Clue is Suspiciously Familiar But Devilishly Fun Running Through March 3rd At the Orpheum.

The Cast of Clue Photo by Evan Zimmerman

Any self respecting mystery fan matched their wits against their friends and family growing up over Parker Brothers Clue board game, I am no exception. Having grown up in the 80’s I saw the film version in the theater when it came out in 1985. With a mystery I generally try and askew any research so as not to be inadvertently tipped off to any of the surprises in store. I took the advertising “A New Comedy” at face value, I was shocked, not by the solution to the murders but upon realizing early on that I’d seen this script performed out at Lakeshore Players, which is a community theater company in White Bear Lake, two years ago. So if you’ve seen a stage play version of Clue previously, this is probably that script. You may be wondering if you should see this production if you’ve seen others. Well that would depend on how much you enjoyed the other production. I gave the Lakeshore Players production a positive review, this production dwarfs that one in every possible way. So if you haven’t seen a production of Clue before, or did and really enjoyed it, I’d enthusiastically recommend this one. The two primary reasons are the cast and the production design, both of which are of the highest calibre. Yes, this is probably the kind of show that elicits a review full of Dad jokes and silly word play, you’ve been warned.

I don’t really want to take a stab at running down the entire plot of the show, it is based on the 1985 film, and follows that plot more or less as I recall. For those who haven’t seen the film the set up is a dark and stormy night in a secluded mansion near a washed out bridge, six strangers are invited to dinner. The guests are each given a code name and told not to reveal their true identities. They have been gathered by Mr. Boddy who has been blackmailing each of the guests and now has gathered them together for an unknown reason, dinner is served, murder and mayhem follow in the study over coffee and brandy. This isn’t really a traditional whodunnit so much as a straight up comedy set among the trappings of the mystery genre. The scripts authorial lineage is almost a joke in itself, based on the screenplay by Jonathan Lynn, written by Sandy Rustin with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price, based on the Paramount Pictures motion picture, based on the Hasbro board game Clue. Which of course at the time when the film was made, it was actually the Parker Brothers board game Clue, as Hasbro didn’t purchase Parker Brothers until the early 1990’s. Which is my way of dishing out some red herrings of my own so as not to give any more of the plot away than I have already.

Having seen the script performed before I was struck by how much the performances really affected the comedy. I thought the cast was solid out at Lakeshore in 2022 but this cast knew how to ring twice as many laughs out of the script. There isn’t a weak performance but there were a couple that really stood out as exceptional examples of physical comedy. Mark Price as the Butler Wadsworth is fantastic following in the shoes of the great Tim Curry from the film version. Price’s dry wit in the opening as he greets the guests alerts the audience from the outset to listen for double meanings and word play. His recap of what has happened so far before everyone attempts to guess the killer is a manic tour de force. John Shartzer takes the physical comedy up a notch as Mr Green, there is a scene with a chandelier that doesn’t seem like it should be physically possible. Watching Price and Shartzer square off towards the end in a series of inventive comedic touches that add laughs that simply wouldn’t exist if played by any other actors. The other element that simply cannot be matched on a smaller budget is the set design by Lee Savage. The set features rooms that open like drawers from the wings, walls that drop from the ceiling, including one with a wall safe behind a portrait that gave us an unplanned intermission when some technical difficulties arose. Important to note that Minneapolis is the launch of this National touring production, so the odd hiccup can occur as it isn’t yet the well oiled machine it will undoubtedly become. It was a short delay and oddly added to the fun of the whole evening, and the cast picked up right where they were and carried it off like pros. Assisting in bringing the whole affair to wonderful visual life was the lighting design by Ryan O’Gara which in a really fun touch included flickering the house lights at the start to emulate the lighting effects.

Clue is running through March 3rd at Hennepin Theatre Trusts Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Minneapolis as part of the 2023-2024 Bank of America Broadway on Hennepin season. It’s a great looking production filled with laughs and fun appropriate for anyone 12 and older, a great trip to theater for young teenagers as it’s got a nice blend of creativity visually and overflows with humor. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepintheatretrust.org/events/clue-orpheum-theatre-minneapolis-mn-2024/

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Hells Canyon a Horror Play With a Brain, Has World Premiere by Theater Mu at Jungle Theater in MPLS

