by Lorie Lewis Ham

If you enjoy a good mystery like I do, you don’t want to miss Wait Until Dark, currently on stage at 2nd Space in Fresno. This Broadway hit inspired the 1967 film starring Audrey Hepburn.

The plot of the show is complicated and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Photographer Sam Hendrix (Brian Rhea) accidentally gets himself in the middle of a sinister plot involving a mysterious doll when he lets a strange woman talk him into taking it back to New York with him. The doll goes missing and things get crazy. Harry Roat (Mohammad Shehata) is a very sinister con man who coaxes two other con men, Mike (Peter Allwine) and Carlino (Michael Wirtz), into helping him trick Sam’s blind wife Susy (Danielle Jorn) into giving them the doll when Sam leaves town again. However, the con men don’t realize that tricking Susy won’t be as easy as they thought–after all she’s blind so what can she do right? Or maybe not. Maybe she can do a lot if she “waits until dark.”

Left to right-Harry Roat-in the back-(Mohammad Shehata), Susy (Danielle Jorn), Carlino-in the back- (Michael Wirtz) and Mike (Peter Allwine)

This is a clever and suspense filled show with just a touch of humor now and then, and the cast did a wonderful job of bringing it all to life. Mohammad was eerily creepy as the most evil of the con men. Danielle did an excellent job of playing Susy, who starts out appearing helpless but in the end is anything but. I also thought Elena Aguirre as the bratty neighbor girl upstairs was Susy’s perfect partner against the con men. Peter was the con man sent to charm Susy, and as always charmed the audience as well, blessing us with a chilling sinister smile every now and then reminding us that he was indeed a villain.

Susy (Danielle)

As always, the sets were perfect and helped set the scene for this suspense filled adventure that really did have me on the edge of my seat. So if you are in the mood for a good thriller, you won’t want to miss Wait Until Dark, which is on stage at 2nd Space until April 21. More details can be found on KRL’s 2nd Space Theatre event page.

Lorie Lewis Ham is our Editor-in-Chief and an enthusiastic contributor to various sections, coupling her journalism experience with her connection to the literary and entertainment worlds. Explore Lorie’s mystery writing at Mysteryrat’s Closet.