Updated ‘Dial M for Murder’ still has the goods

By Rich Fahey

STONEHAM – Sometimes, a show lands right in the wheelhouse of what a theater company does best.

The Greater Boston Stage Company – formerly the Stoneham Theatre – has embraced the dark side of the moon on many occasions through the years with sterling productions of thrillers and mysteries such as “Strangers on a Train,” “The 39 Steps,” the Norton Award-winning “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” and last season’s chilling “We had a Girl Before You.”

The good news is that GBSC has done it again. A new adaptation of the classic thriller “Dial M for Murder” is onstage until May 19 and Producing Artistic Director Weylin Symes has embraced the challenge once again. He has crafted a tight, taut evening of suspense by casting adroitly and utilizing an excellent set of designers to set the mood and tone for the piece.

Alfred Hitchcock directed the iconic 1954 film version that starred Grace Kelly and Ray Milland based on Frederick Knott’s teleplay.  It has recently been adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher; he has exchanged a male character for a female one, and the relationship that sparks the murderous plot has also changed.

Otherwise, the basic plot is intact and Hatcher has kept the setting as 1950s London while updating some language and trimming where necessary; it runs along now at a brisk pace at an hour and 50 minutes, including a short intermission.

In Knott’s script, Tony is a retired tennis pro living off his socialite wife Margot’s family money. But when Tony discovers Margot has had an affair with Mark, an American thriller novelist, he crafts an intricate plan to kill her for her fortune.

In Hatcher’s update, Mark has become mystery writer Maxine (Lily Kaufman), and Tony (Michael Ryan Buckley) is a failed writer now working in public relations and assigned to publicizing Maxine’s book “Your Death is Necessary.” When he learns his wife Margot (Kimberlee Connor) and Maxine have been having an affair —  a most scandalous one in 1950s London – he puts the wheels in motion to kill Margot and steal her inheritance.

As part of his scheme, he enlists a shady character named Lesgate (Bill Mootos) ,and is able to leverage Lesgate’s past misdeeds in forcing him to become part of the plan.

“Dial M” requires theatergoers to sit up and pay attention; Tony’s meticulous and intricate set-up of his plan using such seemingly innocuous objects foretell what’s to come.

Buckley’s Tony morphs from a jealous rage at his wife’s infidelity to an icy-cold schemer, never shedding his civilized veneer along the way.

Connor’s Margot is stronger-willed and smarter than the same character in Knott’s piece, and Kaufman’s acid-tongued Maxine is one tough cookie and gives as good as she gets from Tony.

Veteran actor/playwright  Robert D. Murphy and his plays  have graced  local stages for decades, and he  comfortably slips into the soles of Inspector Hubbard from Scotland Yard, who will eventually arrive on scene after several plot twists.

The production values are sublime. Start with Katy Monthei’s elaborate, finely detailed set of an upscale London apartment, an example of superb stagecraft.

Sound designer Andrew Duncan Will’s incidental music is just right and the technical aspects of his work, especially sound effects which require split-second timing in this piece, go off without a hitch.

Lighting designer Jeff Adelberg and assistant Amanda Fallon perfectly complement their colleagues, and Deirdre Gerrard’s costumes are period perfect.

Director Symes moves the characters around Monthei’s dazzling set cleverly and has a needed firm hand on the tone of the piece. In the case of a work that is some 70 years old, it prevents things from  getting “campy” and out of hand.

At one point, Maxine – who is heard in a series of voice-overs during the show — describes the five reasons why people commit murder: Money, fear, jealousy, revenge and the desire to protect someone you love. All five will, at some point, play a part in “Dial M For Murder.”

The Greater Boston Stage Company production of “Dial M For Murder.” Written by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on the Frederick Knott teleplay. Directed by Weylin Symes. At the Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main St., Stoneham, through May 19. Greaterbostonstage.org