Ryan Colbert, Becca Claire Hart, Kaitlyn Cheng, Gregory Yang Photo by Rich Ryan

Hells Canyon, the new play by Keiko Green uses the horror genre to explore race, generational trauma, and the complexity of gender and a woman’s body. The first two it deals with fairly head on, the last is more subtextual and requires the audience to think about the play, the characters, their race, and the ways in which woman have been sublimated and exploited historically. If that sounds a bit serious, reflect on the long tradition of works in genres such as Science Fiction, Horror, Westerns or any number of others, to tackle important issues through the use of entertainment and distance from their real world equivalents. Hells Canyon never loses sight that it is a Horror play, its thrilling, scary, and entertaining, all that is required from the genre. But, like the best examples of any genre it’s richer because it isn’t just about the genre trappings, getting the blood pumping and the goosebumps to break out, at its core are ideas which engage the mind as well as the emotions. This is an impressively mounted production and one that any horror fan should be sure to check out. My planned plus one for the show was my wife, when I was preparing before the show I realized it was in the horror genre, not something she really enjoys, so we erred on the side of caution and she hung back. I don’t think that was necessary, I think she could have handled it so if the themes of this sound interesting but you are not a horror person, I’d say take a chance. This is recommended for ages 16+ and I’m linking here to content Warning page from Theater Mu.

The story involves 5 friends with complex relational ties as they prepare to spend a weekend at a cabin in the woods. The cabin is near the location of the Snake River Massacre, where in 1887 seven white men murdered 34 Chinese miners for their gold, they were never prosecuted, this is a true event from history. The characters are Ariel played by Kaitlyn Cheng who is pregnant, her brother Tommy played by Gregory Yang, who is part of a band with Doug played by Ryan Colbert, Ben played by Matt Lytle, and Claire, who is also Ben’s wife played by Becca Hart. Ariel is a surrogate for Ben and Claire due to a heart condition Claire has and also used to date Doug. These are old friends who have some tensions floating around about band business and the pregnancy, when things start to happen that put a scare into the group, the underlying tensions and true feeling begin to bubble to the surface. Cheng and Colbert give the best performances as they seem grounded and natural. Hart is also very good, unfortunately her character is rather unlikeable and most likely to benefit from a mirror in which she could see her own behavior reflected back. A challenging acting bit to play the person who is trying to say the right things and seem caring but is only really concerned with herself. Lytle and Yang are OK, but there is an over the top bor vibe from their performances that keep them from feeling real, particularly in the first act of the play.

Green’s script is excellent even if a little overstuffed with ideas, there are a lot of different themes vying for attention, they all work but there is a sense it might have played a little stronger with a more focused approach. There is an epilogue which adds some shocking information and motivations for a character, but in the final analysis it feels unnecessary and robs the play of a more memorable ending. The direction from Katie Bradley excels in most elements of the production. In the tradition of the great film Director Howard Hawks Green’s use of overlapping dialogue is intended to add an element of realism to a genre work. From a performance standpoint it’s a tricky thing to do and Bradley hasn’t successfully gotten her actors to the point where they seem natural but all the key lines of dialogue are clearly conveyed. These are minimal issues and primarily only occur in that first act. Technically, Bradley handles the production with the skill of a veteran Director. This is a larger scale production with a lot of elements to bring together and she demonstrates how quickly and confidently she’s grown into the role, I’m excited to see what she Directs next, though I hope she hasn’t given up performing for good. It’s a beautifully designed set by Erik Paulson giving us a look at the entire cabin with doors and beams giving us an clear understanding of where walls are meant to be. The Projections by Peter Morrow and Ryan Stopera are effectively used to show us what is happening outside the windows of the cabin, they are used judiciously and create some truly eerie effects. Likewise the lighting design by Karin Olson and sound design by Katherine Horowitz help to make this an effective and at times genuinely scary experience.

Theater Mu’s production of Hells Canyon runs through March 17th at the Jungle Theater. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatermu.org/hells-canyon

Silent Sky Soars to Dizzying Heights At Theatre in the Round In Minneapolis

Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson concluded its opening night performance at Theatre in the Round Players (TRP) to a thunderous standing ovation that you could tell caught the actors by surprise. I imagine, when you are working on a play day after day, you are a little too close to it to know if it’s working as well as you hope. Well I can’t imagine a better production of Silent Sky then I saw tonight, at least in the ways that matter. It’s a small intimate story about one woman’s passion that also encompasses the infinite in terms of the universe and the human spirit. Like her Christmas at Pemberley trilogy, Gunderson exhibits here a gift for the emotional resonance, knowing humor and female empowerment that characterizes the work of Jane Austen. She is undoubtedly the modern playwright successor to that genius of English literature. The only thing that could lessen her work would be a cast who doesn’t rise to its quality, blessedly TRP has assembled a cast that bring humor and heartache in equal measures from reciting the phonebook if called upon. Lucky for us they are instead given Gunderson’s wonderful words and with those they soar to the heavens and beyond.

