Want a thrill?’Wait Until Dark’ at TheatreWorks
By ANCY SASSO JANIS
TheatreWorks New Milford is inviting audiences to “Wait Until Dark” with a dark production that runs throughApril 14.
The thriller, being performed at 5 Brookside Ave., New Milford, was penned by Frederick Knott. TheatreWorkspresents the revised version that was adapted in 2013 by Jeffrey Hatcher.
Director Keli Solomon worked hard to bring this challenging script alive.
TheatreWorks President Gale Alexander described ‘Wait Until Dark” as “Susy and Sam are drawnunsuspectingly into a sinister circle through misadventure and none of those involved can know exactly whatthreats to life and limb await them.”
I find this thriller to be overly complicated and at the same time, full of plot holes. The stage adaptation makesthe action difficult to follow at times, especially at the beginning of the first act. It appears that bringing theterror of this story to the stage is extremely difficult.
On opening night, the performance contained many confusing lighting cues, and some of the sound cues alsoadded to the confusion. The attempt at using dim light for the important opening scene just made it hard to decipher.
The TheatreWorks cast of six is led by Ali Bernhardt in the role of the blind Susan Hendrix. Never breaking character is the key to her portrayal and Bernhardt makes it look easy to move about the apartment as a young housewife who has lost her sight. Her performance is one of the best parts of the production.
A.M. Bhatt gives a strong performance as Roat, the criminal mastermind of the operation.
The action is set in the 1940s in the Greenwich Village basement apartment of Susan and Sam on a Friday evening in October. The set nicely reflects the World War II era, as do the costumes designed by Sue Haeman and the period props, including the important Venetian blinds for signaling.
I have never dared to watch the 1967 film version of “Wait Until Dark,” so I cannot accurately compare the two.
Since the character of Lisa is never seen in the adaptation, I suggest paying very close attention to the exposition in the opening scene.
On opening night, I did just that, and I still missed a few of the details of the action.
However, I am proud to say that I was able to anticipate one twist that I remembered from a production that I had seen years ago.
Share This Review