4-11-RAX-WtDark

To sit through WAIT UNTIL DARK and ultimately enjoy it, one must buy into a highly unlikely back story and an equally convoluted Act One. Frederick Knott’s thriller, about the search for a rag doll stuffed with lots of pure heroin, somehow was a hit on Broadway for a year and went on to have a healthy touring life. I know about the touring because my girlfriend played the role of the little girl in the play. She tells me that author Knott confessed to her that he purposely wrote the first act fast and confusing to set the audience up for the simpler, exciting second act. So there!
With that said, let us proceed with the plot. Susy Hendrix, played quite ably by Liza de Weerd, is a blind Greenwich Village housewife who becomes the target of three con-men searching for a rag doll loaded with pure heroin, which Lisa’s husband Sam (Bert Emmett) innocently transported from Canada as a favor to a woman named Lisa who has since been murdered and left hidden in the Hendrix’ bathroom!	Liza de Weerd
The head con-man, an unsavory fellow named Roat (played a little too gently by Robert Gallo) is the killer, and he comes looking for the doll which, unbeknownst to just about everyone, has been given to the little girl who lives upstairs named Gloria (played by a show stealing—don’t work with children or animals—Kaylena Rose Mann), who comes down to the Hendrix basement apartment to help Suzy and is given to outbursts of 12 year-old temper. If you can buy the fact that hubby Sam took an item from a complete stranger and transported it over the border, and all the rest of this, we can continue.
One of the con men, who calls himself “Mike” (played by Chris Winfield), comes to Suzy’s door claiming to be Sam’s old army buddy and is immediately given access by the naïve Suzy. He starts looking for the doll, claiming he’s trying to save Sam from being prosecuted by the police. Suzy seems to buy this, but does the audience have to? I guess so. The third con man (Leo Weltman), shows up disguised as police Sergeant Carlino to add to the plot.	Robert Gallo - Liza de Weerd
So goes Act One: the three con men search for the doll, while trying to convince Suzy that finding the thing would save her husband from prosecution, while they cover up the body of the aforementioned, never seen Lisa. Why they don’t just tie Suzy up and ransack the apartment comes into question, but author Knott has a penchant for chaos. Act Two is much easier to follow, as it becomes bad guy versus good guy cum lady in peril. Little Gloria drops her temper tantrum and comes to Suzy’s aid in a big way, bringing two real cops (Matias Ponce and Jeff Warren) and all turns out well.
The acting in this Group Repertory Theatre Company production is uniformly good save for the aforementioned Mr. Gallo who needs to beef up on malevolence. So is David Colwell’s snappy direction, especially the choreography of Act Two (aided by fight choreographer Payson Burt) when Roat pursues Suzy in the pitch black apartment. The set, by the ubiquitous Mr. Winfield is laid out very well. All other tech credits are fine. You just have to make a major purchase of Act One and you’re all set for a good time. It’s a plus to recall that the play takes place in 1966, when folks were a little more trusting than now and there weren’t recorded announcements in airports warning travelers about playing with strangers.	Liza de Weerd - Kaylena Rose Mann
WAIT UNTIL DARK plays now through May 8, 2011, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. The theatre is located at 10900 Burbank Boulevard in North Hollywood. Tickets are $22, with student & senior discounts. Call 818-700-4878 or visit www.thegrouprep.com for tickets and information. Comments? Write to us at: Letters@ReviewPlays.Com