The story, set in the late 1800’s and early 20th Century tells the true story of Henrietta Leavitt, a pioneer of Astronomy whose contributions have had an immeasurable effect on science and our understanding of the universe. Leavitt left home after graduating college to work at the Harvard College Observatory where she learns that as a woman she is not allowed to operate the telescope. She is put to work instead with the other “computers” Williamina and Annie measuring and cataloging the brightness of stars from photographic glass plates. She is passionate about her work and lives for it forgoing visits home and staying late, sometimes overnight, working on ideas of her own. Henrietta is played Eva Gemlo who recently played Elizabeth Darcy in The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, and there is much of that character and that of Jo March in Henrietta. Gemlo is marvelous at playing the smartest woman in the room, she is fire and passion, wit and intelligence with a gift for putting her boss Peter Shaw in his place. When an attraction begins to develop between the two, it happens so naturally that one is caught off guard at first but suddenly become excited by the budding romance. Peter is played by Ben Qualley who is a master at be being put in his place, thrown off balance and generally run circles around by his female employees. Annie and Williamina are played by Rachel Postle and Wini Froelich who seem so incredibly in sync and casual with each other I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they are old friends in real life. These rules are crucial to widening the scope of the play beyond Henrietta’s ambition and the posible love story. They show that Henrietta isn’t the sole woman capable of being more than was allowed of a woman at that time. Through them we see other shades of how woman greatly contributed to the world without getting credit. They also provide a lot of the gentle humor that flows through the piece, Postle and Froelich give wonderful performances creating fully realized characters that it is a joy to spend two hours with. The cast also includes Clare Rolinger as Henrietta’s sister Margaret, through her we also get to see a woman who has chosen to stay at home, marry and raise a family, because that’s not just what most women did back then, but it’s also an acceptable choice for women to make today if they wish. But, we also learn at the end that she composed a symphony, so don’t judge a book by its cover.

The production is directed by Gretchen Weinrich, who obviously generates great performances from the cast finding just the right tone for every scene. There is a some extraneous set piece movements that felt unnecessarily busy, but they didn’t really detract from the production as a whole. Sadie Ward’s Set Design is simple but kind of magical with the cosmos painted on the floor and walls. The lighting design by Peter W. Mitchell continues the motif with star fields appearing all around at various points. I also really enjoyed the costumes by Colleen O’Dell, which isn’t something I ordinarily notice, but the period dress was really excellently realized, particularly the slacks worn by Annie in the last scene.

Silent Sky Runs through March 17th at Theatre in the Round Players in Minneapolis, for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreintheround.org/home/season-placeholder/72nd-season/silent/

In the Green at Elision Playhouse

In the Green by Grace McLean began a three week run last night at Elision Playhouse in Crystal MN. The Elision website summarizes the plot as:

“As a young girl, medieval saint, healer, visionary, exorcist, and composer Hildegard von Bingen was locked in a cloister’s cell after demonstrating a preternatural sensitivity to the world around her. Sequestered with Hildegard is Jutta, a woman who has spent her life secluded in an effort to recover a whole self after the deepest of trauma. Under Jutta’s guidance, Hildegard attempts to reassemble her own fragmented self while her mentor proselytizes a rejection of brokenness.”
Elision Theatre Website

So that tells you the outline but what it doesn’t prepare you for is how it tells that story. Hildegard is played by three different actors simultaneously each playing one of the pieces of Hildegard’s splintered self. Abilene Olson is Hand, Annie Schiferl is Eye, and Deidre Cochran is Mouth, it’s an astonishing collaborative performance, even when one part take center stage you feel as if the others are still a part of what is happening. The performances are highlighted by the exactness of their vocal synchronization, their voices sound hauntingly beautiful together and it is the music that makes this production worth checking out. Like Hildegard the character of Jutta is also played by two performers, Christine Wade plays the present Jutta while Emily Hensley plays the younger Jutta, listed in the program as Shadow, she is the darkness that Jutta has buried in her cell. Both also have incredible vocals, Wade has the added challenge of performing while operating a Looper board. This is a wonderful device that allows for the recording of a sound, vocal or otherwise, that can then be played in a loop while the same performers sing another part, allowing for the layering of sounds in unique ways. It’s also for me, as an audience member, a stressful tool as I worry about the tightrope act that operating the machine during a live performance. Hitting the wrong button could throw everyone off and ruin the flow and mood of the music.

