A suspenseful thriller is coming to Orcas – one that will leave audience members gripping the edge of their seats.

The Actors Theater of Orcas Island is presenting six performances of “Wait Until Dark,” a tense play about sinister con man Roat who threatens the life of a blind woman named Susie Hendrix.

Performances are on Friday, Feb. 20, Saturday, Feb. 21, Friday, Feb. 27, Saturday, Feb. 28 and Sunday, March 1. Tickets are $10 and available at Darvill’s Bookstore and at the door.

There will be a special sneak preview to benefit Kaleidoscope on Thursday, Feb. 19. Tickets for this event are $25 and 100 percent of the proceeds go to Kaleidoscope. There will be refreshments and dessert served as well. Tickets are available at Kaleidoscope, Darvill’s, from Kaleidoscope board members, and at the door.

All performances are at the Grange at 7:30 p.m.

“Wait Until Dark,” written by Frederick Knott, had a successful Broadway run and was made into an award-winning film starring Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin.

Roat and two ex-convicts named Mike and Carlino have traced the location of a mysterious doll to the Greenwich Village apartment of Sam Hendrix and his blind wife, Susie. Sam had been persuaded by a strange woman to transport the doll across the Canadian border, not knowing that several grams of heroin were sewn inside. When the woman is murdered, the situation becomes more urgent.

Roat and his ex-convicts, through a cleverly constructed deception, convince Susie that the police have implicated Sam in the woman’s murder, and the doll, which she believes is the key to his innocence, is evidence. She refuses to reveal its location, and with the help of a young neighbor, Gloria, figures out she is the victim of a bizarre charade.

But when Roat kills his associates, a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues between Susie and the con man. Susie knows the only way to play fair is by her rules, so when darkness falls she turns off all the lights, leaving both of them to maneuver in the dark until the game ends.

Roat will be played by Freddy Hinkle, Susie is being portrayed by Melinda Milligan, and Gloria will be played by Adia Dolan. Other actors include John Mazzarella as Mike Talman, Fred Vinson as Sargent Carlino, Ron Herman as Sam Hendrix and Pat and Greg Ayres as the policemen.

Doug Bechtel is directing the performance.

“Rehearsals have been exciting. There are times when people who are helping me direct are sitting on the edge of their seats and holding their breath,” he said.

“I wanted to do this play because I have never directed a thriller and it’s a really good one. And I was looking for something different. I also knew there were enough actors to populate it and who could do the roles really well.”

Bechtel was one of the co-founders of the Actors Theater in 1999. Since then, they have presented 68 productions. They typically produce five plays per year.

“I enjoy working with the actors. I really like them as a group of people. And I like to take something from the page and make it come alive on the stage. This is going to be an exciting night of theatre, one that people will remember for a long time.”

Bechtel advises that the play is not suitable for younger children, due to the intense nature of the drama.

Coming up after “Wait until Dark” is the 10-minute Play Fest, which is an opportunity for first-time as well as veteran playwrights, directors, and actors to show their stuff in front of an audience. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 28 and may be sent to Louise Carnachan at louise@carnachan.com.

The 2009 10-Minute Play Fest submission guidelines are available at the Orcas Library desk or by email. The chosen plays will be performed the first weekend in May at the Grange.