After starting their season with light, comedic fare, college thespians have turned to a grittier, more dramatic offering with “Wait Until Dark,” a thriller which will be performed this weekend at the Hall Center for the Arts.

Showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $3 for students and $5 for adults.

No one will be admitted after the first curtain rises, HC Theater Director Kirk Davidson said.

“Wait Until Dark” is a psychological thriller set in the late 1960s (it was first staged in 1968 and later turned into a movie starring Audrey Hepburn).

“A blind woman (the Hepburn part) comes across a child's doll filled with cocaine,” Davidson said. “The drug dealers desperately want their cocaine back, so they plan an elaborate con to get the doll back.”

Davidson stressed that this play is not kid stuff — because of its themes, exploration of violence and occasional use of adult language, parental discretion is advised.

He unapologetically admits that staging this play represents a turn toward the dramatic for his troupe.

“A lot of the fare up until I got here was pretty bland,” he said. “Something like this  ... forces the actors to be more complex in their characterizations.”

Even the staging reflects the moody tone of this presentation, with sparse, close-quarters sets and dark lighting reinforcing the sense of unease.

“Being in this kind of environment, with it being so claustrophobic, will scare people,” Davidson said. “It will be kind of like watching an Alfred Hitchcock movie.”

Despite the darker tones explored in this play, Davidson stressed that the audience will still be entertained.

“I like to surprise the audience, but not shock the audience,” he said. “I think it's very important to be sensitive to the audience while, at the same time, giving my actors a challenge.”

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it