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(Photo by Stephanie A. Coltrin) |
Michael Mullen will do whatever it takes to get what he wants from Kimberly Patterson - even committing murder - while a mere month ago they were close friends.
That was before the pair was cast in the Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities revival of Frederick Knott's 1966 thriller "Wait Until Dark."
Directed by Stephanie A. Coltrin, the tale of drugs, thugs and the peril of a young blind woman begins previews Tuesday at the Hermosa Beach Playhouse.
This is the second 1960s play in a row at the Playhouse, following "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and Coltrin said it's a favorite of James Blackman III, the CLOSBC executive director.
"James wanted a play for Halloween time that would really be scary," Coltrin said. "We had done Knott's `Dial M for Murder' and people liked it."
Knott's career is one of the strangest in modern theater history. After dozens of rejections, "Dial M for Murder" was made into a British TV movie in 1952, followed by a hit theatrical run in London and on Broadway, and then a smash Alfred Hitchcock movie. His next play was "Write Me a Murder," followed by "Wait Until Dark."
He never wrote another play, living off the profits of those three works, and in his New York Times obituary (he died in 2002) his widow said he wrote the plays strictly for money.
Regardless of motive, his reputation is firmly established as a craftsman of tension, intrigue and mayhem.
In "Wait Until Dark," Susy (Patterson), who has been blind less than a year, is alone in an apartment when she is confronted by criminals who believe a doll filled with heroin is hidden in her home. The chief bad guy is Mr. Roat (Mullen), who is intelligent and ruthless.
"When I first read the script, I thought of Kimberly," Coltrin said. "She had been so good in `Dial M' and she has such range as an actress. She came in and read, and my instincts were proven correct."
This is the first time Patterson has played a visually impaired person, and she has thrown herself into darkness, literally, by rehearsing some scenes completely with her eyes closed.
"It's terrifying," she said. "Everything seems to take forever to do."
Patterson also talked to optometrists about how a recently blind person would react to noise.
"I have to work on not focusing," Patterson said. "Stephanie watches me to make sure I don't appear to be looking at anything."
"Wait Until Dark" contains intricate, highly physical action, some of it between Susy and Roat. Though the characters are at odds, the actors have been friends for several years.
"It's funny being scared of my friend," Patterson said. "But it's good because I can trust him on stage."
Coltrin immediately thought of Mullen as Roat because of his chameleon-
like abilities, which she saw firsthand in the CLOSBC production of "Sylvia" earlier this year.
"The character Roat is not specific, so a lot can be done with it," Coltrin said. "We don't want him to simply be evil, because that gets boring fast."
To make sure the physical confrontations seem authentic, Coltrin consulted a fight choreographer. She also talked extensively with set designer Christopher Beyries. Though the Hermosa Beach stage is expansive, Beyries pushed the set downstage to make the basement apartment locale seem crowded.
Though "Wait Until Dark" requires flawless execution to thrill audiences, Coltrin said it's a matter of breaking the play and its action into small segments.
"Once you do that, it's not overwhelming," she said. "This is a classic thriller, and I'm glad it's part of this season."
Jeff Favre is a freelance entertainment writer based in North Hollywood.
Wait Until Dark
When: Previews at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; opens at 8 p.m. Nov. 6 and continues at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 15, with an additional show at 7 p.m. Nov. 8.
Where: Hermosa Beach Playhouse, 710 Pier Ave.
Tickets: $35-$45.
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