NOVEMBER 14 – DECEMBER 17, 2023 | QUADRACCI POWERHOUSE
BY
ADAPTED BY
DIRECTED BY
FREDERICK KNOTT
JEFFREY HATCHER
LAURA BRAZA
www.MilwaukeeRep.com | 414-224-9490
NOVEMBER 14 – DECEMBER 17, 2023 | QUADRACCI POWERHOUSE David Kundert Presents
By Frederick Knott
Corporate Sponsor
Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher
Directed by Laura Braza
Executive Producers
Associate Producers
Michael G. Carter Rebecca & Bryan House
Debesh & Linda Mazumdar • Diane & Clark Slipher Dr. Eric Durant & Scott Swickard
TABLE OF CONTENTS About the Play.................................................3 Mark Clements ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Chad Bauman EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PLAYGUIDE WRITTEN BY
Lindsey Hoel-Neds CONTENT WRITER PLAYGUIDE EDITED BY
Deanie Vallone LITERARY & NEW PLAY CONSULTANT
Characters..................................................4 Production and Adaptation History..................5 About the Classic Film Adaptation...................6 What Makes a Thriller?.....................................8 “Dial M” in Popular Culture...........................10 Jeffrey Hatcher’s Work at Milwaukee Rep......11
Lisa Fulton CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
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Dial M for Murder – PlayGuide
Erich Bergen and Mamie Gummer in Bay Street Theater’s production of Dial M for Murder, 2023. Photo credit: Bay Street Theater.
ABOUT THE PLAY This new adaptation by Jeffery Hatcher of Frederick Knott’s classic thriller, Dial M for Murder, brings a tale of scheming, murder, and betrayal full of twists and turns to the stage. The adaptation keeps the setting of 1950s London, but adds some new elements and changes to bring the story to modern audiences. The play opens in the flat of Margot and Tony Wendice, a wealthy English socialite and publicity agent for a publisher, respectively. Margot and Maxine Hadley, a thriller writer who is also a client and former casual flame of Tony’s, chat and drink together one evening before seeing a play. During their conversation, it is revealed that the two of them are former lovers who broke up a year previously, leading Maxine to return to the United States. She has now returned to London for a publicity tour for her new book. Margot tells Maxine that the one love letter she kept and cherished had been stolen and the thief tried to blackmail Margot or else reveal her infidelity and taboo relationship. Tony arrives home and gives the women a work-related excuse for why he can’t accompany them to the theater. Margot and Maxine leave for the theater, and Tony sets the stage for his devious plot. The buzzer chimes, with a shady character on the other side of the door, setting off the fateful events that will lead to death, betrayal, and ultimately thrills for the audience to unravel...
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CHARACTERS Margot Wendice
A wealthy English socialite, married to Tony and former love of Maxine.
Maxine Hadley
A writer of thrillers, client and former flame of Tony, former love of Margot.
Tony Wendice
A PR agent for a publishing company, failed writer, husband of Margot, agent and former flame of Maxine.
Lesgate
A shady character with multiple aliases, has a past connection to Tony under a different name.
Inspector Hubbard
The lead detective in the case that unravels, intelligent and observant, suspicious of the circumstances presented related to the crime.
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Dial M for Murder – PlayGuide
PRODUCTION & ADAPTATION HISTORY
ay iginal Broadw Playbill for or Murder. r fo M al Di of production Playbill. Photo credit:
1968 - ABC produces a television film in color. March 1952 - Dial M for Murder by English playwright
Frederick Knott premieres on BBC Television’s Sunday Night Theatre.
June 1952 - The play premieres in London’s West End.
The stage play was not expected to be a huge success and had an incredibly modest budget. The actors were even asked to provide their own costumes. The play, of course, went on to be a huge success on both the stage and screen.
October 1952 - The play has its Broadway premiere. John Williams won the 1953 Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Inspector Hubbard. The play ran for 552 performances. 1954 - The Dial M for Murder film adaptation directed by Alfred Hitchcock hits theaters. The film stars Grace Kelly, Ray Milland, Robert Cummings, John Williams, and Anthony Dawson.
