Alone In The Dark

A pharmacy has been sitting vacant at Bloor and Dovercourt for the better part of a year. It has now been converted into a multidisciplinary space called The Storefront Theatre just before Christmas. On Saturday, I went to its inaugural showcase, the 60s Broadway play Wait Until Dark, remounted by Red One Theatre.

I have seen the Audrey Hepburn movie and was curious to see it live. The play primarily focuses on Susy (Dayle McLeod), the blind wife of photographer Sam Hendrix (Jonathan Widdifield). He was duped by a con artist in Montreal into bringing back a doll stuffed with drugs. Unable to find the doll at the Hendrix's ground-floor apartment, 3 con men attempt to fool Susy into revealing its location. With her other senses, and her neighbour's young daughter, Gloria, can Susy see through their ruse before the situation becomes dangerous?

At first, there was some line recitation syndrome, but then the actors settled their roles. Dayle played the blind Susy with convincing realism. I would have liked to see more steely resolve creep in when Susy finally realizes her situation. David Tompa came off as a sympathetic Mike, an old "friend" of Sam. The fake cop, Sergeant Carlino (Brenhan McKibbion) needed crustier manners to go with that big 'stache. Tyrone Savage was a truly menacing mastermind, but has to tone down his impersonation of Roat Sr. and Roat Jr., which bordered on over-acting. As a prepubescent girl, it's hard for an adult to play Gloria. Claire Armstrong gave her best try, but it was hit and miss.

It was an exciting and fun thriller and I was engaged for the whole show. The only misstep was in a key scene where Susy, having thought she had outwitted Roat, had him turned the table on her. In the frenetic action, some of which took place in pitch darkness, it wasn't clear to the audience how Roat thwarted her.

The set was impressive for such a small company and space (48 seats). It did look like a 60s apartment. Walls facade were built to suggest a real flat, and allowed the actors to exit the scene. Kudos to stage manager Katerina Sokyrko and the rest of the design team for doing such a professional job.