Wait Until Dark -- Frederick Knott

Saw this live at Stage III.

Mike Talman and Sgt. Carlino are pseudonyms.  They never refer to each other by their real names.  The names are given to them by Roat.  Which is kind of cool.


It would appear Roat has killed Lisa, who both Mike and Carlino had feelings for before going to jail.  All of the sudden, he has all the power, as they left fingerprints everywhere in the house.  He's manipulating it from the beginning.


Roat:  Creepy guy.  Smart.  Cold.  'Squeamish' (that is, he prefers to keep his hands clean.  White collar crime, or at least crime organization, if you will.)  I imagine him as Solf J Kimblee.
Disguises himself as Roat Sr. and Roat Jr.
Sr:  Comes in, "ransacks the dresser" and leaves (to provide cover for Mike to be good guy)
Jr:  "Cold-cut" in his suit.  Professional.  Perhaps snobbish.
One step ahead of the game.  Kills both Mike and Carlino, when he needs to.

Sam:  A perfectionist.  Loving toward Susy, but in a quasi-parental way.

Mike:  As a disguise, the "good guy".  Sticks around to help Susy.  (Stage directions hint he might feel a little guilty conning Susy, he is being coerced into this job now, after all)

Carlino:  No personality things stood out to me upon reading it.





Thoughts about play:  I want to see it live again.  I appreciate reading it and noticing things that I did not when watching it live.  (ie the fact that their names weren't actually their names.  Wonder what choices they could have made differently to clear that up for me.)

I think it's well written, especially in giving plot information in a natural, conversational way.  Susy's journey from trusting Mike to realizing that something is afoot to realizing that he is, in fact, against her is very fluid and involving for the audience.




Monologue:

ROAT after Mike and Carlino realize he killed Lisa.  ONE possible arc:  Patronizing -> ridiculing -> Cold, calculated orders.