BWW Reviews: Weathervane Cast Transforms for DIAL M FOR MURDER

One of the potential drawbacks to summer stock theatre has become one of the Weathervane Playhouse's greatest strengths this summer. Each summer regional theatres bring a cast of college students and put them to work on not just one but a series of shows.

The cast that Weathervane brought in for its 47th season showcased its range in the Newark theatre's current production of DIAL M FOR MURDER, which opened on July 16 and runs through July 25. Five of the six-person cast held key roles in Weathervane's previous production, the frothy PAJAMA GAME, and yet transformed themselves seamlessly into different characters for Frederick Knott's dark thriller.

Case in point is Layne Roate, who plays Captain Lesgate. Roate has shown his ability to adapt to a variety of roles this summer. He started out the Weathervane season as the neurotic Mark Cohen in RENT and brought a spastic energy to his portrayal of Vernon Hines, the time-obsessed efficiency expert in THE PAJAMA GAME. While those two characters had some similarities, Roate was virtually unrecognizable as Lesgate, bringing a subdued, sinister energy to the character.

Lesgate is a victim of circumstances in DIAL M FOR MURDER. He is coerced by a former classmate Tony Wendice (played by Patrick Clements) into murdering Wendice's wife Margot (Molly Griggs). Margot recently broken off an affair with American mystery writer Max Halliday (Clay Singer, who also played Griggs' love interest in THE PAJAMA GAME).

Tony Wendice's plan backfires when Margot stabs and kills her would-be assailant Lesgate with a pair of scissors. However, Tony comes up with a backup plan to get rid of his wife. After his wife fumbles her way through the police interview, Tony begins to lay the groundwork to make it look like Margot had been blackmailed by Lesgate to keep him from exposing her affair and intentionally killed him rather than paying him off.

Clements pulls off the role of the smarmy Tony Wendice, who dotes on his wife while planning to bump her off. Griggs channels her inner Grace Kelly (who played Margot in the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock film version of DIAL M FOR MURDER) in an elegant portrayal of Margot. Singer is equally strong as the earnest American frantically trying to save his former love from being executed. Jason Samples brings a lot of skepticism to his role as Inspector Hubbard. Steve Herbst also has a small part as Thompson, a police officer who assists Hubbard.

The play features a picturesque set design of the Wendice's London flat as well as some nice Weathervane touches. For example, when Margot decides to stay at the flat that faithful, she tunes a radio play, which happened to be the crime drama SORRY, WRONG NUMBER, a thriller which is similar to DIAL M FOR MURDER.

The Weathervane Playhouse closes out the season with NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT ON July 30-Aug. 8. It will be interesting if this cast can make another transformation to a different style of play.

Remaining shows for DIAL M FOR MURDER are 8 p.m. July 22-25 at the Weathervane Playhouse (100 Price Road in Newark, Ohio). Call 740-366-4616 for information.

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