1958 - NBC presents a television film adaptation in which several of the Broadway actors revived their roles.
1959 - The television show 77 Sunset Strip creates an
1981 - An NBC television film is released starring Angie Dickinson and Christopher Plummer.
1998 - A Perfect Murder is
released in theaters starring Gwenyth Paltrow, Michael Douglas, and Viggo Mortenson. The film is a contemporary reimagining of Dial M for Murder with the characters of Max and Lesgate combined into one lover/potential murderer. Unlike the play, the wife, played by Paltrow, unravels much of the scheme herself and confronts her husband at the end of the film.
Murder, 1998. Movie poster for A Perfect Photo credit: IMDb.
2022 - This new adaptation by Jeffery Hatcher, approved by the Knott estate, premieres at the Old Globe in San Diego receiving positive critical and audience reception.
episode adaptation called “The Fifth Stair.”
Ruibo Quian, Nathan Dar row, and Kate Abbruzzese in the Old Globe production of Dia l M for Murder, 2022. Photo cred it: Jim Cox, The Old Globe.
Screen capture from "Th e Fifth Stair." Photo credit: IMDb.
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nson in Christopher Plummer and Angie Dicki sion film. an advertisement for the 1981 televi Photo credit: IMDb.
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ABOUT THE
CLASSIC FILM ADAPTATION
Audiences might be most familiar with Dial M for Murder because of the classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller film from 1954. The play had premiered only two years earlier, but was quite a success and was quickly adapted by playwright Frederick Knott for the silver screen. The film starred the incomparable Grace Kelly as Margot and Ray Milland as Tony, with Robert Cummings, John Williams, and Anthony Dawson in supporting roles, with Williams and Dawson reprising their stage roles. Some classic film tidbits about Dial M for Murder:
l M for Original poster for Dia
dit: FilmForum.org Murder in 3D. Photo cre
The film was shot in 3-D as that was a fad in the early 1950s, making the film look unlike any other Hitchcock films. By the time of its release, the fervor over 3-D was waning, so most theaters showed the 2-D version instead. Advertisement for Dia l M for Murder. Image credit: Grace
Kelly Online.
The film marked the first collaboration between Hitchcock and Grace Kelly, but she would later appear in the more notable films Rear Window and To Catch a Thief. Almost all of the action of the film takes place indoors, to reflect the single set of the stage play and also to increase the tension and confinement in the story. 6
Dial M for Murder – PlayGuide
Stills from Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder. Image credits: IMDb.
Advertisement for Dial M for Murder. Image credit: IMDb.
As the film progresses, Kelly’s wardrobe gets darker and more somber to reflect the changing tone of her life and circumstances.
The film was shot in just 36 days. The film was named #9 in the American Film Institute’s best mystery films list in 2008. Of the small cast of credited actors (10), Grace Kelly is the only woman.
If you look closely, Hitchcock’s signature cameo in the film can be seen in a reunion photo Tony shows to Lesgate. Stills from Dial M for Murder showing Alfred Hitchcock's cameo in Tony's photograph. Image cred it: Reddit.
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Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out. Photo credit: Vulture.
WHAT MAKES A
THRILLER?
While storytellers have long told tales of high drama, adventure, mystery, plot twists, and suspense going back to ancient times, the thriller as an identified genre is a relatively new concept in the history of Western literature. James Fennimore Cooper with Spy (1821) and Robert Louis Stevenson with the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) and the novel Kidnapped (1886) are often considered pioneers of the modern thriller genre. The thriller genre gained traction during the Victorian era and hasn’t stopped gaining momentum since. There are many subgenres to be explored, from spy stories to gothic thrillers to domestic suspense to legal thrillers.
But, what makes a thriller? The answer varies by whom you’re asking and what type of thriller is being addressed, but some common elements include:
elling Plot-driven storyt d drama • High tension an ists • Lots of plot tw sing er/audience gues • Keeps the read or the about the “how” e or m is ry te ys In • T he m ho” or the “what.” “w e th of d ea st “why” in often happen crime or crimes other words, the dunnit?,” but estion isn’t “Who early and the qu scheme? the details of the rather, what are
•
SOME THRILLING FACTS ABOUT THRILLERS ON THE STAGE, THE PAGE, AND THE SCREEN The thriller is an incredibly popular genre in all realms of fiction, from books to theatrical storytelling. While there are thousands upon thousands of examples of media in many different subgenres, see a few examples for you to explore below!
