female make the affair more scandalous? Yes, I would assume so. But Hatcher does not dwell on the point. Instead, he keeps the focus where it always was: On the many wild twists and turns of the plot, and its satisfying final resolution.
T. CHARLES ERICKSON
Tony Roach and Olivia Gilliatt in “Dial M for Murder.”
(DEI detractors, take note: Adding an LGBTQIA+ element does not ruin “Dial M for Murder.” Indeed, it hardly changes it at all. Perhaps that is the point.)
Anyway, back to the production itself: It’s smooth and satisfying, and well acted by a cast of five: Olivia Gilliatt as glamorous British heiress Margot Wendice; Jasmin Walker as her American love interest, the aforementioned Maxine Hadley, who is a successful crime-fiction novelist; Tony Roach as Olivia’s polite, well-mannered and seemingly benign husband Tony Wendice; Robert Eli as reluctant hitman Lesgate; and Triney Sandoval as the investigating detective, Inspector Hubbard.
Director Jenn Thompson, scenic designer Wilson Chin and costume designer Jess Goldstein help create a sense of upper-class luxury against which the somewhat seedy story unfolds. (Check out the dresses and furnishings in the top photo, above; everything looks like it costs a fortune.)
It is not a spoiler for me to tell you that it is Tony who pressures Lesgate, an old acquaintance of his, to kill Olivia. We see him calmly setting everything up, in the first act, while keeping up the facade of a happily married husband. But — still in the first act — the hit does not go as planned. Tony improvises, and ingeniously shifts the blame to someone else. And — in the second act — it looks like he may get away with it …
… unless Hubbard can piece everything together, with an assist from Maxine, calling on her crime-fiction chops.
T. CHARLES ERICKSON
Triney Sandoval, left, and Tony Roach in “Dial M for Murder.”
As mentioned, Hatcher doesn’t reinvent “Dial M for Murder” as much as he just tweaks parts of it. In addition to the Max/Maxine change, for instance, he makes Tony a failed novelist who becomes a publicist (for Maxine’s publishing company) instead of a retired tennis player. This adds professional jealousy to his list of motivations.
As played by Sandoval, Hubbard is a fish out of water, moving awkwardly but purposefully through this refined world. He looks a bit rumpled, compared to everyone else, and speaks gruffly. He always seems to be one step behind. But then he asks a sharp question that makes you think he is just playing dumb, lulling Tony into incriminating himself.
The character brought to mind the ’70s TV series “Columbo,” in which Peter Falk’s L.A. homicide detective always seemed to be in a bit of a fog until the breakthrough moment of each episode, when everything snapped into place.
It will not surprise anyone that everything snaps into place here, too. That’s the way a thriller like this one works. But how will we get there? That’s the fun part: Watching out, as the story unfolds, for small clues that may emerge, and point the way to the truth.
Everything adds up for a day or night at the theater that is escapist fun — nothing more and nothing less. That is not a criticism. I will always prefer a well-crafted work like this one — which will dependably keep you on the edge of your seat, even if you have seen the play or the movie before — over one that attempts to say something “important,” but doesn’t quite get there.
Two River Theater in Red Bank will present “Dial M for Murder” through March 9. Visit tworivertheater.org.
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