ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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By Philip Dorian
Dial M For Murder And Mystery At Monmouth Players
February 10, 2006
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Thrillers, mystery plays that usually involve murder plots, are no strangers to Monmouth Players. Seven plays over their last seven seasons included the word 'murder' in the title. Make it eight for eight: Dial M for Murder is this season's entry. It's not a morbid fixation on their part, just a realization that the thriller is a lost art that deserves some CPR, and they've done the genre a service, pumping some life into the 50-year old Dial M.
Probably few people today have ever seen the play. One of only three written by Frederick Knott (Wait Until Dark is another), it hasn't been staged much in recent years because, frankly, it hasn't aged very well. More memorable is the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock movie, which still shows up on cable TV and which is well worth watching. (It was originally filmed in 3-D. Imagine, Grace Kelly right in your lap.)
Much to their credit, Monmouth Players hasn't tried to modernize the play. Better yet, they've found a way to plant it more firmly back in time. This Dial M for Murder is in black-and-white, a spin that not only evokes 1950s London, but also enhances the theme of amorality that propels the plot. All the costumes are in black, white, or shades of grey, and the living room set is likewise furnished. Taking it a step further, the Players auditorium staff-hosts are similarly decked out, and all the artwork on display is black-and-white as well. (Hitchcock's movie is in color; maybe it shouldn't be.)
As in many thrillers (and in every episode of TV's Columbo), the bad guy is identified early. Tony Wendice (Charles Deitz) blackmails a lowlife acquaintance (Robert Kern) into killing his wife Margot (Elizabeth Mahon) in order to inherit her sizable estate. The first act tends toward wordiness, as the murder plan is detailed, but the second act is a humdinger. (We'll not reveal more. Even if you've seen the movie you'll still be intrigued to see how the story unfolds after Tony's plan goes awry.)
Tony is a cold-blooded cad, and worse, and Deitz plays him as such. If anything, he's too laid back, emotionless. Some variety would liven up his lengthy first-act exposition, but the actor does succeed in making the character thoroughly unlikable. As the unsuspecting wife ("Tony's a model husband"), Mahon is the picture of moneyed British upper class. The plot puts the wife in mortal danger and then legal jeopardy, and Mahon plays both situations convincingly. Margot is twice victimized, but not by Mahon's dressy silver-toned outfits or by her swept-back blonde hair, an agreeable exception to the black-and-white motif.
Kern is fine as the potential killer who at first is indignant, but who eventually warms to the deed with leering avarice, and Bill Rogers, as an American mystery writer who inadvertently stumbles on the truth, is a believably stalwart friend to Margot.
Then there's the Inspector of Police. The play's (and movie's) original, John Williams, was a thin, mild-mannered, soft-spoken detective who went about his business with methodical efficiency. At Monmouth Players, Jack Welsh is a stocky, imposing detective with a booming baritone speaking voice who goes about his business with methodical efficiency. The role is a gem, and Welsh is excellent. He gets the most from it without milking it.
Co-directors Alex Faerman and Lori Renick might have asked for more movement in the talky first act and a bit more light on the crucial assault scene (and please - carpet that stair), but they've kept the relationships credible and the mystery intact. In these complex times it's good to know that some things are still black and white.
"Dial M for Murder" plays through Feb. 25 at Navesink Library Theater, Sears and Monmouth Avenues in the Navesink area of Middletown. Performances are Fri. and Sat. Feb. 17, 18, 24, 25 at 8:15; and Sun. Feb. 5, 12 and 19 at 2 p.m. (Feb. 11 is sold out.) Information and reservations ($15; students and seniors $12): 732-291-9211 or visit www.Monmouthplayers.org
(Full disclosure: Elizabeth Mahon is Circulation Manager here at the Two River Times. That has not influenced this review, although certainly it is a pleasure to be able to praise the production.)