By Walter Murphy…
Murder, mistaken motives, and absurd twists fuel this fast-moving improvised homage to Alfred Hitchcock.
If you are a fan of Hitchcock movies, murder mysteries, parodies, and comedic improvisational performances, Dial M for MacGuffin will be just what you’re looking for in a weekend outing. The cast of the Improvisational Repertory Theatre Ensemble (IRTE) creates a new parody show at each performance using Hitchcock films for inspiration. Conceived by Robert Baumgardner and directed by Pat Shay, the production plays At the Producers Club on Friday and Saturday nights.
Parody requires prior knowledge to connect with an audience. References must be recognizable for the portrayals to land. Viewers need to appreciate the differences as they are exaggerated, mocked, or celebrated. Hitchcock films may seem an odd choice given his long career and the fact that his greatest works were produced in the last century. Will contemporary audiences relate to the references? Happily, the IRTE troupe makes smart choices for its New York audiences.
The troupe wisely opens with a reference to The Birds, beginning their flight of farce and fancy by arriving on stage looking peckish. In New York, The Birds was the most-watched Hitchcock movie when it premiered on NBC in 1968. Its popularity continued well into the 1970s when it was a regular feature of WPIX’s “Creep Week” series. New Yorkers know The Birds.
Recognizable Hitchcock tropes establish from the outset that this is a parody of the master’s work. Soundtracks from Hitchcock films greet the audience before the show begins. (Fun fact: Hitchcock’s The Birds does not have a traditional musical score, relying instead on recorded bird sounds.)
The 90-minute show is entirely improvised. Each performance is different but contains Hitchcockian staples: murder, MacGuffins, and suspense. Because this is a comedic improv troupe, the evolving plot unfolds from the ridiculous to the sublime. The eight-member cast takes turns delightfully derailing the story based on the whims of their characters. Those eight characters are a collection of oddballs careening off one another on the tiny stage. The whole production is happily slapdash and thoroughly entertaining.
A Hitchcock staple—a murder—is used to build suspense and define the roles of the characters. At the performance I attended, there was a pregnant journalist (the murder victim), two potential fathers (one a confused and hungover banker, the other a policeman with multiple jobs—officer, detective, and chief of police), an egotistical physician (possibly a murderer and certainly a self-important “professional”), a shady cook who randomly bursts into full-throated renditions of “It Had To Be You” and “Creep” and while working for a scheming hotelier, a horny thrice-widowed jewel thief, and a wealthy dowager unsure of how her husband died.
As the characters add improvised elements to the story, both suspense and absurdity build as the troupe attempts to solve the mystery. Along the way, odd additions become running gags: cream soda as a euphemism for alcohol, the suggestion that a pair of cute little corgis might have figured into the murder plot, and speculation about what was behind the locked door at the end of the hall in the dowager’s mansion. Because each performance is created anew, these humorous moments may not appear in subsequent shows.
As an improv group, the cast also invites audience participation in establishing the story. The MacGuffin selected by audience member at my performance was a cigar, which appeared periodically throughout the show. When asked what a MacGuffin was, Hitchcock explained that it was something introduced into a story that is ultimately meaningless—a red herring or misleading clue. In Dial M for MacGuffin, the horny widower suggested that the cigar also contained a secret microfiche hidden within. And, true to Hitchcock’s intent and IRTE’s affectionate homage to the director, it was actually inconsequential. The mystery ended unsolved, but the investigation—and the performance—was a fun ride.
Dial M for MacGuffin is at the Producers Club through June 27. Tickets and show information are available here.
Photos: Roberto Tobar
