'Wait Until Dark' Lights Up the Theatre Three Stage

It shocks, it terrifies, it keeps you on the edge of your seat when good is pitted against evil. Who will win in the end? Come see Wait Until Dark at Theatre Three now through May 11 and see for yourself.

Wait Until Dark is a gripping thriller with a climax that relies on the absence of light. This is the tale of Susy Hendrix, who went blind one year ago due to a car accident. She becomes the innocent target of three conmen when she gains possession of a doll containing drugs hidden within. The three conmen, Harry Roat, Jr., Mike Talman and Sgt. Carlino, are searching for the doll which was transported from Canada by Hendrix’s husband unknowingly as a favor to a woman who was later murdered.

Each criminal makes excuses to gain entry into the apartment in an attempt to locate the doll. Harry Roat, Jr., the ringleader, poses as his father as well as his son. He ransacks Susy and Sam’s bedroom coming up with nothing. Mike Talman convinces Susy that he is her husband Sam’s old Marine buddy stopping by for a visit while in town. Sgt. Carlino appears on the scene to supposedly investigate due to a murder that happened in the area. The men are unaware that Gloria, a little girl from the upstairs apartment, has stolen the doll. A battle of wits ensues between the resourceful Susy and Gloria against the threatening conmen. Tension escalates to an edge-of-your-seat conclusion.

The action in this play is like a chess game with each move affecting other moves. The cleverness of each player will determine who gets the upper hand. The game ends with final confrontational moves against a metaphor of light versus dark.

Wait Until Dark was written by Frederick Knott an English playwright and screenwriter known for complex, crime-related plots. The play premiered at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on February 2, 1966, starring Lee Remick and Robert Duvall. Remick was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The film adaptation was released in 1967 starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. with a score by Henry Mancini. Hepburn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress-Motion Picture while Zimbalist was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor-Motion Picture.

This Theatre Three production piloted by director Christine Boehmp lunges the audience into breathtaking terror. Jessica Mae Murphy imbues Susy Hendrix with a fragile, willowy appearance reminiscent of a young Audrey Hepburn. She portrays Susy’s blind world with vulnerability yet valor as she plots to equal the playing field with these villains by suddenly immersing them in blackness. As her photographer husband Sam Hendrix who suffers from PTSD, Eric J. Hughes gives a sincere performance. His relationship with Murphy’s Susy makes for some touching moments. Adriana Mia Como, with a mischievous glint in her eye, is perfectly precocious as little Gloria.

David DiMarzo is convincing as Sam’s former Marine Corps buddy, Mike Talman, who stops by for a visit and winds up befriending Susy. As the cat-and-mouse game builds, is he really the nice guy he professes to be or is he something more sinister? We really hope for the former and fear the latter.

Scott Joseph Butler sends chills as the manipulative and frighteningly sadistic ringleader, Harry Roat, Jr., who would stab you in the back as easily as shake your hand. Richard O’Sullivan is believable as law officer Sgt. Carlino wrapped in Peter Falk’s Columbo-style overcoat. Is he there to investigate a crime or be an accomplice to murder and a heist?

Randall Parsons has created Sam and Susy’s basement apartment with enough nooks and crannies sufficient for hiding and those all-important window blinds that become a major focal point building suspense. Indigo Shea’s lighting design with darkness vying against light adds to the profound metaphor of good versus evil. Heather Legnosky’s fight choreography infuses excitement into pivotal scenes. Tim Haggerty’s sound design gives a sinister tone. Period piece costumes by Ronald Green III contribute to the overall feeling of the show.

When truth cannot be detected with the mere flick of a light switch, stark reality may only come through darkness. For a spine-tingling thriller, catch Wait Until Dark now through May 11 at Theatre Three in Port Jefferson.

Theatre Three, 412 Main Street, Port Jefferson. 631-928-9100. theatrethree.com

Barbara Anne Kirshner is a freelance journalist and photographer whose celebrity interviews, theatre and concert reviews, features and human interest stories appear in major publications. She is a playwright and author of the children’s chapter book, Madison Weatherbee The Different Dachshund and Madison Weatherbee The Musical. Her children’s picture book, Life According to Lexington, is due out later this year.