The dark is a scary place to be. Just think back on all the movie and TV
thrillers with the word "dark" in their title: Dark Shadows, The Dark House,
Whispers In The Dark, Are You Afraid Of The Dark, Dark Water, and of course
Elvira Mistress Of The Dark-to name just a few.
What if that darkness were perpetual, inescapable? That would certainly up
the fear factor, right?
This is the premise of Frederick Knight's stage and screen thriller, Wait
Until Dark, the tale of a recently-blinded woman terrorized by a killer in
her New York City basement apartment-who evens the odds by placing not only
herself but also the killer (and the audience) in pitch blackness.
Lee Remick originated the role of Susy Hendrix on Broadway in 1966, though
it is probably Audrey Hepburn's 1967 big screen Susy that most people
remember when they hear the words Wait Until Dark. There are doubtless few
movie or theater buffs who have not seen either the movie or one of the
countless regional or community theater productions staged every year.
I've seen Wait Until Dark performed by college students, in community
theater, and in Equity Waiver productions, but only this past weekend did I
have the chance to finally experience this classic thriller in a big stage
professional production and get a bit of a taste of what Broadway audiences
might have experienced four-plus decades ago.
Professional criminal Harry Roat (Don Harvey) has reason to believe that a
heroin-filled doll is hidden in the apartment of photographer Sam Hendrix
(Brian Crawford Scott) and his wife Susy (Libby West). It seems that Sam
brought the doll across the Canadian-U.S. border as a favor to a woman he
happened to meet at the airport-and in order to get his hands on it, Roat
enlists the help of a pair of thugs, Mike Talman (Louis Lotorto) and Carlino
(John Richard Petersen).
Roat's plan is a complicated one, involving Mike's posing as an old friend
of Sam's, Carlino's impersonating a New York police detective, and Roat's
assuming a number of disguises. All of this is contingent on Susy's being
home alone, and the crooks' being able to take advantage of her
blindness-which they see as a weakness. In a clever plot twist which has
helped make Wait Until Dark an audience favorite, Susy turns this liability
into an asset in the play's chilling climactic scene.
West creates a fascinating portrait of a woman still learning to live with
blindness. Leaving her cane at the door when entering her apartment, Susy
has mastered how to maneuver from chair to table to kitchen to desk by
counting steps, always walking in straight lines and making ninety degree
turns. A chair which the thugs have moved, and which she bumps into, is
Susy's first clue that something is wrong. Later, her heightened sense of
hearing alerts her even further that something is amiss. Why is Carlino
dusting her apartment when it's kept spic-and-span, and why do her visitors
keep opening and shutting the blinds when the apartment is perfectly well
lit?
Pivotal to the plot is a nine-year-old neighbor girl named Gloria (Brighid
Fleming), who starts out as a thorn in Susy's side and ends up her greatest
asset in gaining the upper hand against Roat and his cohorts.
Knott's plot takes so many twists and turns that even after seeing the play
five times, I mostly just relax without trying too hard to follow its
complexities, enjoy the ride, and wait until that last scene which never
fails to provoke shrieks.
Like another recently reviewed 1960s classic, Wait Until Dark can exist only
in a pre-cell phone era. Not only can Susy not contact Sam wherever he
might be, a phone booth (remember them?) visible from their apartment proves
essential to the unraveling of the plot. If Susy and her visitors had cell
phones, there'd be no Wait Until Dark. And if the play were a contemporary
one, no one in her right mind would tell a nine-year-old girl to hop in a
taxi to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and meet every bus coming in from
Asbury Park. The world has indeed changed since 1966.
The Norris has as always assembled a top-notch cast to bring Knott's tale to
suspenseful life. West is a regional theater treasure and, as always, a
powerful stage presence here. Her Susy is a woman who exhibits the same guts
and pluck in her attack against the diabolical Roat as she did when
responding to the loss of her sight. Hers is not to reason why but simply
to do (and hopefully not die). Acting without the benefit of the mirror to
her soul, West nonetheless lets us see Susy's intelligence at work, and when
the brave facade begins to evaporate as danger approaches, the effect is all
the more powerful for having been there previously.
Lotorto's slightly off-center stage persona gives an extra edge to Mike
Talman, and plants that smidgen of doubt in Susy's head, even while she
welcomes the help of this apparent ally. Petersen adds a nice comic touch
to Detective Carlino, Scott is appropriately stalwart and sympathetic as
Sam, and young Fleming is an absolute delight as Gloria-and the antithesis
of the stereotypical "child actor." Allan Lynch and James Sluyter appear
briefly but to good effect as a pair of police officers. Finally, in the
pivotal role(s) of Harry Roat, Harvey gives a strong performance which will
be even stronger if he ups the CSF (creepy, scary factor) a notch or two.
With Wait Until Dark, director Aaron proves himself as adept at suspense as
he is at musicals (Great Expectations, Cabaret) and comedies (The Graduate,
Lend Me A Tenor). His design team aids immensely. James W. Gruessing, Jr.
has created a beautifully laid-out and decorated basement apartment set. J.
Kent Inasy's lighting is crucial throughout the play, and he has done a
masterful job here-as always. Shon LeBlanc's costumes are first rate, and
if you wonder why Susy's culottes seem a bit baggy and even frumpy, there's
a reason for that-see if you can figure it out. Best of all, is Max
Kinberg's finely-detailed sound design (the refrigerator even whirrs when
its door is opened) and very effective original "suspense movie" soundtrack.
(Only one slightly "off" music cue foreshadowed and thus dampened the
effectiveness of the play's climactic shock moment.)
There's something to be said for the intimacy of a small theater production
of Wait Until Dark where the audience finds itself virtually in Susy's
apartment, and feeling especially claustrophobic when the lights go out.
But there's also something special about seeing Wait Until Dark a la the
Broadway original, in a big stage, bigger budget production like this one.
Ultimately, though, it's the writing, direction, and performances that make
for a first-class Wait Until Dark, and all three are front and center stage
at the Norris.
Norris Theatre For The Performing Arts, 27570 Crossfield Drive, Rolling
Hills Estates. Through May 10. Remaining performances Friday and Saturday
at 8:00. Sunday at 3:00. Reservations: 310 544-0403 www.norriscenter.com
--Steven Stanley
May 2, 2009
Quotes
Wait Until Dark
