IRT THRILLS AUDIENCES WITH SEASON FINALE DIAL “M” FOR MURDER

Pre-production photo by Amber Mills.

Playwright-in-Residence, James Still, directs the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s season closer Dial “M” for Murder, a thrilling stage play that inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s suspense classic. Weaving an ever-tightening web of danger and deception, the production reveals what happens when a murder plot goes wrong.
 
Unlike most mysteries Dial “M” for Murder invites audience members to be in on the murder plan from the beginning of the play.
“Playwright Frederick Knott makes the audience both witness and accomplice to the attempted murder of Margot Wendice,” said Still. “Mr. Knott had the great instinct to focus less on mystery and more on suspense. Hitchcock, of course, was known as the Master of Suspense.”
 
Hitchcock’s suspense classic debuted in 1954, a decade Still plans to capture through the film noir inspired work of the design team. 
 
“One of the first things that James brought up was the idea of the characters feeling like they inhabited a lush Technicolor world of early 1950’s American cinema,” said costume designer Tracy Dorman.
 
Together the design team, comprised of Dorman, Kate Sutton-Johnson (Scene), Lindsey Jones (Composer and Sound), Michelle Habeck (Lighting), Katherine Freer (Projections) and Jason Tuttle (Sound), use this color palette to convey character and place, and rely on lighting and projections to evoke the film noir qualities of the play and setting. 
 
“As a design team, we’ve worked carefully together to craft a world that feels very heightened and tense,” said Dorman, who shares that the team will illuminate the set with odd shaped Hitchcock-inspired projections and embrace classic thriller music, each giving the audience a subtle sense of discomfort as the story unfolds.
 
Brought to life by an eight-member cast, Dial “M” for Murder is a cold-blooded plot gone intensely wrong. Experience the thrill for yourself on the OneAmerica Mainstage from April 25 – May 21.
 
 
DETAILS
 
What: Dial ‘M’ for Murder
When: April 25 – May 21
Where: One America Mainstage, 140 W. Washington Street
Expected Run Time: About 2 hours, plus one 15-minute intermission
Age: Recommended for patrons 6th grade and above
Content advisory: Contains mild language and scenes of violence
 
CAST & THE CREATIVE TEAM

CHRIS ALLEN as Max Halliday
MEREDITH GRANGER as Pendleton & Williams
DAVID MOSEDALE as O’Brien
MATT MUELLER as Tony Wendice
ROBERT NEAL as Detective Inspector Hubbard
PAUL NICELY as Roger & Thompson
SARAH RUGGLES as Margot Wendice
STEVE WOJTAS as Captain Lesgate

JAMES STILL | Director
KATE SUTTON-JOHNSON |Scenic Design
TRACY DORMAN | Costume Design
MICHELLE HABECK | Lighting Design
LINDSAY JONES | Sound Design and Composition
KATHERINE FREER | Projection Design
JASON TUTTLE | Assistant Sound Designer
 
SPECIAL EVENTS – learn more at irtlive.com/specialevents

OPENING NIGHT | April 28, performance at 7:30 PM
BACKSTAGE TOUR | April 29, performance at 5 PM
IRTEA TALK | May 7, performance at 2 PM
HAPPY HOUR | May 16, performance at 6:30 PM
MOTHER’S DAY BRUNCH | May 14 at 12:30 PM, performance at 2 PM –learn more at irtlive.com/mom
POST-SHOW DISCUSSION | May 16, performance at 6:30 PM
COOKIES & COFFEE | May 18, performance at 2 PM

CALENDAR – click here to view the calendar