The Village Players will present a murder mystery, Wait Until Dark, during the month of August. Wait Until Dark is a 1966 play by Frederick Knott. The Village Players’ version is directed by Gail Pierce.
The Village Players will kick off Wait Until Dark with Opening Night Dinner Theatre on Friday, August 9. The Opening Night Dinner Theatre is sponsored by Willie’s Seafood. Tickets to Opening Night Dinner Theatre cost $35 per person. Reservations are required.
All proceeds from the Opening Night Dinner Theatre will go towards the renovation of the historic 1915 James McCabe Theatre.
Regular shows will be held throughout the remaining weekends in August. Shows will be held on Friday, August 16 and 23; Saturday, August 10, 17 and 24; and Sunday, August 11 and 18.
Doors open at 7 p.m. and the curtain is at 8 p.m. for the Friday and Saturday shows. For the two Sunday matinees, the doors open at 2 p.m. and the curtain is at 3 p.m.
Regular admission tickets for the shows are $18 and $15 for students, seniors and military with IDs.
Wait Until Dark centers around Sam Hendrix and his blind wife, Susy. Sam learns, after a flight home, that a doll he innocently acquired is stuffed full of drugs. A group of criminals, led by the ruthless Roat, has been following Sam in an effort to get the doll back. When Sam leaves Susy alone in the apartment, a life-threatening game begins between Susy and the criminals. Susy levels the playing field by turning off the lights.
Wait Until Dark was made into a movie in 1967 starring Audrey Hepburn, who won an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Pierce said of the murder mystery, “This is a great thriller made popular by Audrey Hepburn in the 1960s.”
The Village Players is a nonprofit Community Teaching Theatre. Visit www.thevillageplayersvalrico.com or call the box office at 480-3147.
All shows will be presented at the James McCabe Theatre located at 506 5th St. in Valrico.
