“Dial ‘M’ for Murder”/ Ghent Playhouse/ Directed by Flo Hayle
“DIAL ‘M’ FOR MURDER” is a plot-intensive, 1950s piece of crime fiction that has a difficult time breathing in 2011. It cannot survive well without a great deal of actor-supplied humanity. Fortunately the production at Ghent Playhouse has three actors who almost get the job done despite the script: Neal Berntson as the soulless murderer, John Trainor as the police inspector with unexpected smarts, and Daniel Region as the suave, money-hungry husband out to murder his wealthy wife.
Though Bernston (Captain Lesgate) gets killed off fairly early in the play, while sentient — watching a web of blackmail slowly entrap him — he makes his long silences eloquent. The lines are icy-clean, and his morality-free thought processes are better than lines. Read more…