Wait Until Dark
With Alison Pill, Rod McLachlan, Matt McTigue
Directed by Matt Shakman
Written by Frederick Knott
Geffen Playhouse Gil Cates Theater
Westwood, CA
Through November 17
Five Scoops of Bosco
Reviewed by Allen Bacon, The Daily Bosco
We have grown so accustomed to Alison Pill's strong performance in HBO's The Newsroom that we almost take her acting abilities for granted now.
The real test is how she would be in a live performance without the safety net of "another take".
But the fact of the matter is that Pill's resume includes many great stage performances on Broadway including House of Blue Leaves, The Miracle Worker, Mauritius and her Tony nominated work in Litutenant of Inishmore.
In her latest journey to the Stage, Pill pulls off a great live performance in the challenging role of Susan Hendrix, a blind heroine, in the stage adaptation of the classic thriller Wait Until Dark.
This play written by Frederick Knott (Dial M For Murder) and a popular movie in the late-1960's starring Audrey Hepburn, is currently running at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.
While this is not the first time this piece has been done on stage, this particular adaptation has been re-tooled to take place in the 1940's which gives it an almost film noir feel.
While Pill is the star here, she has a great supporting cast of characters including Rod McLachlan as Carlino, Matt McTigue as Sam, Brighid Fleming as Gloria, Adam Stein as Roat, and Mather Zickel as Mike.
Great direction by Matt Shakman setting up the thriller aspects of the play which is not as easy to do in a live performance as it is on film.
Simplistic, yet very efficient sets by Craig Siebel, period-piece costuming by E.B. Brooks and the wonderful intimate setting of the Geffen Theatre, where there is not a bad seat in the house, make this a fun play worth seeing.
The play runs until November 17.
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