the nashville theatre lost and found
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For more than half a century, audiences have been captivated with nails bitten to the quick as they watch blind Susy Hendrix terrorized by violent criminals in her home in the famous script by Frederick Knott.
The plot centers around Susy (Anastasia Zavaro), a blind woman whose (I think) life partner leaves for the day. It was a little confusing to figure out if “Sam” was Susy’s roommate or girlfriend as their interaction did not seem affectionate. Susy then becomes the unwilling accomplice to three men who are looking for a doll containing heroin that is stashed somewhere in her apartment. With one murder already committed, the show promised to be full of shadows and intrigue. And it was . . . to an extent. At the beginning, the audience must sit in the dark for an extended period of time and listen to foreboding music before any actor even sets foot on stage. During that time, I heard more than one audience member (besides myself) heave a frustrated sigh. These things seemed to set the show up to lose its pace.
Playing Harry Roat was the brilliant and daring Jaymes Campbell; his co-conspirators Mike (Hugh Britt) and Sergeant Carlino (Daniel Vincent) also held their own on a stage full of especially talented actors. But the production values of the show simply did not live up to the high calibre of talent on the stage. There were problems with lighting in awkward places, the set seemed to sag at times, and some unnecessary costuming flummoxed the audience. The updates to the script also caused some serious comprehension issues - from the sexual tension needed in important relationship-building moments to the unnecessary need for a phone booth when cell phones were on stage.
I do applaud the casting of actors who can get through the uncomfortable lighting moments or incomprehensible costume changes and make an oddly-edited script actually work.
TRUDY’S TRUTH IN THEATRE:
I found it terribly ironic that a show called WAIT UNTIL DARK had such problems with lighting and pace. For a show to be a success, all aspects must come together in a big, harmonious bowl of theatre soup. Unfortunately, some of the production aspects left me wanting to send the soup back because it was cold.
Three bad guys. A mysterious doll. A blind woman alone in her New York apartment. Those are just a few of the elements that make up Encore Theatre Company’s production of WAIT UNTIL DARK, a theatre classic which relies on the atmospheric play of light and darkness.
