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The masterfully constructed thriller moves from one moment of suspense to another as it builds toward a chilling, breath-stopping final scene. In fact, the movie rated tenth on Bravo's "100 Scariest Movie Moments" for the final climactic scene.

April 20 - 30, 2017

About the Show

"Wait Until Dark" was first performed on Broadway in 1966 where it was a tremendous hit. It featured Lee Remick and Robert Duvall. The film version came out in 1967 featuring Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin.

"Wait Until Dark' is one the greatest thrillers of the stage," Director Greg Kolack said. "TWS is presenting this classic on its 50th anniversary. Although it is a half-century old, it holds up remarkably well with its power to pull the audience in and literally make them jump out of their seats. It is complex, psychological, unpredictable, and brilliantly written from beginning to end."

The play is set in a basement apartment in Greenwich Village in New York City. Blinded in a car accident, Susy Hendrix, played by TWS actor Abby Madden of Brookfield, is first manipulated then terrorized by three con men. They are searching for a lost doll of great value that had been unknowingly slipped to Susy's absent husband.

Susy must muster her resources to outfox her tormentors, turn her disability to advantage and survive. The drama plays on the themes of darkness and light as Susy navigates through her sightless world, and the crooks signal each other with light through the Venetian blinds.

Playwright Frederick Knott Frederick

Major Paull Knott was an English playwright known for his ingeniously complex, crime-related plots. Although he completed only three plays in his career, two have become classics: the London-based stage thriller " Dial M for Murder," which was later filmed in Hollywood by Alfred Hitchcock, and the chilling 1966 play "Wait Until Dark," which also became a Hollywood film starring Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin.

Knott, the son of Quaker missionaries, was born in Hankow, China, in 1916. Sent to England for his education, he graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in law in 1938, then served in the Royal Artillery during World War II.

After the war, he was struggling to make a living as a screenwriter when he decided to try his hand at writing a play. He gave himself a year to write one, but it took 18 months and almost bankrupted him. That play turned out to be "Dial M for Murder" which is still performed around the world.

Encouraged by this success, Knott tried his hand outside the suspense genre with the play, "Mr. Fox of Venice," but it did not do well. His gift was weaving sinister suspense stories, and all future theatrical successes fit into that category.

Maurice Evans, who played the lead in "Dial M for Murder" at Westminster Theatre in 1952, described him as “a particularly meticulous writer. The fascinating web of clues, counter clues, and red herrings that so intrigued theatre audiences is typical of the way his mind works. Every detail of his plot is placed with deadly accuracy."

Knott died in New York City in 2002.

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Cast and Crew

Tim Gannon: Mike Talman
Tom Gess: Policeman 2
Rich Kropp: Sgt. Carlino
Abby Madden: Susy Hendrix
John Mueller: Policeman 1
David Rodriguez: Harry Roat, Jr.
Tom Schutt: Sam Hendrix
Beatrice Tjernstrom: Gloria

Director Greg: Kolack
Asst. Director: George Chlada
Stage Manager: Bill Hammack
ASM Ginny: Richardson
ASM Box Office: Mary Ellen Schutt
Costumes: Patti Roeder
Dramaturg: Marion Reis
Hospitality: Joe Mills
House Managers: Mike Janke
Lights Benton: Bullwinkle
Makeup: Nicole Leatherwood, Sharon Sobotka
Production Coordinator: Janet Gassmann
Program Editor: Brendan Mertens
Props: Tim & Sharon Feeney Deb Angelillo
Publicity: Ginny Richardson
Sandwich Sunday: Kelli Kopp Pat Politano
Set Construction: Jon Baderman
Set Design: Stephanie Bullwinkle
Set Dressers: Cheryle McKay
Set Painting: Kurt Lemke Tina Shelley
Sound: Peggy Solick
Fight Choreographer: Michele Dimaso
Tech Director: Thad Hallstein

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Jan 19 – Jan 29, 2017

One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin.

About the Show

To Master the ArtOne morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections. The bedding was hardly able to cover it and seemed ready to slide off any moment. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked. "What's happened to me?" he thought. It wasn't a dream. His room, a proper human room although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four familiar walls. A collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table - Samsa was a travelling salesman - and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame. It showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm towards the viewer. Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops

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One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections. The bedding was hardly able to cover it and seemed ready to slide off any moment. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked.

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Cast & Crew

A horror comedy rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh.

June 2-12, 2016

About the Show

A deviously delicious Broadway and Hollywood sci-fi smash musical, Little Shop Of Horrors has devoured the hearts of theatre goers for over 30 years. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (Disney's The Little Mermaid, Beauty And The Beast, and Aladdin) are the creative geniuses behind what has become one of the most popular shows in the world.

The meek floral assistant Seymour Krelborn stumbles across a new breed of plant he names "Audrey II" - after his coworker crush. This foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore promises unending fame and fortune to the down and out Krelborn as long as he keeps feeding it, BLOOD. Over time, though, Seymour discovers Audrey II's out of this world origins and intent towards global domination!

The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors. The music, composed by Menken in the style of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown, includes several well-known tunes, including the title song, "Skid Row (Downtown)", "Somewhere That's Green", and "Suddenly, Seymour".

The musical premiered Off-Off-Broadway in 1982 before moving to the Orpheum Theatre Off-Broadway, where it had a five-year run. It later received numerous productions in the U.S. and abroad, and a subsequent Broadway production. The musical was also made into a 1986 film of the same name, directed by Frank Oz.

Sources: MTI and Wikipedia

Production Photos

In the News

"Theatre of Western Springs Sprouts a Musical: 'Little Shop of Horrors'," May 21, 2016, Patch.com

"Local performers to stage 'Little Shop of Horrors' musical in Western Springs," Suburban Life, May 27, 2016

Cast and Crew

Director: Eddie Sugarman
Music Director: Kyle Greer
Stage Manager: Bill Rotz
Choreography: Christie Kerr

In order of appearance:
Urchin (aka "Fabulous Street Diva") 1: Kelli Kopp
Urchin (aka "Fabulous Street Diva") 2: Katie McClatchey
Urchin (aka "Fabulous Street Diva") 3: Emily Montegudo
Mr. Mushnik: David Bremer
Audrey: Jennifer Torchia
Seymour: Gonzo Schexnayder
Audrey II: Brian Centers
Orin: Tim Gannon
Voice of the Plant: Joe Mills

ASM: Rich Kropp
ASM: Jonathan Kraft
ASM: Tom Gess
Box Office: Mary Ellen Schutt
Costumes: Martha Niles, Peggy Carlson
Dramaturg: Rick Pavia
Hospitality: Joe Mills
House Managers: Mike Janke
Lights: Ben Fallon, Laura Byrd
Makeup: Peggy Carlson, Martha Niles
Production Coordinator: Mary Ellen Schutt
Program Editor: Ed Barrow
Program Editor: Debbie Angelillo
Props: Eileen Crow, Darla Goudeau
Props Crew:
Publicity: Bill Hyland
Puppetry Coach: Linda Roberts
Sandwich Sunday: Mary Kuhn
Set Construction: Jon Mills
Set Design: Thad Hallstein
Set Dresser: Janie Petkus
Set Painting: Angelee Johns, Sue Wisthuff
Sound: Pat Politano
Sound Engineer: Ben Fallon
Tech Director: Thad Hallstein

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