reviews WAIT UNTIL DARK Arizona Theatre Company

For more information on Wait Until Dark at the Arizona Theatre Company, click here.

"a well-cast, nicely staged production that manages to elicit plenty of chills. Brooke Parks is impressive as Susan. Director David Ira Goldstein is successful with his staging, effectively using just about every inch of Vicki Smith's superb basement apartment set to let the action unfold...the revised adaptation of Wait Until Dark is an improvement on the original. Experiencing the play live, with the thrilling climactic sequence playing out in front of you in near total darkness, is something you just can't get from the film version. The Arizona Theatre Company production has a more than competent cast, lush design elements and good direction, and, even with just a few shortfalls, still manages to be chilling and full of suspense. -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway

"Mystery plays have come a long way since 1966 when “Wait Until Dark” premiered on Broadway.  The genre has become richer in suspense, tougher to figure out plot twists and turns, character identities are more muddled, and graphic details spice scripts.  So, while “Wait Until Dark” left audiences screaming in fear originally, today the play is a tepid reminder of a genre that is scarier.  So why Arizona Theatre Company decided to revive “Wait Until Dark” is a bigger mystery than the play on stage at the Herberger Theater Center.  Goldstein’s taunt staging helps as does the excellent acting ensemble headed by Brooke Parks as the wily Susan.  “Wait Until Dark” remains a bland historic relic from the past.  Today, even a nicely done “Wait Until Dark” won’t have audiences jumping out of their seats."   -Chris Curcio, KBAQ

"With taut, stylish direction by David Ira Goldstein and incisive performances by the cast, this is one stage thriller that lives up to the label. ...perfectly paced to keep the audience guessing, and it works because the actors are convincing and eminently watchable. Parks creates a heroine you want to root for, vulnerable but determined and just prickly enough to seem like a real person. But the real star is Koch as Mr. Roat, enigmatic at first, then slowly unmasking a maniacal menace." -Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic

"stands on its own two feet as riveting and suspenseful drama. A spine-chilling tale about a blind woman held hostage to an evil band of thieves seeking to recover a doll filled with gems.  In the hands of the ever-brilliant director David Ira Goldstein, this production is a cracker jack thriller. "  - Herbert Paine, Broadway World