A good thriller is always in style for the right audience—but it's paying dividends for Northlight Theatre, which recently opened Dial M for Murder, helmed by queer director Georgette Verdin, to great reviews.
Apparently tension and treachery are exactly what some audiences want, even during the holidays. Well before the first preview performance happened, Northlight announced an extension of the run into January.
The crime story—a sort of murder mystery in reverse—attained classic status through Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film version starring Grace Kelly and Ray Milland. Of course, the original play by Frederick Knott play already had that delightfully pulpy title—and the ingenious plot construction that the TV show Columbo would embrace 20 years later: The villain is revealed early on, thereby inviting the audience to watch as his murderous plot kicks into action.
Even for old movie buffs who know the tale backwards and forwards, the Northlight production offers fresh dynamics, thanks to an updated script adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher. In its world premiere last year at San Diego's Old Globe, critics praised it as "clever, funny and fast-paced" and noted that "the women are smarter and more complex." That has much to do with a queer twist: While the story still takes place in the 1950s, the heroine Margot is not having an affair with a man but with a woman.
Verdin spoke with WCT on opening night to explain just what it takes to get people on the edge of their seat.
(This conversation was edited for clarity and length.)
Windy City Times: I know you're a fan of old movies and TV shows. Tell me about how you discovered the mystery/thriller genre.
Georgette Verdin: I was a big fan, as a kid, of Nick at Nite. That was probably my gateway drug. I've always loved crime shows like Dragnet [chuckles], which is such an inappropriate thing for a kid to be watching. And I've also always been drawn to true crime. When I started directing, I didn't necessarily think, "Oh, I'd really love to direct thrillers." But this is my third thriller now, and I really enjoy crafting them. Figuring out: How do you do that live?
WCT: Clearly, making a movie thriller is much different from doing it in the theater. What are the advantages and the challenges of doing this for a live audience?
GV: First of all, one of the things that excites me is: How do we get audiences to lean in? One thing that's particularly helpful is having actors who understand genre. If your actors are clued into what genre they're playing, that can do a lot of the work. It's also really important to have a design team that's thinking ahead, coming up with creative and smart ways to sort of manipulate the audience.
WCT: Are you talking in particular about using lighting and sound design to direct an audience's attention?
GV: Lighting, sound, even scenic. And the costumes also say something about the psychological makeup of the characters. It's a balance: You need to be able to manipulate the audience and get inside their head a little bit, but you also don't want to it to feel too heavy-handed.
This is my third show with lighting designer Eric Watkins; I knew I wanted him on my team. We spent a lot of time discussing shadows and backlighting. How do we go from creating an inviting home to something far more menacing? I also have an incredible sound designer and composer, Chris Kriz, who's done marvelous work in this show. He's so good at building the tension with subtle underscoring. Frankly, he does a lot of heavy lifting in terms of guiding people to where we want them to be emotionally.
WCT: There's one intense scene of violence in Dial M, and of course your actors only get one shot to nail it every night. How do you manage that scene with the fateful telephone call?
GV: That's a hard sequence to pull off. I mean, stabbing with scissors! The Northlight stage is a thrust, so it's really challenging to block it so everyone can see it. How are we going to pull that off so it doesn't look hokey? Lighting is our friend. It's a pretty dark scene when that happens. Of course, sound helps a lot; the whole scene is underscored.
Blood was a big conversation. How much blood do we have? How will that puncture work when the stab happens? There's also breakaway glass. It's really tricky.
It's a pretty upsetting thing to watch, actually. Last night [during a preview performance], I was looking around the audience, and there were quite a few people covering their eyes or gasping out loud as the struggle is happening. I thought, "OK, we've done our job."
WCT: Let's talk about the relevancy of mounting a seven-decade-old story. What was the allure for you to tackle this in 2023?
GV: For this particular adaptation, BJ [Jones], the artistic director at Northlight, came to me and said, "I want you to look at Dial M." He had seen it at the Old Globe. You know, as much as I'm charmed by Hitchcock, I wasn't sure there was enough personal resonance for me to do the job. But he was like, "Listen, Jeffrey Hatcher is incredible at taking old pieces and breathing new life into them. Give it a read and then let's have a conversation." So I did—and of course, the big switch is that Margot is having an affair with a woman instead of a man. That really hooked me.
Of course I'm queer myself, so it was nice to see that representation. But I also think making Max into Maxine raises the stakes significantly. It takes place in 1952 in London, when homosexuality was illegal. Granted, all the laws on the books were about male homosexuality because, you know, women are underestimated in that way—
WCT: Because how could women pleasure and fulfill each other!
GV: Exactly, exactly. That's certainly not happening! We don't have to worry about that. [laughs]
So I started to really feel for Margot, who felt she had to be so undercover and so closeted. That's very much not my experience, and it breaks my heart for her. Here she is, a wealthy woman of high status, but in 1952, she stood to lose so much.
The guiding question I asked myself is: What does a lack of authenticity cost us? That feels relevant today. In choosing her husband Tony over her true love Maxine, Margot takes what she thinks is the safe option—and we come to learn it's anything but safe.
WCT: Because her husband turns out to be such an incredible antagonist! Ray Milland was so chilling but compelling in that role in the movie.
GV: Ohh, [Northlight actor] Ryan Hallahan is so charming as Tony. You just can't help but like him. It's so upsetting, because he turns out to be the most dangerous type of villain.
The whole cast is stellar. There's not a weak link. I've sat through nine previews now, and I'm still not tired of it.
Dial M for Murder runs through Jan. 7 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. Tickets cost $56-$84, with a limited amount of $20 tickets available for purchase the day of performance. See northlight.org for more information.
