Theatre review: “Wait until Dark”

We all went home and locked our doors last night after seeing “Wait Until Dark,” the classic thriller put on by the Actors Theater of Orcas Island to a full house benefit for Kaleidoscope at the Grange last Thursday.

Director Doug Bechtel (director) and assistant director Louise Carnachan have taken a strong local cast headed by Melinda Milligan, in the role of Suzy Hendrix, the blind woman threatened in her own apartment by a trio of criminals headed by Freddy Hinkle, and staged a taut, fast-paced, surprisingly physical play on a well-crafted set.

Milligan was totally believable as the blind woman, eliciting gasps from the audience as she fell over a misplaced chair, increasing our heart rates as we followed her growing fear, and using her intelligence and command of the dark to wage a desperate struggle for survival.

We hung on her every word, eyes glued as we watched her catch on to the little clues, our fear growing with hers as she realizes the people in her apartment aren’t who they claim to be, and our anxiety increasing with hers as the threats increase to a desperate conclusion.

Ron Herman gave a fine performance as Suzy’s husband Sam Hendrix. Fred Vinson was terrific as Sgt. Carlino, the criminal pretending to be a cop, and John Mazzarella was superb in his role as Mike Talman, the sensitive thug pretending to be a friend. Adia Dolan was both fresh and complete in her role as Gloria, the bratty neighbor kid who helps Suzy. I hope we see a lot of her in the coming years – she’s good!

Greg Ayers and Pat Ayers were both very good as the policeman and policewoman who arrive in the nick of time. And Freddy Hinkle ... wow! Hinkle was so good as the evil Roat that I think we should make him wear a smiley face button in public just to calm folks down when they meet him. Hinkle was terrific, skillfully using his voice and body to project a completely evil person fully intent on harming poor Suzy, and scaring all of us with his leering countenance. He filled the stage in his role, providing just the right counterpoint to the sensitive, frightened blind woman trapped in her own home so ably portrayed by Milligan.

Go see this play. The Actors Theater of Orcas Island is a real treasure, their performances are superb, and they’ve outdone themselves with this presentation of “Wait Until Dark.”

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