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Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012): This book was a huge success and became the “it” book the year it was published and was also made into a popular film. Gone Girl was a catalyst for an explosion in popularity of the domestic suspense subgenre over the past decade. Surpassing it in sales and popularity, but having a similar domestic/psychological bent is the book The Girl on the Train (2015) by Paula Hawkins.
Alfred Hitchock is considered the preeminent director of thriller films of the 20th century with not only Dial M for Murder (1954), but also North by Northwest (1959), Vertigo (1958), and many others.
Dame Agatha Christie, the bestselling fiction author (and also mystery/thriller author) of alltime, was a prolific writer of both mysteries and thrillers. To date, her books have sold between 2 billion and 4 billion copies worldwide. Here at Milwaukee Rep, we’ve recently staged her Murder on the Orient Express (2022) and The Mousetrap (2015).
12.5 percent of books sold (both print and digital) are in the thriller genre.
While original Dial M for Murder playwright Frederick Knott did not have an expansive bibliography, two of his plays are considered true classics of the stage thriller genre: of course Dial M for Murder, but also Wait Until Dark.
In 2022, crime/thriller books were the second most profitable book genre for Amazon. Belgian thriller author Georges Simenon published 570 books during his lifetime (most were thriller or mysteries, but some fell into other genres).
Dial M for Murder – PlayGuide
James Gregory and Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate, 1962. Photo credit: IMDb.
Gary Oldman in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, 2011. Photo credit: Salon.com.
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix, 1999. Photo credit: Warner Bros.
THRILLER SUBGENRES Psychological thrillers – These stories delve into the darker aspects of the mind and human nature, with plots often centering around the “why” and unraveling the innermost thoughts or feelings of characters. Some popular cinematic examples include: Vertigo, The Silence of the Lambs, and Get Out. Crime, conspiracy, and spy thrillers – These
stories take audiences into worlds of crime, espionage, and political conspiracies where the players are often spies, intelligence agents, criminal masterminds, and more. Some examples include: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; the Jack Ryan series, and The 39 Steps.
Science fiction or paranormal thrillers – Melding together multiple genres, these thrillers live on the edge of reality, creating tension through the possibility of something beyond our understanding. Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Sixth Sense, and The Matrix films are all examples of this subgenre.
Action-adventure thrillers – Perhaps one of the
oldest types of thrillers, these stories follow a hero as they embark on a harrowing journey and face unknown obstacles during their quest. Some classic examples are The Odyssey, Moby Dick, and King Kong.
Historical thrillers – These thrillers are exactly as they sound, stories based in the past that still hold the hallmarks of the thriller genre. Treasure Island, The Great Escape, and Zodiac fall into this category. Disaster or armageddon thrillers – These thrillers are set in the most extreme of circumstances, from shipwrecks to world-ending events; the stakes are never higher than in some of these stories. From Twister to The Day After Tomorrow to Armageddon, these exciting stories never fail to keep us on the edge of our seats.
Political or legal thrillers – Focusing on the machinations of political players or the goings on of the courtroom, these thrillers are based much more solidly in reality than some other examples of the larger genre. The Manchurian Candidate and many of the novels of John Grisham such as The Client are quintessential examples of this type of thriller. Still from King Kong, 1933. Photo credit: Turner Classic Movies.
LOOKING FOR MORE THRILLS? A couple great compilation lists below: Time Out’s List of 100 Best Thriller films:
Time’s List of 100 Best Mystery & Thriller Books:
https://www.timeout.com/film/best-thriller-movies
https://time.com/collection/best-mystery-thriller-books/
American Film Institute’s List of 100 Greatest Thrillers:
Bookshop’s List of Best Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense Books to Read in 2023:
https://www.filmsite.org/afi400thrillers.html
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https://bookshop.org/lists/best-mystery-thriller-andsuspense-books-to-read-in-2023
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'DIAL M.'...
