Lindsey Wilson University Department of Theatre to Present 'Wait Until Dark' Nov. 19-21, Nov. 23

Psychological thriller is adaptation of Broadway hit from the 1960s.

by Duane Bonifer

COLUMBIA, Ky. (11/11/2025) — A psychological thriller involving mistaken identity and plenty of suspenseful moments will be the next play performed by the Lindsey Wilson University Department of Theatre.

An adaptation of the chilling Wait Until Dark will be performed Nov. 19-21 and Nov. 23 at V.P. Henry Auditorium.

Wait Until Dark, written by famed crime writer Frederick Knott, opened on Broadway in 1966 and was adapted into a 1967 film by the same name starring Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin. It was revived on Broadway in 2001 starring Quentin Tarantino.

The play tells the story of Susan Hendrix, a recently blind housewife in New York City's Greenwich Village who becomes the target of three ruthless con artists searching for diamonds hidden in a doll that was given to her unwitting husband, Sam.

The Lindsey Wilson production will be Jeffrey Hatcher's 2013 adaptation of the play, which moves the setting from the 1960s to 1944 Greenwich Village and switches the contraband in the doll from heroin to diamonds.

"It's a great play," said Lindsey Wilson theatre professor Robert Brock, who directs Wait Until Dark. "Jeffrey Hatcher's adaptation flows a little better, and it's a little shorter. It holds up very well, and we're looking forward to presenting it."

Brock said that when he first saw Wait Until Dark, "it really scared the heck out of me."

Brock said the protagonist Susan -- played by Gabriella Devore '26 of Knob Lick, Kentucky -- is a fascinating character because of how she handles the con men who will stop at nothing to recover the stolen diamonds.

"When we first meet her, she is struggling with her blindness because she's only been blind for a year from an injury she sustained in an accident," said Brock. "So she goes from that to being very self-sufficient and having to defend herself against this really bad guy in the dark. It's a story that will have audience members on the edge of their seats during much of the performance."

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The Lindsey Wilson University Department of Theatre will present "Wait Until Dark," by Doris Baizley and adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, at 7 p.m CT Nov. 19-21 and 2 p.m. Nov. 23. It is directed by Lindsey Wilson theatre professor Robert Brock, and the cast is: Gabriella Devore '26 (Susan Hendrix) of Knob Lick, Kentucky; Ryan Engle (Sam Hendrix) of Glasgow, Kentucky; Leeshawn Johnson '27 (Harry Roat) of Louisville, Kentucky; Adrian Ayala (Sergeant Carlino), a graduate student from Naples, Florida; Brandon Grider '28 (Mike Talman) of Columbia; and Aubrey Dale of Columbia (Gloria). To purchase tickets, go to lindsey.edu/theatre or contact the Lindsey Wilson Theatre Department at theatre@lindsey.edu or 270-384-8044.

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