Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, continues its 2023–2024 season with a new version of Dial M for Murder, the celebrated murder mystery that inspired Hitchcock’s masterpiece. This version is adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, from the original by Frederick Knott, and is directed by Associate Artistic Director Georgette Verdin. The production has been extended by one week, now running November 30, 2023 – January 7, 2023, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie. The press opening is Friday, December 8, 2023 at 7:30pm.
Tony Wendice married his wife Margot for money, neglected her, got jealous of her affair, and now he wants her dead. In his meticulous planning of the perfect crime, Tony spins a web of suspicion and deception that will ensnare them both in this edge-of-your-seat adaptation of a modern classic.
The cast of Dial M for Murder includes Lucy Carapetyan (Margot), Ryan Hallahan (Tony), Elizabeth Laidlaw (Maxine), Nick Sandys (Inspector Hubbard), and Felipe Carrasco (Lesgate).
The creative team includes Mara Zinky (Set Design), Raquel Adorno (Costume Design), Eric Watkins (Light Design), and Chris Kriz (Original Music & Sound Design). Katie Klemme is the Stage Manager.
“Everyone loves a mystery. The puzzle to find out the truth is rarely a simple straight line. For 50 years people have been trying to unravel the Kennedy assassinations, 9/11 conspiracies, princess Diana’s death, leaping on them with eager energy. The internet obscures the simple answers adding more fantastical possibilities and even absurd plots. Dial M For Murder however is set in a simpler time, when ‘gaslighting’ and lies were spun in noirish style, and sinister strangers offer a maze of entertaining possibilities,” comments BJ Jones. “Jeffrey Hatcher has refurbished this noir classic in a tight and tense retelling. Associate Artistic Director Georgette Verdin makes her Northlight debut giving it a contemporary twist. I’m proud to have her work on our stage.”
Lead Sponsors for Dial M for Murder are Byline Bank, Bob Regan and Cindy Clark, and Greg and Anne Taubeneck.
About the artists
Georgette Verdin (Director) is a Cuban-American freelance director, the Associate Artistic Director of Northlight Theatre and a member of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. Recent directing credits include: the revival of Night Watch (Raven Theatre); the U.S. premiere of The Writer (Steep Theatre); the world premieres of A Mile in The Dark (Interrobang Theatre Project/Rivendell), Enough to Let the Light In (Teatro Vista), Chagall in School (Grippo Stage Company), and Spay (Rivendell). Georgette is a three-time Jeff nominated director and was the 2022 Michael Maggio Directing Fellow at Goodman Theatre. She was profiled in NewCity Magazine’s 2023 “Players: Who Really Performs for Chicago Right Now" and in Chicago Reader’s “Best of Chicago 2022.” Georgette is an associate member with Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. For more, visit georgetteverdin.com.
Lucy Carapetyan (Margot Wendice) previously appeared at Northlight in You Can’t Take It With You. Some favorite Chicago credits include The Writer, First Love is the Revolution, Earthquakes in London, Linda (Steep Theatre, where she’s an ensemble member), Right To Be Forgotten and Nice Girl (Raven), Animal Farm (Steppenwolf). Lucy works as a motion capture actor for Injustice and Mortal Kombat video games. TV: Fargo season 4, Somebody Somewhere, Chicago Fire, Proven Innocent. Film: Brooklyn 45, Departing Seniors.
Felipe Carrasco (Lesgate) is making their Northlight debut. Recent credits include: Twelfth Night (St. Louis Shakespeare Festival); The Cherry Orchard, Sweat (Goodman Theatre); The Wizards (Concrete Content); The Madres (Teatro Vista); Harbur Gate (16th Street Theatre); The Adventures of Robin Hood, Reprise (Adventure Stage Chicago); Othello: The Moor of Venice (Invictus Theatre); Waiting for Godot (Tympanic Theatre Co.); Bomb-Itty of Errors, Cyrano (Riverside Theatre); Hedda Gabler (Undermain Theatre); Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Theatre Three); A Christmas Carol (Dallas Theatre Center). Felipe is part of the performance duo Daughter Boy, which recently performed its original piece Demons at the Bay in Physical Theater Festival Chicago’s ‘Scratch Night.’
Elizabeth Laidlaw (Maxine Hadley) has worked as an actor, producer, and director in Chicago and regionally since 1993, appearing at Court Theatre, Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Steppenwolf, Writers Theatre and many, many others. Recent film: The Sin Eater, Good Guy With A Gun, Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party, Into The Wake. Television: The Red Line, NCIS (CBS); Chicago Med Chicago PD, Crisis (NBC); Betrayal (ABC); Boss (Starz); and The Chicago Code (FOX). She received her BFA from Illinois Wesleyan University and studied Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London. She is currently the voice of Dr. Eva Graff in, and a producer of, the critically acclaimed speculative fiction podcast Derelict (derelictpodcast.com). Elizabeth is a proud union member of SAG-AFTRA and Actor’s Equity.
