“Dial M for Murder" at the Black Box Theatre -- October 18 through November 2.
Friday, October 18, through Saturday, November 2
Black Box Theatre, 1623 Fifth Avenue, Moline IL
Hailed by the Chicago Reader as a stage thriller that "ticks along like a stylish and well-oiled clock," playwright Jeffrey Hatcher's new take on the Alfred Hitchcock classic Dial M for Murder enjoys an October 18 through November 2 run at Moline's Black Box Theatre, the Chicago Sun-Times adding that this "crackling murder mystery" finds Hatcher providing "layers of meaning and 21st-century relevance."
This classic murder mystery that inspired Hitchcock’s iconic film follows Tony Wendice, a former writer who concocts a plan to murder his wealthy wife Margot. With the help of a sharp-witted detective, Margot fights to clear her name and reveal the truth about her husband’s deadly scheme gone awry. In this new adaptation of the thrilling material, playwright Hatcher layers clever dialogue, intense suspense, and unexpected plot twists with a modern exploration of greed, power, and manipulation. Dial M for Murder consequently emerges as a thrilling and suspenseful theatre piece designed to keep audiences on the edge of their seats until the very end.
Dial M for Murder author Hatcher is a much-produced American playwright and screenwriter. He wrote the stage play Compleat Female Stage Beauty, which he later adapted into the 2004 movie Stage Beauty. He also co-wrote the stage adaptation of Tuesdays with Morrie with author Mitch Albom, and the scripts for Three Viewings and Murderers, comedies each consisting of three monologues, and each production previously staged at the Black. Additionally, Hatcher wrote the screenplay Casanova for Oscar-nominated director Lasse Hallström, as well as the screenplay for 2008's Oscar winner The Duchess.
Hatcher said of his new version of Dial M for Murder, “After six or seven hard years of politics, and pandemic, and everything – where facts are hard to nail down and truth is malleable – people like the idea of a thriller that promises we are going to nail down the facts … . We are going to catch the killer and that killer will be punished in one way or another. In one sense, it’s a reaction to these very queasy times that we live in. And it’s comfort food. So, I think the job of an adaptation like this is to be comfort food with some twists and turns that are new.”
Directing Dial M for Murder is Reader theatre reviewer Alexander Richardson, whose area credits over the last two months alone include writing and acting in his Barely There Theatre company's An All-American Riot, writing The Tapes: An Immersive Revolution for the Rock Island Tunnel Co., and producing the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's presentation of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. And with the Black Box's artistic director Lora Adams serving as Dial M for Murder's designer, its five-person ensemble features Victor Angelo, Savannah Stratton, Stephanie Moeller, James Driscoll, and Tyler Henning.
Dial M for Murder runs in Moline from October 18 through November 2, with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $16, and more information and tickets are available by calling 563-284-2350 and visiting TheBlackBoxTheatre.com.
