BWW Reviews: WAIT UNTIL DARK Intrigues Viewers

First, I have to say that I am not one for watching mysteries or anything scary. I have never seen a horror film and do not care for violence or physical force in my entertainment. So it is with much trepidation that I have booked tickets for several scary plays during this Halloween month. The first in this genre is WAIT UNTIL DARK at South City Theatre.

The theatre is small, but they always amaze me at how detailed their sets are and how they can transform the space so completely. Once again, they made the space become the living room of a basement apartment in an old house. The year was 1967 and the items on set are very authentic to the time period.

I overheard someone behind me assure their companion that this play was indeed scary and I began to question my sanity in even being there. We were warned that there would be long periods of darkness during the play and again, I wondered if I should just leave. But too late, the show had begun. And it did get dark.

The play centers around Susy Hendrix, a blind young woman living with her husband in NYC, played wonderfully by Holly Dikeman. Playing blind is very difficult, but Ms. Dikeman did it very believably. Three men enter her life and try to trick her into giving them a doll her husband innocently brought home, but is actually full of drugs. The three men discuss an elaborate plan that I must say confused me at first, but eventually I got what was going on.

The play is awkwardly divided into three acts, a very short Act 1, a really long Act 2 and another short Act 3. The real excitement comes in the third act, when Harry Roat, Jr. played by Todd Ponder, murders his partners in crime and goes after Susy. She, however, has evened the playing field by killing off all but one light by removing the fuses, thus putting her assailant in the dark just as she is. When she busts out that one light with her cane, you know she has the upper hand, but Roat finds the one thing she missed in her plan. I won't give away what he does, but there was an audible gasp from the audience when it happened.

Ponder is not very menacing to me until that last act, when he gets loud and really scary. Having seen him in other shows, it was exciting to see such a transformation when he goes from con man in the first two acts to downright deadly in the last.

But without a doubt my favorite cast member was India Watkins, who plays Gloria, the little girl from upstairs. She is precious, smart and when she and Ms. Dikeman are on stage together there is great chemistry between them. I really looked forward to each time these two were alone together on stage. Their dialogue flowed perfectly and they seemed to really have a fondness for each other, even when their characters are at odds with each other. I could have watched those two all night.

Overall, my visit into the mystery genre was a fun night of theatre. In the last act I kept finding myself on the edge of my seat, holding my throat. As always, South City does a great job with the space they have. In this instance I think being so close in the intimate setting made for a more heightened sense of excitement. That is not to say I wouldn't love to see them in a bigger space so more people could share in this talented group's work.

WAIT UNTIL DARK continues this weekend and next weekend on October 9, 10 and 11. Go to www.southcitytheatre.com for reservations.

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