When it comes to music “it had a nice beat and I could dance to it” is about the extent of my expertise so I’ll direct those interested in a more nuanced discussion of the musical elements to my fellow Twin Cities Theater Blogger Keith at Life in Revue https://lifeinrevue.blogspot.com/?m=1. What I can say is that It didn’t have a nice beat and you can’t dance to it, but it was amazingly complex and I found myself in awe of every aspect of the music. Harrison Wade’s musical direction and Christine Wade’s vocal direction are the high calibre one has come to expect from Theatre Elision. The Looper board adds a layer that could be used to make things easier on the music department but they use it to add complexity. The staging and design by Director/Designer Lindsay Fitzgerald is at once minimal but like the soundscape surprisingly complex. Using screens and projection in concert with Laina Grendle’s lighting design to accomplish visual what the Looper was doing aurally. Madeline Wall is the Movement Coordinator whose work seems to tie everything we see and hear together, making the complicated premise of three Actors simultaneously playing the same person work. This is a production you go to to see how talented people all collaborate to create a piece that feels cohesive in every possible way, nothing detracts from the atmosphere of the piece. Is it fun? No, there are a couple of line readings that get a chuckle, they are well placed, and lighten the mood when needed. At 90 minutes it’s the perfect length for something that is more to be appreciated than entertaining. It’s thoughtful and very impressive, and I enjoy something that’s a little more moody and serious sometimes.

In the Green runs through March 9th at the Elision Playhouse for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.elisionproductions.com/in-the-green

Toil & Trouble a Millennial Retelling of the Scottish Play at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo

Olivia Kemp, Jason Ballweber, and Alex Galick Photo by Alex Clark

I’m not an expert of shakespeare but I am a fan so I try to and engage with his work whenever I can. I’m not a purist either, I love a good retelling or modern take, everything from Branagh’s Love’s Labours Lost to Strange Brew has a place in my film collection. Toil & Trouble by acclaimed playwright Lauren Gunderson is a modern riff on Macbeth set during the 2008 recession featuring thee thirtysomething friends who, inspired by a fortune cookie, conspire to take over a small island country off the coast of Chile. You know, instead of getting real jobs. Adam and Matt sit around their apartment as Adam comes up with one hairbrained idea after another for inventions to make money, while Matt shoots them down. Their friend Beth is a junior Sportscaster for Action 6 News whom they both “like” like. The characters have morals on par with the characters on Seinfeld, Adam hatches the plan, Matt follows along thanks to a fortune cookie message that says “Matt will be King hereafter”, and Beth is ruthless ambition incarnate. What starts as a strong comedic play about slacker roommates and the friend they both want to get with takes some very strange turns as it attempts to tell it’s story while loosely following some aspects of Shakespeare’s Scottish play. What is recognizable at the start as our world peopled by characters we can recognize, if not relate too, by the end has become a complete fantasy with the characters frequently interspersing their dialogue with snippets from Shakespeare. It’s an odd approach that doesn’t entirely add up to much and the fault dear readers is not with the production but in the script. I loved everything about the production, the performances, the design, but the sum of its parts left me wishing these elements were in service of a better script.

Jason Ballweber who usually is to be found behind the scenes plays Matt in a performance that goes a long way to making this near miss still worth checking out. His Matt and Alex Galick’s Adam end up complete opposites by the end of the play from where they started. As it opens, Ballweber plays Matt as the realistic, intelligent, and more mature seeming of the two, has an air of authority over the flighty Adam who thinks anything that Rhymes is an innovation. By the end he’s a pug snorting follower who passes out at the sight of hot sauce whereas Adam has become confident and holds the upper hand. Both actors handle the transition well and make the reversal seem plausible. Olivia Kemp plays Beth as someone who knows what they want and how to get it, masterfully playing off the men’s desire for her to manipulate them into doing exactly what she wants. Well directed by Brandon Raghu who along with Lighting Designer Alex Clark stages a dramatic looking play to be sure. I also enjoyed the set design by Sarah Brandner which has a depth that is well utilized particularly in a scene when Adam comes home late at night and leaves the refrigerator door open after heading to bed in the pitch black apartment.

