You will not want to miss Garland Civic Theatre’s latest production, Wait Until Dark! Set in a Greenwich Village apartment in 1963, Wait Until Dark is a suspenseful thriller. The tension builds slowly but it’s well worth the wait. By the last 10-15 minutes, it has grown from suspenseful to pure edge-of-your-seat heart-stopper.
Stacey Upton Bracey directed the production and designed the set, which was amazing.
Susy Hendrix, portrayed by Alexzandria Smith, is a 30-something housewife who is blind as a result of a car accident. Smith is convincing with her tentative, yet confident, movement around the apartment. She also finds the right balance of courage and fear for the character.
Sam Hendrix, Susy’s husband, played by Chima Collin Akanno, has unknowingly put her in danger. He agrees to deliver a doll for a stranger. The doll, unbeknownst to him, contains heroin.
A young neighbor steals the doll and the action heats up when Susy cannot find it for the criminals who come looking. The neighbor, 10-year-old Gloria, is a helper to Susy as well as a bratty nuisance who does things like rearranging the furniture to confuse the blind woman. Bella Brown, 10, portrays Gloria and delivers several humorous lines with great timing. She also effectively captures a deep anger that Gloria possesses.
There are three villains — Mike Talman, who claims to be an old friend of Sam Hendrix to gain entrance to the apartment. Jonathan Luce pulls off the role of Mike as an almost sympathetic bad guy. Adam Anthony Vigil plays the second villain who pretends to be police Sgt. Carlino, to gain Susy’s trust. Vigil takes full advantage of several lines that bring laughter from the audience.
The last bad guy, truly bad, is Harry Roat, portrayed by Brian Hokanson. Roat is the unquestionably evil one of the three villains who refuses to give up on getting the doll that contains heroin. He goes after Susy with persistence, but she uses her blindness as a weapon to finally free herself from danger.
Make plans to see this thriller Fridays, May 6 and 13 at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays May 7 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays May 8 and 15 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $20. Tickets for a group of 10 or more are $15 each. All performances are at the small theatre at the Granville Arts Center, 300 North Fifth Street in downtown Garland.
Tickets are available at www.garlandartsboxoffice.com, by calling 972-205-2790 or at the box office at the Granville Arts Center Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and before shows.
Photos provided by Garland Civic Theatre.