Dial M For Murder, the play on which Alfred Hitchcock based his movie of the same name, opened March 20 at Pioneer Theater Company in Salt Lake.
Murder, the story of a scheming former tennis player and his heiress wife who refuses to play the victim, was written by English playwright Frederick Knott. Knott’s second most successful play, it premiered in London in 1952, and then moved to Broadway to win several Tony Awards. In 1954, Knott wrote the screenplay for Hitchcock’s classic movie, starring Grace Kelly and Ray Milland.
Knott also wrote Wait Until Dark, made famous by the movie adaptation starring Audrey Hepburn. If you don’t get enough of his brand of murder mystery by watching Murder at PTC, you will be able to catch Wait Until Dark when the PG Players produce it this fall.
Starring at Tony Wendice, the scheming husband, is Equity actor Fletcher McTaggart. After performing in New York, Alabama, New Jersey, Chicago and in Utah’s own Shakespearean Festival, this will be McTaggart’s PTC debut.
Amy Tribbey, playing the intended victim Margot Wendice, returns to PTC after playing Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Pioneer Theater Company can be trusted to put on a high-quality show, and is continually worth the trip and the ticket.
