PLAY REVIEW: ‘Wait Until Dark’ brightens Mainstage

By Brandi Watters

July 16, 2008 06:31 pm

— Close your eyes.
Makes it kind of hard to navigate through a Greenwich Village apartment, murder a clever blind woman and steal a creepy little doll filled with heroin, right?
That’s just what blind housewife Susy Hendrix has in mind as she smashes light bulbs, blows fuses and darkens her prison of an apartment while being preyed upon by a team of criminals in Frederick Knott’s “Wait Until Dark.”
The well-delivered play, which in 1967 became a popular film starring Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin, begins a six-night run tonight at the Anderson’s Mainstage Theater.
At first, the audience is kept in the dark, pun intended, as two men rummage through Susy’s belongings. Though she does not know it, Susy is in possession of a doll filled with heroin — one that’s drawn the attention of three criminals.
With the help of a slimy stranger who’s immediately identified as “the bad guy,” the trio hatches a plan to trick Susy, who’s been blind only a short time, into showing them the doll.
As the play unfolds under the helm of longtime Mainstage director Jim Dougherty, it’s clear that the thieves have underestimated the housewife as she quickly turns the tables on them.
Susy is initially portrayed as a hapless woman who is easy to frighten, easy to trick and easy to pity. She relies on her husband, Sam, for nearly everything in her daily life, but it’s clear that he’s forcing her to become more independent.
As he leaves for what turns out to be the entire duration of the play, Susy asks Sam to show her where the plug for the refrigerator is located. Digging in his heels, he suggests that Susy work a little harder and find it herself, which later results in the most action-packed, suspenseful 30 seconds of the play.
Rhonda Tinch-Mize’s portrayal of Susy starts out as unlikable and a bit shrill. It was hard, at first, to be on the side of this whiny damsel in distress. As the play unravels, Tinch-Mize’s vacant expression of blindness turns a bit more believable and Susy becomes more familiar, drawing us on her side against the unknown evils awaiting her.
By the second act, when Susy screams, you want to scream. It’s unavoidable.
As bad guy Mike, Jim Hunter is reminiscent of a 1950s character who says things like, “Say, how about that game?” and “Why, I oughta!” At first, this is a bit annoying but soon draws the audience in, allowing an understanding why Susy would trust him so quickly.
However, I’m tempted to think she would have trusted the first man to walk in the room. Damsels need their knight in shining armor, and Susy is continually trying to find hers, until she’s all alone, in the dark, with nothing but her wits.
Butch Copeland was captivating as Carlino. From the moment he delivers his first line, he abandons any trace of acting and falls into his character with ease. He seemed to know exactly where his hands should be, how to manipulate the rise and fall of his voice, and how to react without over-reaching.
I found myself watching Copeland just to see a break in character, or any indication of the fact that he was scripted.
There was none.
It takes a seemingly long time to reach the play’s climax, but once there, the wait is worth it.
Raymond Kester, as Roat, seems like a cliché villain at first, but as the suspense builds, his menacing presence provides just the punch to get viewers on the edge of their seat.
I hate to admit it, but he made me jump ... in a theater ... in front of people. That’s not an easy feat.
I was new to the play and new to Mainstage going in, not knowing exactly what to expect. The production was pleasantly surprising. You won’t regret spending $10 on this nicely crafted and suspenseful play.
You won’t laugh, you won’t cry, but, you might just jump.
------------
If you go...
What: “Wait Until Dark,” the classic stage thriller, directed by Jim Dougherty
When: Thursday through Saturday and July 24-26
Where: Anderson’s Mainstage Theatre, 124 W. Ninth St.
Tickets: $10
Information/reservations: (765) 644-5111 or www.mainstagetheatre.org

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.