WAIT UNTIL DARK by Carol Kaufman Segal

            

The play, Wait Until Dark, was written by Frederick Knott in 1966 and made its debut on Broadway starring Lee Remick.  In 1967 Robert Carrington and Jane Howard-Carrington wrote the screenplay, based on Knott’s play, starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, and Richard Crenna.  The Loft Ensemble has brought the thriller back to life in a spine-chilling production directed by Kenneth Rogers and starring Marissa Galloway.

            

The play takes place in a basement apartment in New York City in 1966, the home of a young couple, Suzy Hendrix (Marissa Galloway) and her husband Sam (Wes McGee).  Sam is a photographer whose job calls him away, leaving Susan who is blind, home alone.  He has made arrangements for Gloria (Britt Crisp), the teenage neighbor, to look in on her periodically.  Neither of them are aware that there is a very valuable doll missing somewhere in their neighborhood, valuable because it has been stuffed with something that makes it so.

           

There are ruthless men who are looking for the doll and believe it is somewhere in the Hendrix’s apartment.  These men, Roat (Jared Wilson), Sgt. Carlino (Max Marsh), and Sam Hendrix (Wes McGee), won’t stop at anything to get it in their hands, including murder. Susan, unfortunately, becomes involved in the course of their search.  Fortunately, it turns out that she realizes that her disability is an advantage for her.  She is much more clever than they might have expected.  Despite her inability to see, she has the advantage of dealing with them in total darkness.

            

The scenes are especially intense in the second act and the performances by the cast are realistic enough to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.  I was especially in awe of Marissa Galloway’s performance.  One could never detect that she actually could see.  If you love to see a thriller, you can’t miss on this one

            

Wait Until Dark is playing at the Loft Ensemble’s new location, 11031 Camarillo St., North Hollywood.  It plays Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 7 PM, through July 28.  Tickets are available online at www.loftensemble.org, or by phone (818) 452-3153.