{"id":204149,"date":"2024-02-08T10:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T16:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/?p=204149"},"modified":"2024-02-07T18:37:22","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T00:37:22","slug":"dial-m-for-murder-a-twisted-classic-twisted-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lavendermagazine.com\/our-scene\/dial-m-for-murder-a-twisted-classic-twisted-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Dial M for Murder: A Twisted Classic, Twisted Again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the most important part of one\u2019s identity?\u201d Tracy Brigden, Senior Artistic Producer at the Guthrie and director of the upcoming run of Dial<\/em> M for Murder<\/em>, muses, \u201cIs it your sexual preference, is it your profession, is it your morality, is it your money, is it your society level, is it your job? What do you sacrifice if you\u2019re not true to all those parts?\u201d Brigden thinks audiences will be left mulling over questions like these after watching the Jeffrey Hatcher adaptation of Frederick Knott\u2019s 1952 play, Dial M For Murder. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dial M for Murder <\/em>has a legacy in film and TV that rivals its time on the stage. Alfred Hitchcock was the first to recreate the story a mere two years after it debuted on Broadway and several other reinterpretations followed, culminating in the 1998 film A Perfect Murder<\/em>, which starred Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The play at the Guthrie is a fresh interpretation penned by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, which twists the tale once again. \u201cJeffrey Hatcher\u2019s adaptation is a new twist [on the original Dial M for Murder<\/em>] in a bunch of different ways,\u201d explains Brigden, \u201cThe lesbian relationship [a twist on the originally heterosexual affair], the fact that Tony\u2026is now a failed writer [and Maxine is a successful writer], and he\u2019s twisted and turned the storyline just enough so that if you\u2019ve seen the movie you\u2019ll still be surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I read the play, I got goosebumps,\u201d says Jess Rau, Head of Wigs, Hair, & Makeup at the Guthrie, \u201cI was so excited to see that we were going to be presenting a play where the two main characters were women who were in love with each other. You just don\u2019t see enough of that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having two title roles not only for women, but that also centers an LGBTQ love story is sadly an anomaly even today. Brigden explains further, \u201c[At] a theater like the Guthrie we\u2019re doing 50% or more plays written [long ago]. If we\u2019re doing so many plays from an era before 1970 that have no representation of any kind we have to ask ourselves, how do we embrace the classics and also have representation on stage?\u201d The answer to that question comes in works like this one. Using the bones of a well-known thriller, Hatcher has created something recognizable but refreshed with modern themes and sensibilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brigden did warn me that if you are expecting something in line with last year\u2019s wildly popular Murder on the Orient Express<\/em>, this is not that. \u201cIt has some witticism,\u201d she explains, \u201cThere are situationally funny moments, but it\u2019s more of a stylish edgy thriller than a comedy romp.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n