It’s the shadows that first grab your attention.
The venetian blinds in the basement apartment cast a foreboding shadow against a wall in Arizona Theatre Company’s production of “Wait Until Dark,” which opened Friday. They are very Hitchcockian. Shadows are almost a separate character — they were a constant in the play and just seeing them can create a sense of dread in this film noir-ish production.
Jeffrey Hatcher tweaked this version of the Frederick Knott play about a blind woman who must fend off a trio of bad guys who have invaded her apartment and life in order to retrieve a doll that clearly has a value of which she is totally unaware.
He infused a bit of humor, tightened up spots and shifted the time period from the 1960s to 1944. But there’s no way really to get around the holes in the script and the exposition-fat first act.
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It’s the second act where things are, well, downright scary.
Or they should be.
While there was tension, and even a few gasps from the audience, there were so many distractions from the business at hand that it was hard to grip your seat the way you should with this play.
For instance, there was some serious stabbing going on, but no blood. And when the stage was dark, the moments when the blind Susan was at her best and the tension should soar, a blue light — probably a bluetooth — kept flashing.
Other little things: One character locks a door, the next moment another one goes through it without unlocking it. Susan did not wear a wedding ring. Sam’s wig was just lousy.
These were sloppy elements that are especially surprising on an ATC stage — the company is known for its high quality and precision. And they are difficult to forgive — “Wait Until Dark” is a co-production with Rochester, New York’s Geva Theatre Center, where it played for four weeks, closing Oct. 5. And it had a week’s worth of previews here. This play should run like a well-oiled machine.
And it did get that high quality with Brooke Parks in the role of Susan. She gave the character a sassy swagger, strength and vulnerability.
Craig Bockhorn’s cop-turned-bad-guy Carlino had a humor mixed in with a suspicious nature and a deadly streak, and Peter Rini was completely believable as Mike, who charmed his way into Susan’s trust.
Ted Koch in the role of Roat was sinister, but he seemed to channel Marlon Brando just a tad too much. Remi Sandri, who has delighted in many an ATC play, was saddled with a one-dimensional character in Sam, Susan’s husband.
And Lauren Schaffel’s Gloria, Susan’s neighbor and sometime helper, was, well, very annoying — and not in the way that a bratty teen would be. Her foot stomping, pouty kid never felt organic.
The sound design by Brian Jerome Peterson deserves applause (prepare to jump at the end of the first scene) and Don Darnutzer’s lighting was perfection.
Director David Ira Goldstein knows how to build tension, pull fine performances from actors, and fashion a show that compels. He missed the mark here — or so it seemed on opening night. Here’s hoping the bumps are smoothed out so that “Wait Until Dark” does what it should: be downright terrifying and a fun night of theater.
