Senior Isabella Ellenberger pinned a pair of zig-zagged curtains to make them stand out onstage, while sophomore Trevor Meyer steamed the last of the wrinkles from a pair of shiny pajama pants in the costume shop a floor below.
The students, both University of Mary Washington theatre majors, were putting the finishing touches on the first production of the 2025-26 UMW Theatre season, which opens tonight.
Dial “M” for Murder – a suspense-filled cat-and-mouse tale of mystery, greed and betrayal – débuts with a pay-what-you-can performance and runs through Sunday, Sept. 28, in duPont Hall’s Klein Theatre. Put on by Mary Washington’s top-ranking theatre program, it’s the first in the four-show season, which runs through spring and also includes a musical, a dark comedy and a Shakespearean classic.
“The season is planned with an eye toward great stories, meaningful opportunities for our students and a variety of productions sure to engage audiences,” said Department of Theatre and Dance Chair Marc Williams. “Audiences can expect to experience stories that will delight and challenge them in unexpected ways.”
Landing on The Princeton Review’s Top 25 list of college theatre programs for the third consecutive year, UMW’s program was the only one in Virginia to make the cut, in the education services company’s 2026 edition of “The Best 391 Colleges,” coming in at No. 15.
“We believe the best way for students to learn theatre is by making theatre and sharing it with audiences,” said Williams, who directs Dial “M” for Murder. “This ranking is linked to the quality of our productions [and] sends a signal that our approach to teaching theatre is effective.”
Laced with blackmail, deceit and revenge, the play tells the story of former novelist Tony Wendice, a London playboy who married his wife, Margot, for her money. When he discovers Margot’s affair with crime-fiction writer Mark Halliday, Tony comes up with an elaborate plot to murder her and steal her inheritance. He hires an old schoolmate to kill her, but the plan goes awry and takes surprising turns as the saga unfolds.
The original play by Frederick Knott premiered at London’s Westminster Theatre in 1952, débuted on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre later that year and was adapted into an award-winning film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Grace Kelly. The UMW performance is based on Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation, which premiered at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre in 2022.
The show features scenic design by Associate Professor of Theatre Michael Benson, costume design by Associate Professor of Theatre Kevin McCluskey, and lighting and sound by guest artists Catherine Girardi and Tony Angelini, respectively.
It’s followed in the 2025-26 lineup by Godspell, an uplifting musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak, running Nov. 6-23; Hand to God, a dark comedy by Robert Askins, onstage Feb. 5-15; and Shakespeare’s epic story of Henry V, which runs April 9-19.
Performances of Dial “M” for Murder take place Sept. 18-20 and Sept. 25-27 at 7:30 p.m., and Sept. 21 and 28 at 2 p.m. in duPont Hall’s Klein Theatre. AfterWords, a post-show talkback with the cast, takes place after the Sept. 21 matinee performance. Tickets are $30 for standard admission and $25 for students, senior citizens and military. Discounts are also available for groups of 10 or more. For tickets and further information, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit www.FredTix.com.
Leave a Reply