By Perry M Whitehair and Cindy Whitehair
While musical theater is the theatrical staple of this valley, dramas like Centerville’s Centerpoint Legacy Theater’s Wait Until Dark show the best of local community theater.
Wait Until Dark, written by Frederick Knott, is a first-rate psychological thriller. Set in the 1960s, it tells the story of three con men – Mike (Andrew Heyward), Carlino (Josh Curtis) and Roat (Mike Gardner) who are attempting to recover a drug-filled doll that Sam (Meish Roundy) unwittingly carried across the border from Canada. The only person standing between the con men and the doll is Sam’s blind (formerly sighted) wife Susy (Katie Plott). With the help of neighbor girl Gloria (Stacey Haslam), Susy must rely on her wits and her other senses to outsmart and outwit these three fully “abled” men long enough for her husband to return home from an out of town work assignment.
Leishman Performance Hall at Centerpoint Legacy Theater has become one of our favorite venues in the area. It is an intimate black box that is designed to bring the audience into the action and Director Marinda Maxfield and Set Designer Brian Hahn (who also produced the show) make brilliant use of that space. You really feel part of the basement apartment that Sam and Susy live in and much of the action is inches away. Given the nature of this drama, it is just the right hook to keep the audience captured by the action on stage. The props (Raquel Davis) and costumes (Rachel Lindsay) are so perfectly late ‘60s. We especially loved how the stage lighting (Jordan Fowler) was more like home lighting than harsh stage lighting.
As Susy, Plott has the hardest job on that stage–acting blind. It is extremely difficult for a sighted person to do, but she does an admirable job of it. The con men are all well-rounded, distinct personalities. While some of it is in the script, Heyward, Curtis, and Gardner all bring their own special something to their respective performances that draws you to their characters. They interact with one another very well. Heyward does a fine job of turning the corner from con man to protector of the blind Susy, which inevitably leads to his destruction at the hands of Roat. Haslam’s Gloria is the epitome of spoiled, teen-aged brat who suddenly sees how strong Susy is, despite her “limitations”. While not on stage long, Roundy is the perfectly loving Sam who wants his wife to be independent while still relying on him. He coaxes and teases (as most newly marrieds do) his wife to do things that she would not normally try.
One of the hardest things about this play is Act 2, scene 3. It must be performed in the dark and many theaters insist on having minimal lighting so that the audience can see the action. However, that takes away from the terror of the scene. Maxwell did not fall into that trap. The stage was completely dark (with a few brief times where a match is lit in an attempt to gain an advantage) leaving the audience in Susy’s world, in the dark and relying on sound to know what is going on. The police (Curtis Kidd and Erin Bates) are in the show, but to tell you anymore would be a spoiler, so I won’t.
I must praise Fight Choreographer Justin Lee for his work. So much finesse–bravo!
If you are in the mood for a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seats, you must see Wait Until Dark at Centerpoint Legacy Theater’s Leishman Hall. You will not be disappointed. I would recommend this to tweens and up, if they’re already playing tense video games.
Centerpoint Legacy Theater Presents Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott
Centerpoint Legacy Theater Leishman Performance Hall, 525 N 400 W, Centerville, UT 84014
August 10-September 1, 2018, 7:00 PM
Tickets: $15
CenterPoint Legacy Theatre Facebook Page
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