Wait Until Dark

Court Theatre continues its 2008-2009 season with Frederick Knott's classic psychological thriller Wait Until Dark, directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson. The production will run at Court Theatre, 5535 S Ellis Avenue, March 5 - April 5, 2009

A cool-as-ice psychopath smooth talks his way into the home of an unsuspecting blind woman. Unbeknownst to Susie, she's harboring a dangerous prize, and he’ll use every trick to get it. Spend an evening on the edge of your seat with the genre Hitchcock made classic. This psychological thriller probes which frightens us more - the evil you can see coming, or the one you can't?

"I'm excited to bring Wait Until Dark back to its original home, the stage," says Ron OJ Parson.  "The suspense genre is something that theater-goers rarely have the opportunity to see, and Wait Until Dark is a perfect example of what that genre can accomplish. This production is going to be a uniquely thrilling theater experience that is going to surprise people in a lot of ways!"

Wait Until Dark was written by playwright Frederick Knott in 1965 and opened on Broadway February 2, 1966 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The production was directed by Arthur Penn and the cast included Lee Remick, Robert Duvall and Mitchell Ryan. The production transferred to the Shubert, the George Abbott and the Music Box Theatre before ending its eleven-month run. Remick was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a play for her depiction of Susy Hendrix.

Frederick Knott (1916-2002) was an English playwright and screenwriter who garnered fame for his thrillers Dial M for Murder, Write Me a Murder, and Wait Until Dark.  Knott was born in Hankow, China to English missionaries, and educated at Cambridge University before serving in the British Army from 1939 to 1946. A film version was made in 1967 starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr, with Hepburn nominated for both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress, and Zimbalist nominated for a Globe in the supporting category. The film ranked tenth on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments for its riveting climax, and is also ranked #55 on AFI's 100 Years 100 Thrills.

Tickets for Wait Until Dark are $32-$54 and are available at www.CourtTheatre.org.