Theater Review:

Frederick Knott wrote only three plays, but since two of them were “Dial M for Murder” and “Wait Until Dark,” he undoubtedly made a pretty comfortable living off the royalties.

Both are heavily plotted, suspense-laden tales of ordinary people caught in a web of crime, and both have received ample exposure on local stages over the past several years. In fact, “Dial M” currently is being resurrected in a splendid production at the Newport Theater Arts Center.

In Knott’s meticulously crafted script, the would-be murderer never makes it through the first act and the plotter of a botched killing stands to benefit from a collection of carefully planted circumstantial evidence. Those who’ve seen Alfred Hitchcock’s movie treatment of the Knotty script are quite familiar with all the twists and turns.

At Newport, director Phyllis Gitlin has mounted a richly involving revival, placing particular emphasis on character as well as the circuitous plot, in which a mercenary former tennis bum plots the murder of his wealthy wife and pressures a nefarious college acquaintance to commit the deed.

After discovering what happens to the best-laid plans, the focus shifts to the confused and frightened wife, facing prison and execution for causing the hit man’s demise. Here, the local players have hit the nail precisely on the head.

Stephanie Schulz is radiant as the wife, shifting seamlessly from nonchalance to abject terror. Her terrified reactions as the noose of evidence begins to tighten around her are superbly enacted, the abject fear reflected in her facial features.

Her plotting husband, Paul Breazeale, initially is hampered by a youthful appearance and a forced English accent, but he overcomes both in a convincing performance, particularly when describing the upcoming crime to its potential perpetrator. Breazeale draws playgoers into his web of nastiness while outwardly maintaining an air of smiling cordiality.

Tony Carnaghi, as Schulz’s onetime illicit lover returning to London to rehash old times, is crisp and methodical as his character — a mystery writer — unfolds a mirror-image plot of the actual crime aimed at saving his former paramour.