Hillbarn Theatre of Foster City gets you ready for the Halloween season with the classic thriller Dial M for Murder, performing October 21 – November 7. A cheating wife, jealousy, money, and a killer pair of scissors all factor into Frederick Knott’s 1952 play which was created for the BBC. It then moved on to Broadway, and was turned into a 1954 motion picture classic directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Grace Kelly, Ray Milland, and Bob Cummings.
Tony Wendice marries socialite Margot not for love but money. After he learns of her extra-marital affair, he decides that the only way to obtain her fortune is by having her killed. With the help of a Cambridge associate, Tony arranges what he thinks is the perfect murder…or is it?
Hillbarn Theatre’s production features Frederick Goris of Union City playing husband Tony Wendice; Kelly Rinehart of San Francisco playing his wife Margot Wendice; Fred Pitts of San Francisco playing boyfriend Max Halliday; Louis Schilling of San Francisco playing Lesgate; Steve Schwartz of San Francisco playing Inspector Hubbard and Max Reinhardt playing all the other characters including the policeman, Thompson. The play is directed by Gary Gerber. Durand Garcia, fight choreographer, and Heather Orth, dialect coach, round out the production team with their special talents.
The American Film Institute in 2008 named the film version of Dial M for Murder as the ninth best film in the mystery genre. The film was originally shot in the then-popular 3-D format, but the 3-D craze had ended by Dial M’s release and was shown in regular film format.
Dial M for Murder
October 21 – November 7
Hillbarn Theatre
1285 East Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City.Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM.
Recognized as the sixth oldest community theatre in the nation, Hillbarn Theatre is dedicated to bringing to life the classic works of theatre and inspiring young minds with their renowned theatre education programs.
Photo credit: Nancy Fitzgerald- Metzler