Ultimately, I enjoyed much of the production but found the script absurd and out there but in an unfulfilling or engaging way. Gunderson’s idea of filling the final scene with Shakespearean dialogue is less effective that the modern rewordings or nods used earlier in the play. She needed to go one way or the other. The plot is insane but not in a ‘this is wild’ way, but more I can’t find any sort of grounding for this story so that it lands with some sort of impact. It’s a rare for a script by Gunderson not to work completely but this just comes up short. That said, there’s enough good stuff on offer with the play to make it a fun excursion to the theatre. Having a decent knowledge of Macbeth will increase your appreciation of the piece, some humor really does work only if you know the play. Also, it feels like my fellow bloggers and I have been saying this a lot lately but if your play can be done in 100 minutes or less, you don’t need an intermission. Toil & Trouble runs through March 3rd at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo, for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://yellowtreetheatre.com/toilandtrouble

Stones In His Pockets at Theater Latté Da Featuring Tom Reed Sigmund

Reed Sigmund and Tom Reed Photo by Dan Norman

Stones in His Pockets is Performed by only two actors Tom Reed and Reed Sigmund but they people the stage with more than a dozen different characters. Providing a rich Irish soundtrack that adds emotion and depth are Jason Hansen and Theresa Elliott. Hansen in the role of Music Director and Composer is on the Piano, Keyboard, Guitar, and the Bodhran with Elliott on an beautifully expressive violin. It tells the story of a Hollywood film crew that has come to an Irish village to make a movie; however, it isn’t the story of the interlopers but of the villagers who are hired on as extras. It’s a contrast between the dream makers and those who have lost theirs or are struggling to keep them alive. The two primary characters are Charlie Conlon played by Tom Reed who lost his Video Store business when a big chain came to his town. So he packed up and has been traveling around Ireland with his tent, he’s loving the 40 pounds a day pay and free meals, but his dream is to get someone on the set to read the screenplay he’s written. He’s befriended by Jake Quinn played by Reed Sigmund who has recently returned home to the village from America because he says got homesick, or perhaps America didn’t live up to his dreams. Now he’s back and on the dole living with his Ma and doesn’t know what to do or seem to have faith in himself.

There is a lot of humor played out through a rich tapestry of characters all played with amazing specitivity by Reed and Sigmund. Within seconds an actor will turn around, pop on a cap or throw a scarf around their head, and be another character. At some points there is a conversation happening between more than two characters, astonishingly the performers have made such clear distinctions between the characters that the audience is never lost. Charlie and Jake are the most fully formed characters and are played not only with great wit but with a real compassion and relatability. They are the emotional center and comedic heart of the play, their journey from extras to dreamers is as beautiful as it is hilarious. Two characters any actor would feel privileged to play and then to add another half dozen of so and it’s either maddenly hard work or joyfully fulfilling. Hopefully a nice helping of both. There are so many wonderful side characters male and female that they play and they do it with wonderful Irish accents and Hollywood self importance, depending on the role. The accents are thick at the beginning and for a minute you might be a little worried, but it takes approximately two and a half minutes to tune into them and then I had no trouble following the dialogue. It cannot be overstated how wonderful the performances are by Reed and Sigmund two truly gifted comedic actors at the top of the game in roles they were made to play.

The play written by Marie Jones is masterful in the way it brings characters in and out of scenes in a way that the two performers can play all the roles. Would it be as good if there were 12 actors? The story would hold up, but there is an element of joy that would be lost. There is something about watching actors working like this that just adds to the experience. Marcela Lorca Directs the play keeping everything moving and flowing beautifully. Blocking the actors so that we always know when they have changed characters might seem simple, but it’s essential that every change has a visual cue to the audience and Lorca does the work to make those clear and yet unobtrusive. A nice choice was to have the actors do bows as their different characters at the end, they each had some prop or costume piece that we came to identify them with but the body language also changed and even without any dialogue you knew for whom you were applauding. With so many character changes the set design like the costumes need to be simple and versatile and Benjamin Olsen as scenic Designer and Kathy Maxwell as the Projections Designer have found a way to accomplish this and still give us a sense of the place. The use of projection is used to provide the background not as a special effect. The choice to have Jason Hansen compose and perform the wonderful Irish soundtrack and to even have them interact slightly was a brilliant choice, between the accents, the setting, and the music you leave having felt like you just spent two hours in Ireland.

