Making her directing debut, Micaela Grenier will helm “Wait Until Dark” at the Permian Playhouse starting Friday.
Dates are Oct. 8, 9 and 10 and Oct. 15, 16 and 17. Evening performances on Friday and Saturday are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees are at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $11 and may be purchased at the box office or online, Grenier said.
The cast includes six actors, including Eden Butler who portrays lead character Susan Hendrix. There was a movie by the same name starring Audrey Hepburn that was adapted from a 1966 play.
According to Rotten Tomatoes in the movie, Sam Hendrix returns home after a flight with a doll he has gotten. The doll is stuffed with heroin and a group of criminals led by Roat has followed Hendrix back to his place to retrieve it. “When Hendrix leaves for business, the crooks make their move — and find his blind wife, Susy (Audrey Hepburn), alone in the apartment,” the site said.
“Soon, a life-threatening game begins between Susy and the thugs,” the site said.
Grenier said they have been working on the play for seven or eight weeks. They took a week off for Grenier to get married.
Grenier said she was introduced to the movie by a theater teacher her senior year in high school and she fell in love with it. She dedicated the play to that teacher.
“I thought it was incredible. It’s got a great story. It’s really a true thriller. It’s got lots of suspense. It’s amazing,” Grenier said.
She added that it has always been in the back of her mind to do “Wait Until Dark.”
“The playhouse put it in their season and they approached me about directing it,” Grenier said. “… Everything just lined up perfectly.”
Directing her first production has been a thrilling experience for her.
“It’s been amazing to work with my actors and to really watch them breathe life into this show. It already had a special place in my heart … It’s just been an experience that I will never forget and it’s 100 percent because of the cast and the crew.”
Grenier said 30 people auditioned and it was hard to choose the cast. She added that she didn’t think many people would turn out for tryouts because the play wasn’t very well known.
“Everybody that came out was super talented and so amazing. It was just about getting the right people on stage together, looking for chemistry, trying to figure out who reads well. The biggest part is finding that lead actress, so Eden, she’s on stage almost the entire time. She is playing a character who’s blind, so obviously that person has to be exactly right. They have to be able to hold up the show, essentially, and also … be an incredible actress. Once we figured out who our Susan was, we were able to pin everybody else into place,” Grenier added.
Grenier said she was at Odessa College for two years and earned a bachelor’s degree in musical theater from West Texas A&M University. She taught at Permian High School and is now at Bowie Middle School starting a theater program.
Butler, who plays Susan Hendrix, said she had done one production prior to this one called Almost Maine. That debuted in 2018, but she was in quite a few plays before that as part of Odessa College’s theater program. Theater was her major there.
Susan is the main focus of “Wait Until Dark” and she’s trying to navigate through everything, figuring out how is who and what is what.
“… I’m very excited with the way everything has gone so far. I was very thankful to be cast in the show,” Butler said. “Micaela is a wonderful director. She’s done an amazing and phenomenal job with everybody. We look up to her so much, but honestly I think the show is going to be quite wonderful.”
“We hit a couple of snags. That’s not any different than any other show. I think it’s going to be … a really wonderful show. A lot of the cast has worked really hard … (and) given up a lot of their free time in order to be there. Everybody’s got jobs, school; all that, but I think … through this process we’ve all come together and created something that’s … going to be worth watching,” Butler added.
When she’s not performing in plays, Butler is a legal assistant in Odessa with Bailey and Galyen Attorneys at Law. She plans to go back to school to earn a paralegal certification.
“… It’s been a wonderful process getting to work with everyone so closely. Initially, I was a little nervous about it. I haven’t done any shows probably since 2019,” when she was in “A Doll’s House” at OC, Butler said.
She added that returning to acting has been wonderful. Butler said she has been involved in many productions over the years as part of the cast and crew and would like to take part more often. She noted that she has a really good support system.
“… I enjoy the process from start to finish no matter what position I’m in. … For me, it’s just something really enjoyable to be a part of. … I love going through that process and trying to work through all the kinks to get where we need to be, so I would definitely consider doing shows again if I have the time in between work and school,” Butler said.
