Reviewed by Karen Schwartzkopf
With a dizzying slate of productions in RVA this month and next, I chose to do something I almost never do when it comes to theatre: step out of my comfort zone. Engaging musicals and dramadies – that’s what I prefer. So when I heard Firehouse Theatre was producing the suspense classic, Wait Until Dark, I said to myself, Self, you are going to this show.
My date for the evening had seen the movie and was well aware of all the twists and turns of the iconic thriller. Like the movie, Wait Until Dark onstage takes us inside a caper hatched by a creepy con man named Roat (played convincingly by Frank Britton) to reclaim a cocaine-filled doll that was given to a likable photographer (Sam, played with charm by Saidu Tejan-Thomas) in an airport. Mastermind Roat has two less-than-mindful sidekicks (Nicklas Aliff and Phillip Silva) to execute his plan with predictable con-man type moves involving plot-advancing shenanigans and an ongoing home invasion.
Their scenes and the hair-raising final fifteen minutes of the production are well-played and genuinely thrilling at times, but most of the play’s weight rests on the strong and capable acting shoulders of Ciara McMillian. As blind Susy, the young wife of the photographer, McMillian is given room to express a range of emotions about her disability, which we learn is the result of a recent accident. McMillian fills Susy with grit and wit as she makes her way alone around the dark stage that is her New York City apartment, desperately sorting through the plot that is unfolding before her. Her portrayal makes you root for her, and the brief interaction she has with Tejan-Thomas as Sam makes you wish the pair shared the stage for more of the production.
In an earlier scene with Sam, when we learn that Susy is still learning to feel comfortable in her sightless world, we also hear about four-eyes Gloria (Victoria Eriavez) the neighbor girl charged to help Susy while Sam is out of town on business.
Thanks to Alan Arkin’s portrayal in the 1967 film, Harry Roat is an almost mythical villain. Britton is devilish in the role, showing his acting chops to personify the only genuine bad guy in the play. If this were a contemporary play or movie, you would expect to be subjected to more of Roat’s evil in action. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, with most of the violence taking place off stage – something I prefer about these kinds of Hitchcock-type thrillers. Nickas Aliff as Mike gets a mention for revealing the layers of the softening criminal con man. In the end, we truly believe he never wants to hurt Susy.
Writer Frederick Knott’s Wait Until Dark explores a well-paced and interesting plot, and Director David Emerson Toney gets kudos for eliciting such an emotional and genuine performance from McMillian as Susy. I’ll admit, I’m a wimp at scary movies, so I was anxious about seeing Wait Until Dark in the intimate Firehouse Theater. (As in, Why does that woman keep shrieking?) I learned however, that although the suspense is definitely there, this show is more about the strength of the human spirit. Whether you go to be scared, or to celebrate what I’ll call womanity, you won’t be disappointed with Wait Until Dark.
Wait Until Dark runs through October 18 at Firehouse Theatre, 1609 West Broad Street. For showtimes and tickets, go here: Wait Until Dark at Firehouse Theatre.
