New Mexico Actors Lab Premieres Local Playwright Dale Dunn's A SUBTLE KIND OF MURDER

New Mexico Actors Lab will open the second production of its 2025 season on June 5 with the premiere of local playwright Dale Dunn's A Subtle Kind of Murder, a thriller, tinged with humor, that explores how the past and present collide. The production runs through Sunday, June 22.

Tickets are now on sale at the NMAL website. Flex Passes are $160 (five shows or admissions for the price of four). Individual tickets are $40, with discounted tickets (see website for details) and a preview performance costing $20. If seats are available, $5 rush tickets will go on sale five minutes before each performance. All performances are at NMAL's permanent home, the Lab Theater, 1213 B Parkway Drive in Santa Fe - one block from Meow Wolf. Thursday- Saturday performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Sunday performances begin at 2 p.m.

In A Subtle Kind of Murder, Jane is a writer under contract to adapt a noir murder mystery for the screen. As she struggles to meet her deadline, Jane is unable to ignore parallels with the abuse she endured during her early days in Hollywood. Centered around the haunting novel, In A Lonely Place by Dorothy Hughes, who lived and worked in Santa Fe and Albuquerque most of her life, the play examines what happens when the past collides with the present and how that collision may pave the way for an inspired future. Lynn Goodwin directs a dynamic ensemble - Tara Bast, Aaron Black, Devon Griste, and Breshaun Joyner - in this exciting new play.

The title of the play comes from a Jim Morrison quote: "When others demand that we become the people they want us to be, they force us to destroy the person we really are. It' s a subtle kind of murder."

NMAL'S Artistic Director Emily Rankin notes, "The Actors Lab is dedicated to fostering community building and experimentation and is honored to support the development of new works with local playwrights."