POPULAR CULTURE
IN
While the original Dial M for Murder has been adapted and remade multiple times, the idea behind the play, the phrase “Dial M for,” and other elements of the play have become part of popular culture in the past seventy years since the premiere. The phrase “Dial M for . . .” has become omnipresent in many types of media and can be found with not only the letter “M,” but many others. We’ll just stick to the original “M” for these clever, fun, or uncanny examples...
Title card from “Dial M for Missing” episode of 20/20. Photo credit: ABC.
Animation capture from Archer. Image credit: IMDb.
Stana Katic, Nathan Fillion, and Jon Huertas in a scene from Castle. Photo credit: TVOvermind.
“Dial M for Missing”
“Dial M for Mother”
“Dial M for Mayor”
David Hyde Pierce and John Mahoney in a scene from Frasier. Photo credit: IMDb.
Still from Dexter’s Laboratory. Image credit: Dexter’s Laboratory Wiki.
Sally Lindsay and Phil Davis in Dial M for Middlesbrough. Photo credit: IMDb.
“Dial M for Martin”
“Dial M for Monkey”
“Dial M for Middlesborough”
– 20/20 Episode (2022)
– Frasier (1998)
– Archer (2010)
– Dexter's Laboratory (2000)
– Castle (2012)
– TV film (2019)
A SELECTION OF MYSTERY, COZY MYSTERY, AN D THRILLER BOOK TITLES: Dial M for Maine Coon by Alex Erickson Dial M for Meow by Ruth J. Hartman Dial M for Mousse by Laura Bradford Dial M for Meatloaf by Ellen Hart Dial M for Mud Cake by Kaz Delaney Dial M for Mother-in-Law by Kimberly Kurth Gray Dial M for Mischief by Kasey Michaels Dial M for Merlot by Howard Kleinfeld 10
All book cover image credits from Amazon.com.
Dial M for Mongoose by Bruce Hale Dial M for Mutants by Mat Thorne Dial M for Merde by Stephen Clarke Dial M for Mascara by C.L. Bevill Dial M for Murder – PlayGuide
JEFFREY HATCHER'S WORK AT MILWAUKEE REPERTORY THEATER Playwright Jeffery Hatcher is a prolific writer and quite a few of his plays have been produced by Milwaukee Rep over the past 25 years, including several world premieres (indicated with *).
Grant Goodman and Norman Moses in Holmes and Watson. Photo credit: Michael Brosilow.
Linda Stephens and Grant Goodman in Ten Chimneys. Photo credit: Michael Brosilow.
Holmes and Watson (2017 - 2018 Season) Ten Chimneys (2011 - 2012 Season) Laura Gordon and Lee E. Ernst in Work Song: Three Views of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Lee E. Ernst and Laura Gordon in The Turn of the Screw. Photo credit: Michael Sears.
The Turn of the Screw adapted from the novella by Henry James (1997-1998 Season)
The cast of The Government Inspector. Photo credit: Jay Westhauser.
The Government Inspector
adaptedwww.MilwaukeeRep.com from the play by Nickolai Gogol (2009 - 2010 Season)
Work Song: Three Views of Frank Lloyd Wright with Eric Simonson (2000 - 2001 Season)*
Steve Pickering and James Pickering in Armadale. Photo credit: Jay Westhauser.
Armadale (2007 - 2008 Season)
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VISITING
MILWAUKEE REP Milwaukee Repertory Theater is located in the Associated Bank Theater Center which is part of the Associated Bank River Center downtown at the corner of Wells and Water Streets. The building was formerly the home of the Electric Railway and Light Company.
VISITING THE REP
TheRepertory Ticket Office is visiblePatty on the leftJay upon entering theComplex Wells Street doors. The Quadracci Milwaukee Theater’s and Baker Theater is located in the Milwaukee Powerhouse is located Mezzanine andStreets. can be accessed via escalator or elevator. Center downtown at the corneron ofthe Wells and Water The building was formerly the home of the Electric Railway and Light Company.
The Ticket Office is visible on the left upon entering the Wells Street doors. The Quadracci Powerhouse is located on the first level.
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