Here is a review of the stage revival of WAIT UNTIL DARK that has Marisa Tomei, Quentin Tarantino and STEPHEN LANG!!! I thought some of you may be interested in how it's doing, this is the second positive review, I wish someone would compare the stage version to the classic film though, I'd be interested in how they stack up. In case you are wondering what I'm doing covering this, well... technically I broke ground on stage stuff when I reported that Liam Neeson / Oscar Wilde bit. You see that was for a play, not a film. So here is the wandering theatre goer...
Harry here’s my review for the QT/Marisa Tomei show “Wait Until Dark.”
“Wait Until Dark,” currently playing at Boston’s Wilbur Theater through March 22 before heading to Broadway, is one of the most tense and exhilarating theater-going experiences I’ve ever had. There’s just something so sinister and creepy about the concept; it’s the story of Susy Hendrix (Marisa Tomei) a blind woman who becomes the target of a group of psychotic thugs (led by Quentin Tarantino). When Susy’s husband, Sam (James Whalen), returns from a trip from Montreal, he brings with him a musical doll. He’s been told this doll is intended for a little girl in a hospital, and a relative will stop by the house at a later date to pick the doll up.
Of course, Sam is being used as an unsuspecting mule to smuggle heroin into the country. Pretty soon the thugs break into the Hendrix’s apartment to find the doll. With no luck in finding the doll, they devise a truly maniacal scheme to get the doll from the Hendrixes.
To give away anymore details would ruin the fun, because the show is filled with so many surprising twists and startling revelations.
The actual performance got off to an excellent start. The first scene is brilliantly cinematic: the set barely lit, tense score playing quietly, a sense of impending doom thick in the air.
However, things got a little rough in the next scene. We’re introduced to Quentin’s character and his band of thugs (Stephen Lang, Juan Carlos Hernandez), and their scheme is rapidly explained. The problem is: it’s explained TOO rapidly. The scene is really verbose to begin with, it doesn’t help that the dialogue is being spoken so quickly. (Not to mention the scene felt a little rough as Quentin and company appeared to flub a line or two.)
Aside from that one scene, the rest of the play flowed smoothly. Maria Tomei is a real delight to behold; for all who thought the Academy Award was a mistake, her powerful performance here will hopefully silence some of the doubters. As for QT, what can I say? The guy can act. Granted, he’s no Robert DeNiro or Samuel L. Jackson, but he more than holds his own in this show. He’s so deliciously evil, that it’s hard not to leave the theater impressed.
The show isn’t without it’s problems (it’s apparent that the cast is still getting to know their characters and lines), but the show’s a real charmer. I know that doesn’t seem like an appropriate adjective for a show about a psycho stalking a blind woman, but I can’t remember a time when I left the theater with a bigger idiot grin than I did with this show. (In fact when I talked to QT after the show, he did say that it keeps getting better and better, and that the show that we had just seen was the best it had been yet. And while I’m at it, I just have to say that the man is so generous with his fans. I’m so used to celebs copping an attitude towards the people that made them stars, but not QT. He stopped and made sure everyone had gotten all the pictures and autographs they wanted. A refreshing change, and proof that the guy really is cool.)
“Wait Until Dark” isn’t going to change the world or revolutionize the theater world, but it will entertain you and it will, most likely, give you chills. .
