Dial M for Murder premiered on stage in 1952 in London’s West End. It was an immediate hit and opened on Broadway a few months later. In 1954 the play was adapted into a film by the legendary director, Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland and Grace Kelly.

Considered one of the classic examples of a stage thriller, the play has been revived and adapted many times since. In 1958 and 1968 the play was produced for television. In 1981, a TV film version starred Angie Dickinson and Christopher Plummer, and in 1998 a film remake, titled A Perfect Murder, starred Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow. Well into the 1970’s the play was regularly seen onstage.

However, over time, the play was produced less often, until two years ago, when playwright Jeffrey Hatcher wrote a new stage adaptation, which debuted at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. In his adaptation of Dial M for Murder, Jeffrey has kept the original setting of 1950’s London but has made a few changes to keep the story surprising and fresh for contemporary audiences. In the past two years this adaptation has had many productions and is the fifth most produced play of the year.

One of the great pleasures of going to the theater is the anticipation of being surprised. In tonight’s play, this may be literal, as you experience the twists and turns of the plot. At other times, the pleasures of surprise at the theater may include discovering unexpected depth in a character who you initially thought was exactly as she seemed. Or perhaps you encounter a play that surprises you by opening unexpected empathy within you. Sometimes it’s a delighted surprise at the sheer range of talent onstage, dazzling in its bravura skill.

At Dallas Theater Center, we are excited to announce our 2024-25 season, which is intended to surprise and delight you all season long.

From the irreverent, high-spirited comic spoof of Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors to the contemporary romantic musical Waitress. From the classic Western, Shane, told in a fresh new version by acclaimed playwright Karen Zacarías (Native Gardens) to the classic family musical, Jospeh and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, to the Dallas premiere of a heartwarming, award-winning drama, Primary Trust, which has been hailed by New York theater critics as one of the best plays of the year. It’s a season of old favorites told in fresh new ways, and new stories that inspire joy and hope. 

The one unsurprising thing for me in a lifetime of theater-going is that, regardless of the play, there is a special power in being together in a theater. In contemporary life, there are many opportunities for solitary pleasures, as Americans increasingly work from home, order food delivery, and connect with others through the virtual relationships made possible by social media. The pleasures of live theater are different. Theater provides a rare opportunity to come together and experience the variety and depth of the human experience, often surprising us with how much we have in common as fellow travelers through the journey of life.

I hope you clutch the arm of the person next to you and gasp in surprise during Dial M for Murder. I hope to see you at DTC’s co-production of Fannie: the Music and Life of Fannie Lou Hamer at Bishop Arts Theatre Company in May and back here at the Wyly Theatre in July for our Public Works pageant production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, featuring 100 community members performing onstage alongside DTC’s professional artists. And I hope you will return throughout next season to be surprised and moved by the many shared emotions that live theater can inspire.

I’ll see you in the lobby.

WIG, HAIR, & MAKEUP DESIGN
Nick Lynch-Voris

FIGHT & INTIMACY DIRECTOR
Rocio Mendez

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
Laura Elaine Berrios*

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Malaisian Ann Parker

PRODUCTION MANAGER
Ashley Oliver

DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION
Andrew J. Brown

ARTISTIC PRODUCER
Sarahbeth Grossman

CASTING
Eisenberg/Beans Casting
Ally Beans, CSA
Daryl Eisenberg, CSA