Ryan Hallahan (Tony Wendice) is making his Northlight debut. Selected Chicago credits include Pass Over, Straight White Men (Steppenwolf); The Last Match, Witch, The Real Thing, A Streetcar Named Desire (Writers); Pericles, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cyrano De Bergerac (Chicago Shakespeare); The Body Of An American (Stage Left, Jeff Award Nominee- Actor In A Principal Role); Posh (Steep); Octagon (Jackalope); and A Doll’s House (Definition), as well as work with Goodman, Chicago Dramatists, Victory Gardens, and Broken Nose Theatre. Regional work includes The Rainmaker, Write Me A Murder, and Ripcord (Peninsula Players). Film and television include Pass Over (dir. Spike Lee), Working Man, Chicago Fire, and Chicago Med. He is the author of the plays Off The 77, The Grand Opening of the Chino Valley Death House, and Anna Lee.
Nick Sandys (Inspector Hubbard) returns to Northlight, having previously appeared in Mr. Dickens' Hat, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde and Pride & Prejudice, and choreographed combat for several other productions. Other local on-stage appearances include: Frankenstein, Pygmalion, An Inspector Calls, The Chimes, The Goat, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, The Real Thing (Remy Bumppo); Jeeves Intervenes, Captain Blood, A Turn Of The Screw, Twelfth Night, Blithe Spirit, Much Ado About Nothing (First Folio); The Tempest (Notre Dame Shakespeare); The Man Who Murdered Sherlock Holmes (Mercury Theater); plus productions at Goodman, Chicago Shakespeare, Lookingglass, and Light Opera Works, as well as regionally and Off Broadway. Nick has received some 22 Joseph Jefferson Nominations for acting, directing, fight directing, and producing, as well as a 2018 APA Audie Nomination for his audiobook narration of Dracula, and a 2011 Achievement Award from The Meier Charitable Foundation for the Arts.
FACT SHEET
Title: Dial M for Murder
Adapted by: Jeffrey Hatcher
From the original by Frederick Knott
Directed by: Georgette Verdin
Dates: Previews begin November 30, 2023
Press Opening: Friday, December 8, 2023 at 7:30pm
Regular run: December 9-31, 2023
Added performances: January 3-7, 2024
Featuring: Lucy Carapetyan (Margot), Ryan Hallahan (Tony), Elizabeth Laidlaw (Maxine), Nick Sandys (Inspector Hubbard), and Felipe Carrasco (Lesgate)
Creative Team: Mara Zinky (Set Design), Raquel Adorno (Costume Design), Eric Watkins (Light Design), and Chris Kriz (Original Music & Sound Design), and Katie Klemme (Stage Manager)
Schedule:
Tuesdays: 7:30pm (December 5 only)
Wednesdays: 1:00pm and 7:30pm
Thursdays: 7:30pm
Fridays: 7:30pm
Saturdays: 2:30pm (except December 2) and 7:30pm
Sundays: 2:30pm and 7:00pm (December 3 only)
An Open Captioned performance will be held on December 22 at 7:30pm. An Open Captioned and Audio Described/Touch Tour performance will be held on December 23 at 2:30pm.
Location: Northlight Theatre is located at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie
Tickets: Previews: $39-$74
Regular run: $49-$89
Student tickets are $15, any performance (subject to availability)
Box Office: The Box Office is located at 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie.
847.673.6300; northlight.org
Notes of interest:
- Director Georgette Verdin is the Associate Artistic Director of Northlight Theatre. This is her first time directing a production at Northlight Theatre.
- Northlight Theatre has previously produced playwright Jeffrey Hatcher’s Jekyll & Hyde, Ten Chimneys, Ella (book), Everything’s Ducky (co-librettist), and Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie (co-author).
Subscriptions to the remainder of the 2023-2024 Northlight Season, including Dial M for Murder, Selling Kabul, Brooklyn Laundry and 2 Pianos 4 Hands are now available at northlight.org/subscribe or 847.673.6300. Subscriptions range in price from $127 to $289. Flex pass options are $129-$189. With its wide range of ticket prices, discounted subscription packages and complimentary parking, Northlight remains one of the best theatrical values in Chicagoland. Package options include traditional 5-Play or 4-Play Packages and Flex Packages.
Up-to-date Covid-19 related policies can be found at northlight.org/health-safety.
Northlight Theatre aspires to promote change of perspective and encourage compassion by exploring the depth of our humanity across a bold spectrum of theatrical experiences, reflecting our community to the world and the world to our community.
Founded in 1974, the organization has mounted over 240 productions, including more than 45 world premieres. Northlight has earned 217 Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and 36 Awards, as well as 11 Edgerton Foundation for New Play Awards. As one of the area’s premier theatre companies, Northlight is a regional magnet for critical and professional acclaim, as well as talent of the highest quality.
Northlight is supported in part by generous contributions from the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; BMO Harris Bank; Bulley and Andrews; Byline Bank; The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; CoBank; ComEd, An Exelon Company; Eckenhoff Saunders; Evanston Arts Council; Evanston Community Foundation; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; Full Circle Foundation; The Gross Foundation; Gruman Butkus Associates; Hagerty Consulting; John R. Halligan Fund; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; Illinois Humanities; Katten Muchin Roseman LLP; Kirkland & Ellis Foundation; The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Modestus Bauer Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; Niles Township; NorthShore University HealthSystems; Northwestern University; The Offield Family Foundation; PNC Bank; Polsinelli; Pritzker Foundation; Ralla Klepak Trust for the Performing Arts; Room & Board; Sanborn Family Foundation; The Saints Foundation; Dr. Scholl Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; The Sullivan Family Foundation; and Tom Stringer Design Partners.