Dial T for thrilling

I won’t tell you how “Dial M for Murder” ends, but I can tell you this: The butler didn’t do it.

The husband did.

And I’m not breaking the critic’s cardinal rule to not give away the ending, because I’m not telling you anything you don’t learn early in the play.

This mystery thriller isn’t a whodunit but a does-he-get-away-with-it-and-whathappens next?

In the first act, we learn that Tony (Giles Davies), a former tennis pro, married Margot (Deanna Gibson) purely for her money. And now he wants her murdered so he can inherit it.

He’s learned that she had an affair with an American mystery writer, Max (Brendan Powers), but has broken it off.

Tony, for whom it seems more a matter of greed than revenge, blackmails a former schoolmate, Capt. Lesgate (Jesse St. Louis), to do the deed for him.

The scheme: Tony will hide a key for Capt. Lesgate, then attend a stag party on the night of the murder, so he’ll have an alibi. While Tony is out at his party, Capt. Lesgate will let himself into the apartment with the hidden key. At a pre-arranged time, Tony will call his wife. When she gets out of bed to answer the phone, Capt. Lesgate will step out from behind the curtains and strangle her.

Deanna Gibson and Jesse St. Louis in “Dial M for Murder.” COURTESY PHOTO The action’s set in 1952 England, so there are, of course, no cell phones, no cordless phones, no caller ID. Tony knows exactly where his wife will stand to answer the phone. (Is there anything more ominous than a phone ringing in the middle of the night, waking you out of a deep sleep?)

Mr. Davies, new to Florida Rep, is perfect as Tony, with his angular face and dark, brooding looks. You can see the delight in his eyes as he plots his wife’s death and blackmails Capt. Lesgate. This is a villain you love to hate, and Mr. Davies portrays him very skillfully. (He also has a nice bit where he impersonates a woman talking.) I look forward to seeing him onstage again.

Mr. Powers, a familiar face at Florida Rep, is brash and earnest as a TV mystery writer Max Halliday. Slightly polished around the edges, he’s a rough and tumble guy who plots 52 murders a year. As he explains to Margot, there are five motives for murder: fear, jealousy, money, revenge and protecting someone you love.

Mr. Powers also has a nice section where he lists the wide variety of ways he’s killed people in his scripts, “poison, shoot, strangle, stab, slug and suffocate” among them.

In this mid-century era when everyone’s terribly mannered and extremely civil with each other, Mr. Powers’ character provides many of the show’s outbreaks of emotion. As an American, he’s allowed to display his passions.

Ms. Gibson has the unenviable position of portraying a role so associated with the stunning Grace Kelly, who played Margot in the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock movie. Instead of an icy beauty, Ms. Gibson embodies a kind of gawky elegance that makes her more ideal for a comedic romance. Though she sometimes veers into melodrama, she displays a certain vulnerability that makes the audience want to protect her.

While Mr. St. Louis makes his Florida Rep debut with this play, audiences might know him from his many performances with Theatre Conspiracy. He’s totally believable as an old schoolmate now living life on the shadier side. Watch his face as Tony talks to him; composure drains as he realizes that not only have his secrets been unearthed, but he’s also being backed into a corner.

Directing the details

Director Robert Cacioppo’s attention to details makes this thriller even more effective. Lighting by Aaron Meadow adds to the creepiness of the play, especially highlighting characters at the end of scenes. And sound designer Kate Smith brings in music that heightens the tension. (The only quibble I have with the sound is that it doesn’t seem as if the phone itself is ringing; we hear a ring, but it doesn’t seem to emanate from the phone on the desk.)

Unfortunately, the key scene of the play, where Capt. Lesgate strangles Margot, isn’t in keeping with the high quality of the rest of the play. It’s just not believable. The actors are too timid; you can almost see them counting off the various steps they’re supposed to take, like a choreographed dance. At least on opening night, they seemed more concerned about hitting their marks than anything else; it didn’t come across as a genuine struggle.

To add to the dilemma, Mr. St. Louis is a large man while Ms. Gibson is petite; it’s difficult to believe there would be much of a struggle at all, let alone one that lasts as long as this one does.

When Inspector Hubbard (Tad Ingram) comes on the scene, late in the play, he almost steals the show. Kind of a British precursor to Columbo, he portrays the inspector as devilishly clever, with a twinkle in his eye as he investigates the murder.

And Daniel Benzing, who was so wonderful in “Indian Blood,” has two minor roles as a reporter and a policeman. The roles are walk-ons, but he still manages to get a laugh.

Originally a play by Frederick Knott, “Dial M for Murder” is perhaps best known as an Alfred Hitchcock movie. (And Mr. Hitchcock makes a cameo appearance in this play, as he does in his movie version; you might not notice him from your seat, but he’s in a school reunion photograph that Tony picks from a bookshelf to show Capt. Lesgate.)

Robert F. Wolin’s set is spectacular. Before the play begins, the stage looks like a sepia photograph of an English apartment. When the lights come up, we see some slight color — the walls, for example, are actually a dim raspberry — but there’s nothing jarring or blatant. It’s an old photograph come to life.

And Mr. Cacioppo’s choice of costuming is superb. Costume designer Janelle Turco gives us film noir outfits, all blacks and whites and grays. When we first meet Tony and Max, they’re almost the reverse of each other. Max, the good guy, sports a white shirt and dark tie, while Tony wears a black shirt and gray tie. Later, when both are dressed in formalwear, Max’s jacket is white. Tony’s suits get progressively darker as the play goes on, until finally, he’s wearing funeral black.

In addition to top-notch acting, it’s Mr. Cacioppo’s vision and attention to details like this that make Florida Rep the quality theater it is.

“Dial M for Murder” is good, classic entertainment at the theater: witty dialogue, clever plotting and suspense that makes you lean forward in your seat in anticipation.

Florida Rep has brought an old-fashioned thriller to Fort Myers, and it’s well worth seeing.

Even if you do have to leave a night light on afterward. 

If you go

>> What: “Dial M for Murder”
>> When: through Dec. 20
>> Where: Florida Repertory Theatre,
2267 Bay Street, in the historic Arcade
Theatre in downtown Fort Myers,
between Hendry and Jackson
>> Cost: $20-$42
>> Info: Call 332-4488 or go to
www.floridarep.org