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Professional Companies Offer Dark Thriller, Wicked
Author: Gary Puckett
Position: Local Theater - February 3, 2000
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We are bless in the Fox Valley are
with two resident professional companies, the Borealis Theatre
Company in Aurora and The Pheasant Run Theatre in St. Charles.
Both of these groups are capable of providing entertainment every bit
the equal of the Chicago theatre scene, with the advantage of being
much more conveniently located.
While the Pheasant Run Theatre is generally successful when it comes
to musicals, it seems to run into trouble whenever it attempts a
"straight" play. Wait Until Dark, the group's latest foray, it
unfortunately no exception.
The Borealis, on the other hand, has delivered a dazzling, darkly comic
rendition of The Vampire. At the risk of going overboard, I must say
that this production is a reminder of just how powerful and inventive
live theatre can be.
Diana L. Martinez, Pheasant Run's director, has a thing for mystery
thrillers. But this play still requires solid believable acting in
order to work. And the cast in Wait Until Dark with a few exceptions,
simply isn't up to the task.
Wait Until Dark employs the classic device of pitting an innocent
person against some very sinister thugs. In this case, the tension
is enlightened by the fact that Suzy Hendrix (Kathrynne Anne Rosen)
is not only innocent, but blind.
Sam (Ben Stoner), Suzy's husband, has a doll passed to him while on
a business trip. He brings it back to their Greenwich Village apartment
with the "intention" of taking it to a sick girl in a hospital. The
doll is actually filled with heroin, a fact that has alreaady cost one
person their life and is soon to put Suzy in imminent danger.
Contending for the doll are three unsavory charcters. Mike Talman
(Ted Gianopulos) and Carlino (Peter Goldsmith) have just recently
gotten out of prison and are looking for a quick score. They are
invited to the Hendrix apartment by the mysterious Mr. Roat (Tom Taylor),
who enlists their cooperation with a combination of money and blackmail.
After Sam is lured away, Suzy has no allies except for Gloria (Kallie
Flynn Childress), a little girl who lives in the upstairs apartment.
In order for a play like this to succeed, several basic conditions must be
met. For one thing, we must believe that Suzy is really blind. And we
must believe that, in spite of her obvious physical limitations, Suzy will
eventually prove a match for these creeps.
But Rosen fails on both counts. The bad guys are more effective, but
still too concerned with showing us their characters rather than simply
being them. Actually, some of the most genuine moments on stage belong
to the youngest member of the cast, Kallie.
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