Wait Until Dark
By Frederick Knott
Adapted By Jeffrey Hatcher
2016
Composer/Sound Designer
Everyman Theatre
Directed By: Donald Hicken
Wait Until Dark is a classic suspense thriller, and what is a thriller without the sound? The main character Susan is a blind woman and I wanted the audience to experience the world from her perspective. With the combination of mics on the stage to pick up footsteps and movements about the apartment, and sound effects creating the world around her, such as the hum of the icebox or the ticking of the clock, we pulled the audience's ear to her point of focus.
Using the ticking clock as a rhythmic element and other instruments to heighten the tension and create the thrill, much of the action of the play was underscored and driven forward by the music, particularly the wordless sneaking around and fight scenes.
The plan is afoot! These men will put together a con so great that they will get this defenseless blind woman to hand over a doll to them that she doesn't realize is worth a fortune. After the first scene we are set into motion with this transition and the suspense is drawn. Will they be able to pull this thing off?.......
This is the moment in the play where we discover that the thought to be well intentioned Lieutenant Mike is actually working with the other criminals. After letting Susan lie down for a nap, Mike is left alone in the living room underscored by the ticking of the clock and a light suspenseful pizzicato cello as we watch him pace about the room looking from here to there. When he goes to the window and repeats the telltale signaling motion with the blinds, the audience now knows that he is working against her and the music swells into the blackness of intermission......
After learning that all 3 men are working together in the rouse to recover the lost doll of untold value, Act 2 is full of suspense and action. The pinnacle of this action is the final fight scene between our protagonist Susan and criminal mastermind Roat. This track brings us out of intermission and sets the audience up for what is about to unfold......
This is the curtain call track for the show. A bit more upbeat than the rest of the production.