Geva Theatre Center to Present WAIT UNTIL DARK, 9/9-10/5

Audiences will be on the edge of their seats when Geva Theatre Center presents Wait Until Dark by Frederick Knott, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and directed by David Ira Goldstein. Wait Until Dark begins performances on September 9 and runs in the Elaine P. Wilson Mainstage through October 5.

A Greenwich Village apartment becomes the setting of a suspenseful game of cat and mouse when a group of thuggish con men manipulate and terrorize the recently blinded Susan over a mysterious doll hidden inside - waiting until dark to play out this classic stage thriller's chilling conclusion. The vulnerable Susan must muster her resources to outmaneuver her tormentors, turn her disability to advantage and survive.

Frederick Knott wrote only three plays, yet his spine tingling thrillers have become standards on Broadway, in the West End and at theatres throughout the world. His most famous script, Dial M for Murder, played successfully on British Television in the early 1950s before it was adapted for the stage. After its London premiere, the play opened on Broadway in 1952 and was adapted into a 1954 film starring Grace Kelly and Ray Milland. Geva produced Dial M for Murder during its 2006- 2007 Season. Knott's Wait Until Dark opened on Broadway in 1966 in a production starring Lee Remick as Susan. Soon after the Broadway premiere, Warner Brothers purchased the film rights and the 1967 film starred Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna and Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn was nominated for both the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Actress. The film ranked 10th on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments for its climatic scene. Wait Until Dark was revived on Broadway in 1998 in a production starring Marisa Tomei and Quentin Tarantino.

Jeffrey Hatcher's plays and adaptations have been produced at theatres around the country and abroad. Among many other works, Mr. Hatcher wrote the book for the Broadway musical, Never Gonna Dance, and co-wrote the stage adaptation of Tuesdays With Morrie with author Mitch Albom, which was produced by Geva in 2006. Off-Broadway credits include Three Viewings and A Picasso, both of which were produced at Manhattan Theatre Club. His play, The Compleat Female Stage Beauty, was adapted into a screenplay, Stage Beauty. The 2004 film, directed by Richard Eyre, starred Claire Danes and Billy Crudup. He wrote the screenplays for Casanova, which starred Heath Ledger, and The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley. He also authored several episodes of "Columbo"

Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation of Wait Until Dark premiered last season at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Geva is only the second major theatre to produce this new take on Knott's thriller, set in 1944 at the height of World War II, giving the play a wartime light-noir patina. (Knott's original play is set in 1966 - the year of its Broadway premiere.)

Making their Geva Theatre Center debuts in Wait Until Dark are Craig Bockhorn (Broadway's On Golden Pond, Prelude to a Kiss and TV's "Law & Order," "The Michael J. Fox Show" and "Boardwalk Empire") as Carlino; Ted Koch (Broadway's The Pillowman, Death of a Salesman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and TV's "The Good Wife" and "Gossip Girl") as Roat; Brooke Parks (Yale Repertory Theatre and Oregon Shakespeare Festival) as Susan; Peter Rini (Broadway productions of Proposals, A View from the Bridge, TV's "Orange is the New Black," "Blue Bloods," and "SMASH!") as Mike, and Lauren Schaffel (feature films Revenge of the Green Dragons, Admission and CBS's "Still Standing") as Gloria. Remi Sandri (Geva's productions of A Christmas Carol, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, My Fair Lady, Camelot) returns to Rochester as Susan's husband, Sam.

Wait Until Dark is directed by David Ira Goldstein and the design team includes Vicki Smith (scenic design), Marcia Dixcy Jory (costume design), Don Darnutzer (lighting design) and Brian Peterson (sound design), with fight direction by Adriano Gatto.

The 2014-2015 Wilson Mainstage Season is sponsored by ESL Federal Credit Union. Wait Until Dark is produced with support from Honorary Producers Dawn and Jacques Lipson, MD; Associate Producer RG&E; and media sponsor Legends 102.7.

Wait Until Dark begins performances September 9 and runs in the Mainstage through October 5.

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