Photos: DIAL M FOR MURDER at Pittsburgh Public Theater

Pittsburgh Public Theater has launched its 50th anniversary season with suspense and surprise in the thriller that inspired the Hitchcock classic, "Dial M for Murder", which makes its regional premiere Sept. 11-29 at the O'Reilly Theater in Downtown. Check out all new photos below!

Tony nominee Céline Rosenthal directs the new adaptation from the Old Globe's Jeffrey Hatcher.

"Dial M for Murder," for audiences lucky enough to be encountering the thrilling murder mystery for the first time, tells the 1950s London story of Margot Wendice (Brooke Turner) and her husband Tony (Josh Innerst), who, upon discovering his wealthy wife's torrid affair with a handsome American mystery writer, entwines his old college pal Lesgate (Michael Patrick Trimm) in a plot to have her murdered and acquire her sizable inheritance. Tony, a retired tennis pro in the original, sees his plan go awry and consequences close in as he frantically attempts to evade the story's plot - and Inspector Hubbard (Ken Bolden).

Hatcher's adaptation swaps Tony's tennis career for a life as a failed-writer-turned-literary publishing agent, and Margot's love interest for Maxine Hadley (Shannon Williams), a successful mystery writer professionally represented by Tony's publishing house - adding layers to the animosity Tony has for his wife's lover and danger to the consequences of Margot and Maxine's queer trysts. Carolyn Jerz joins the cast as production understudy.

Critics raved over Rosenthal's recent direction of the adaptation at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, and Pittsburgh Public Theater's production features members of the same stunning creative team, including Set Designer Antonio Ferron, Costume Designer Tracy Dorman, and Fight Director Mark Rose. Pittsburgh talent, including The Public's Resident Artist Jose Perez IV as intimacy director, Annmarie Duggan of the crowd favorite "A Tell-Tale Heart" as lighting designer, Kathy Mathews as hair and wig designer, and Nancy McNulty McGeever as dialect coach, joins this staging to play to the strengths of the O'Reilly Theater's thrust stage. The Public also brings other national talent to Pittsburgh with this production, including the San Diego-based sound designer Stewart Blackwood, who teaches at Carnegie Mellon University and is a prolific award-winning audiobook narrator and will bring dark mystery to the sounds of "Dial M for Murder."

The show's director is a queer theater leader of their own and an active member of the Ring of Keys, an LGBTQ+ musical theater network that focuses its work on creative and networking opportunities for artists who self-identify as queer women, transgender, and gender-nonconforming artists. Rosenthal's career as a Tony Award-nominated producer followed other work as an educator and New York City paramedic - influences Rosenthal discussed with Pittsburgh Public Theater Artistic Director Marya Sea Kaminski and Managing Director Shaunda McDill in a recent podcast episode.

Tickets to "Dial M for Murder" are on sale now at PPT.org/Dial or by calling the Box Office at 412.316.1600 and start at $37. The Public also offers numerous ways to engage more deeply with the theater and enhance your theatergoing experience, available during select performances all season long.

Photo Credit: Maranie R. Staab

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