Stones in His Pockets runs through February 25th at Theater Latté Da in Northeast Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.latteda.org/stones-in-his-pockets

Dial M For Murder is Simply to Die For at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis

Gretchen Egolf, Brian Thomas Abraham, and David Andrew Macdonald Photo by Dan Norman

Dial M For Murder opened Friday evening with a newly adapted script by local favorite Jeffrey Hatcher from the original play by Frederick Knott. Knott also wrote the screenplay for the Famous Alfred Hitchcock film adaptation. For those curious, I am happy to report that like the Hitchcock film, this new adaptation is also presented in 3D. Hatcher keeps the basics of the original work but adds several twists that make the play feel more modern though it retains the original 1950’s London period setting. Normally with a thriller I’d be hesitant to give anything away, and I still intend to keep most things under wraps. But, unlike an Agatha Christie story, this isn’t really a whodunnit, it’s more like a Columbo episode. You know who the criminal is very early on, the thrills come from seeing how his plan comes off and how he adapts when things don’t go according to plan. The piece I won’t spoil is a sequence that Hatcher inserts during the commission of the crime, it doesn’t change Knotts basic plot but it adds another layer of suspicions, and it’s a ingenious little twist.

The plot revolves around Tony Wendices plot to have an old acquaintance murder his wife after having discovered she had an affair with a writer that ended a year previous. One major change is a gender swap of the former lover from Max to Maxine. He also changes the professions of Tony and Maxine which adds another dimension to Tony’s motivations. For those keeping track, we are now up to four dimensions if my math checks out. Probably Hatchers greatest contribution is an injection of humor into the script, not so much as to feel out of place but just the perfect amount to add to the overall enjoyment of the piece. Bringing out that humor perfectly is the performance by David Andrew Macdonald as Tony, he’s the perfect marriage of actor and role. Macdonald’s choices all work, his timing and line readings are impeccable. More than any other actor on the stage he seems to be on the same wavelength as Hatcher and it’s a key to this productions success. Since we know who the villain is, the thrills come from whether or not he’ll be found out. Our investment is increased by the fact that we are so entertained by Macdonald, we find ourselves feeling anxious that he’ll get caught, when our sense of justice should be rooting for him to be. Gretchen Egolf plays Margot Tony’s wife and Lori Vega the ex-lover Maxine, Egolf plays the role straight laced, which works well with her motivations to withhold information from other characters while Vega, playing an American is more vibrant and hip. Brian Thomas Abraham gives an intelligent performance as Inspector Hubbard making piecing together the crime feel like effective reasoning even when it’s wrong, you can see why it seems correct to him. Continuing the trend of three named actors is Peter Christian Hansen as Lesgate the old schoolmate of Tony’s whose persuaded to murder Margot. Nice to see a local actor in a show that seems full of imports, and Hansen is, as always an asset to any production.

Tracy Brigden does a nice tight job of direction, everything is clear, she gives the audience the time to watch the characters work out what to do next but never a second more than is necessary. The staging of the murder is particularly effective, the deadly blow being executed very effectively and also providing us with a few jump inducing moments. Just listening to the opening night audiences reactions, the oohs and ahhs and the laughter it’s clear that Hatcher and Brigden had the audience in the palms of their hands. I’m so glad that Hatcher kept the time period of the play in the 50’s, it allowed for a beautifully retro aesthetic. From the wonderful set by Walt Spangler to the gorgeous costumes by Valerie Therese Bart, it captures the look of a 50’s era Hitchcock film. I also noticed in a good way, the lighting design by Xavier Pierce which wonderfully set the mood of the scenes especially well done was the stormy night of the murder which featured some great sound design from John Gromada as well. Dial M for Murder is a murderously entertaining production filled with twists and turns and just the right proportion of humor peppered throughout. Dial M for Murder runs through February 25th at the Guthrie Theater for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2023-2024-season/dial-m-for-murder/

In case you missed it I had the opportunity last summer to interview Jeffrey Hatcher for the Twin Cities Theater Chat Podcast you can listen to that conversation here https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/2150807/13157328