Theater Review:

Having reviewed numerous musicals and comedies at the Glendale Centre Theatre, the prospect of seeing a dramatic production was venturing outside familiar territory for me. It’s also a departure for them because they are primarily known for staging lighter fare. Their current show, “Wait Until Dark,” is a gamble that has paid off well.

Some might recognize the title as a 1966 play and subsequent movie starring Audrey Hepburn, and the show’s director, Gloria Gifford, chose to preserve that period for this staging. Tim Dietlein’s set design of a 1960s living room is very authentic, with the use of various pieces of furniture and appliances, and especially an orange Trimline telephone that’s crucial for Susy Hendrix (Lauren Plaxco), our blind heroine, to connect with the outside world. Keeping the action in its original era makes sense because the modern convenience of a cell phone would stretch the limit of credibility and reduce the tension of Susy’s peril.

But even before we meet her, two con men enter the apartment. They don’t know each other, but we learn both were involved with a woman named Lisa, who gave Susy’s husband, Sam (Marco Tazioli), a doll to bring back from Canada. The thugs are unwittingly duped by a third man, Harry Roat Jr. (Jeremy Waters), into helping him find the doll, which happens to contain drugs.

Roat gives them the aliases of Mike Talman (John Schwarz), presumably an old friend of Sam’s, and Sgt. Carlino (Al Vicente), a policeman trying to solve a murder that occurred the previous night in the neighborhood.

Susy’s trusting nature allows them to enter the apartment while Mike is at work and search for the doll until her keen instincts realize their true intent is for darker purposes.

Plaxco was completely convincing as Susy and captured the role extremely well. In addition to the challenge of making her blindness feel authentic, the part required a good amount of physical versatility when Roat started threatening her.

All three of the actors portraying the villains were effective. Schwarz toying with Susy as the fictitious friend moved from charming to evil, and Waters effectively played the repugnant ringleader, a character who was inherently more vicious and menacing than his cohorts.

Susy’s ally in thwarting the bad guys is Gloria (Chloes Babbes), a precocious young neighbor whose affinity for Susy starts tenuously but grows in substance as their dependence on each other increases. Babbes was superb at showing the girl’s initial rage and later excitement at the prospect of being involved in a real mystery.

In addition to the set design, Dietlein also guided the show’s lighting, which is a crucial element to the story. He has captured the proper ambience, and it melds nicely with some spooky background music to create an appropriately chilling mood.

Get in touch PHILLIP HAIN is a Glendale resident who has been writing reviews for this newspaper for more than five years.